It’s about time for the Occupy camp to pack it up, folks. Haven’t these people made their point by now? It’s been around three months and your point has unequivocally been made; now it’s time to return to normalcy. Not only have I had about enough of these protestors, but the envy and entitlement that is exuded by so many of them is simply disgusting and counter-productive to society as a whole.
After weeks and weeks on end of city camping, what has the Occupy movement really accomplished? The government and the “powers-that-be” have no-doubt seen them and heard their cries…whether they will respond to them by enacting favorable legislation is another issue entirely.
In a pre-Internet/social media era, protesting had a much more solidified purpose — it showed legislators and law-makers in the government what (mostly) young people were really thinking in a time when making your voice heard wasn’t the easiest thing to do.
This country was basically founded on protesting against the rule of the English and it has served a useful purpose at many junctions in history. How else would citizens at Kent State have gotten their voice out against President Richard Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia in 1970 were it not for protesting? Or what about protesting at Tiananmen Square in China in the late 1980s? In each of those two examples, people died for the right to protest and they served as critical turning points in American history and social involvement in politics. Protesting is a freedom that every American is entitled to and I’m not saying it should be taken away.
Recent protests in other countries such as the 2011 Iranian protests following the country’s controversial elections and the Arab Spring prove that change can happen when people under oppressive rule gather up for a common good. Where is the oppression in the United States, though? Is a disparity among the distribution of wealth in the country a legitimate reason to take to the streets and protest for weeks and months, decrying everything from the rich to the lack of jobs to even Jews themselves?
At first the Occupy movement was cute and seemed to have a point; now it has denigrated into nothing more than “let’s-see-how-long-we-can-camp-out-in-front-of-city-hall.”
Comedian and radio/television personality Adam Carolla recently offered a biting critique of the Occupy movement, where he explained the cultural reasons for the protests and offered solutions for it. Carolla’s spot-on analysis of the situation, which can easily be found on YouTube for those who haven’t seen it, basically breaks the situation down to one main concept — envy.
Carolla argues that much of the time, the response to a person who has accumulated wealth and power is not admiration and inspiration but rather envy. Instead of honing one’s skills and actually working hard towards bettering oneself, many occupiers simply think they are entitled to wealth and that “throwing a brick through the window of the rich” is the correct response to the situation. It isn’t.
We are not oppressed in this country. Our economy goes through highs and lows just like any other, and people do occasionally fall on tough times. This country could definitely use some improvements, but non-stop public camping is not the way to do it. The Occupy movement has no-doubt made its point and it is time to respect the rest of the country by closing up shop and continuing “the struggle” by writing congressmen and elected officials.
Entitlement and envy are not attractive qualities of citizens of any country — hard work, on the other hand, is.
Gerry Wachovsky is a graduate student and columnist for the Daily 49er.
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