Writer's Block: Occupied

[anotheranon]

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No. Not because I'm not supportive (I've written about this before) but because I don't have a leg to stand on: I'm not one of the 1% but I am employed and insured and have generally been luckier than many in the past few years.

In addition, I'm reluctant to back any cause I don't understand completely and it seems that the Occupy movement encompasses so many different agendas and grievances that it would be impossible for me to know them all. If I participated I'd feel like a fraud at best, or ignorant at worst, and given that the Occupiers are accused of being these and more it wouldn't help them if I joined in.

Comments

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

The main take away I've gotten from the Occupy movement has been economic justice. There's been too much pandering to the richest people in the U.S. to the detriment of everyone else. This is manifest in everything from unfunded mandates, lowering of taxes, and cutting back services, to lessened enforcement of pretty much everything from domestic violence to environmental codes.

So, in general, I agree but, I'm less than thrilled with the local, DC, contingent. Not because I've had a particularly bad experience, but because the times I've gone to help, I've ended up in the kitchen, not the library.

I don't mind helping in the kitchen, I don't even mind washing dishes but every single I time I went to help there were always huge stacks of dishes and except for once, I was often the only person washing dishes. I went about once a week in Oct. and Nov. and most of the time no one from the camp, who lived there, and depended on the kitchen for their food could be arsed, to get themselves in there to clean up the messes made on their behalf.

If you're not going to look after your living space, why the hell should I? I'm not your mom.

Then there's the whole, every time I left contact info with someone to help with the library, no one got in touch with me, so I just stopped. And then it got to be the holidays and I had stuff that really had to be done and I'm not so inclined to go back.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

The economic justice thing I understand at the surface level: them that have take from them that don't, and are enabled by government and business. However, economics isn't my strong suit so when I come down to what to do about it I don't know enough to form a cogent opinion. So I feel like I'm better off keeping my mouth shut.

I'm sorry your experiences with Occupy DC have been disappointing, especially as I remember your being excited about participating. I wonder how much of that is the people behind Occupy or if it's just a feature of any large group with no clear leadership that no one wants to do the grunt work?

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

I'm at the point of thinking just saying, "Look at this economic inequality" is a good thing. People who know econ more than I do will figure out the nitty gritty.

I think a lot of the kitchen issue comes down to gender issues. Most of the people camping at the MacPherson Sq. encampment were men and either didn't know what needed to be done in a kitchen or couldn't be arsed to help. And if there were women present they figured we'd just clean things up like their moms did.

I got tired of being "mommish" and stopped going.