Because I do not live in the US at the moment, I am trying to read as much as I have time for about the Occupy Wall Street protests and other important news about the United States.When I find a tidbit of information that I find striking, I post it to Facebook asking for feedback from my American friends to better understand how the information is being perceived “on the ground”.
What I notice frequently is that people are angry. Those friends that identify with the Tea Party protest movement are angry at those that seem to identify with the Occupy Wall Street protest movement and (somewhat, but less so amongst my group of friends) vice versa. This anger is so misdirected and I am having a hard time seeing it beyond this idea. I would appreciate if it were explained to me in broader terms that didn’t involve one side attacking the other. The Tea Party protestors say that government is the problem and the Occupy Wall Street protestors say that Wall Street and big banks are the problem. This is often done while arguing why the ‘other’ (either the bank or the government) seems to be scape-coated or otherwise almost let off the hook and defended. Isn’t it clear that too often the two are in bed together and their relationship is mutually beneficial which is why, at least in the US, this relationship has only become stronger in the last ten plus years (in reality probably more).
The police (and winter) may have shut down some of the occupy camps around the country – but they will hopefully reorganize and come back even stronger. We need more people actively participating in our democracy for it to work!
For help understanding the OWS protestors:
livingtheamericandreamineurope.com 