OCCUPY YOUR LIFE

I'm writing this to stand in support of the various "Occupy" groups now acting around the world in defiance of the socio-economic status quo.

People have been complaining that this movement features no specific list of demands.  I want to point out that it's difficult and probably unnecessary to have specific demands when the system you are standing in opposition to is in every facet corrupt.  I, for example, am not opposed to just one particular aspect of this system, say the military-industrial complex, the shipping of American jobs overseas, the coddling of corporate criminals, the erosion and downright robbery of voting rights, the buying out of both parties by multi-national business interests, the systematic dismantling of our educational systems, or the war against collective bargaining.  To name just a few.  It's becoming apparent to all of us that these individual crimes against society are not coincidences, but that they are part of a worldwide effort by the wealthiest among us to maintain power at all costs.

The local grocery store near me was suddenly sold last month, to another chain.  The employees had one day notice of their fate.  Some of the workers were able to keep their jobs, with lower wages.  But I spoke to one young woman cashier there who told me she was losing her job.  She was 18 years old, and had been working at the store since she was 16.  In fact it was the only job she'd ever held.  She told me how much she enjoyed her job, and how much she loved her co-workers.  They were like family to her, she said, with tears forming in her eyes.  But the new owners had a policy that all cashiers must be 21 years of age.  So this woman, who had devoted her short, but entire, working life to the company, was to be out of work suddenly within a few hours.

This is just a tiny example of one person fucked over by corporate America.  But what is clear with the Occupy movement is that corporate culture has finally fucked over one person too many.  The Golden Goose has been killed.  And it's been reborn, with eyes open.