Moot Point: The Occupy Movement

Why I Agree with the Occupy Movement, Even in Edmonton
Jay White (3L)

The main reason I support the Occupy Movement is because I think that it finally has people talking about issues that affect pretty much every Canadian, as well as issues that affect most people globally. The worst thing that the opponents of the Occupy Movement are doing is stereotyping the participants and supporters. Many journalists have dubbed the occupiers as no more than ‘crackpots’ or ‘hippies’, claiming that they are pretty much all unemployed. This is simply not true, as there are many different people from many different walks of life joining in on these protests.

Opponents of the Occupy Movement here in Edmonton often say to me that they think the protests lack focus, does not have a clear message, and that the movement just isn’t relevant in Canada.

I think that these people are missing the fact that the purpose of the Occupy Movement is meant to be very general. While most protests have a very specific and defined purpose or goal, like protests against the Iraq War, the Occupy Protests are broadly based and are fighting for social justice and economic equality. There are even ‘occupy’ nametags that allow you to express exactly what you wish to protest by supporting the movement.

I think it is this unique generality that has allowed protests to take place in hundreds of cities around the world. There are common underlying themes to many of the protests, such as the misappropriation of bailout funds in the United States, but there are also unique purposes to each of the protests. In Brazil they are focusing on homelessness and in London on education.

Many opponents try to grab on to the anti-corporate notions of the Movement and argue that without corporations, no one would have jobs, and there would be no economy. Of course this is true, but they are not listening to the actual message coming from the protests. The idea is not to eliminate corporations all together (although there are the extremists who say they should, I do not feel that this is the majority opinion among supporters of this movement), but instead to eliminate corporate control and corporate influence from the political process.

In Canada, the Occupy Movement is definitely relevant, where the gap between the rich and the poor has actually been found to be growing faster than in the United States. This is certainly an issue that needs to be addressed, and it is an issue that these protests have helped shine a light on. Large amounts of money also continues to be made off of the poorest people and those who are the most in debt, especially through exorbitantly high credit card interest rates. It is clear to me that something needs to be done by the government to prevent banks and other companies from taking advantage of these people for the sole purpose of increasing their profits. There are other ways to make money.

Why should the self-entitled 1% get 99% of urban park space?
Jorge Pineda (3L)

The most common response I hear from those who defend the Occupy movement is the rhetorical question, “how can you not be angry at the bank bailouts?” To which I reply, “if this had anything to do with the bank bailouts, they would be arguing against bank bailouts.”

This movement has nothing to do with irresponsible government spending. If it were really about the bailouts, the squatters would be protesting the government that allowed the bailouts. It in fact looks more like a protest against the very existence of banks, corporations, and the capitalist system above all. It is safe to say that this movement is fuelled by a generation of economic illiterates who are clueless about wealth creation and money management. They seem to think that someone, somewhere could just write a check and fix all of their problems. They treat phrases like ‘balanced budget’, or ‘fiscal responsibility’ with great suspicion and as code words for greedy capitalism.

However, I am not so naïve as to believe these squatters are unanimously motivated by some Cold-War socialistic ideology. The problem is unique to our time. It has more to do with the engineering of a generation of non-contributing, self-entitled “takers.” This group has become accustomed to externalizing all their problems and bad decisions to responsible and employed taxpayers. The squatters seem to feel everything is owed and nothing is due, least of all respect. After a squatter died from an overdose in Vancouver, instead of self-reflection about the destructive and lawless lifestyle their camp was promoting, the squatters shouted down the mayor as he addressed the issue. They, of course, demanded more “addiction services” from the taxpayers since the “tragedy” was symbolic of society’s apathy.

The popularity of this movement is a sad indictment of our generation as well as our education system. Rarely has the majority of a society had it so good compared to the rest of the world. Claims about economic injustice are intensely parochial and misinformed. Occupy slogans tend to be very ironic and unintentionally satirical because they do not realize they are, in fact, the 1%. Only in the West do we have the luxury of being so lazy and ignorant. The poorest in Canada would be considered well off almost anywhere outside of the developed world. The freeloading squatters do not get that. They use their iPods and MacBook Pros to air their anger against having to pay back their university tuitions and car loans while sipping on their Starbucks lattés.

The movement is an embarrassing parody of those who defied state tyranny and oppression in Tahrir Square and across the Arab world. It minimizes the actual gravity of injustice in the world. Although the official message may not seem coherent, it is really the medium that is the message. The promotion of irresponsible and dangerous lifestyles, the arrogance and disrespect, the unguided willingness to follow a rabble of non-contributing takers, the growing tendency toward violence and vitriol- that is the Occupy movement.