Embracing the Occupation

SEIU Support at Occupy San Jose

There have been a lot of questions and concerns about Occupy Wall Street. My main question is – Why did it not happen sooner? Progressives have spent most of this recession being on the defensive. Let’s not forget it was the conservative ideas such as deregulation that got us into this mess. Remember the few months after the recession when we talked about regulation? In case you forgot, it was before people with tea bags hanging from their sun visors started marching against big government. We got preoccupied with being on defense, and allowed the conversation to shift away from the financial sector and the growing wealth divide.

Occupy Wall Street is our chance to get back on offense. It’s time to re-announce ourselves as the true populists, and uniting together to fight for the 99% sends that message loud and clear. While Democrats and other progressive organizations are joining the cause, some are still very hesitant. One of the largest concerns is that the protests are too liberal, or at least that they will be viewed that way. The main point of Occupy Wall Street is that people are tired of a political reality that protects corporations and the top 1% and hurts the people who have already suffered the most. The protection of average people from corporate greed is a basic progressive principle, and we should not be afraid to embrace it.

It’s time to stop running scared from our own message. The left seems to be under the impression that our progressive views will never be accepted, and that we have to move to the middle to get anything accomplished. Think of our current political climate as a game of tug-o-war. We keep walking right up to the dividing line and republicans do not hesitate to pull us over. Conservative designed and bipartisan backed policies got us into this mess, so let’s return to fighting for our core principles. As Seth MacFarlane recently said on Real Time with Bill Maher, “We’ve tried conservatism, and we’ve tried center-ism. The one thing we have not tried is liberalism”. Occupy Wall Street is showing the world how many people want, and need, more progressive policies.

In an effort to practice what I preach, I decided to embrace Occupy Wall Street by attending an Occupy San Jose rally last Sunday. I’ll admit that I was expecting to be underwhelmed by a satellite occupation, but it was a fantastic and inspiring event! Students, teachers (including my 11^th grade English teacher), unions, the Democratic Party, and local politicians all showed up to lend their support. The racial and ethnic diversity of the area was well represented at the event, and activists of all ages were working together.

Me with former San Jose City Council Member Forrest Williams

The crowd gathers to hear speakers

The press following the rally missed a vital aspect of what the protest is accomplishing. Occupy San Jose is bringing the progressive base back together after a long hiatus, and it is having the same impact across the country. In addition, November 2012 is only 13 months away, and this could provide incredible momentum.

As I was leaving the Occupy San Jose Rally, I heard a woman (pictured below) telling a man “we are the people! This is what the majority of the people want!”

I try not to borrow ideas from Richard Nixon, but the woman’s comments made me think about the concept of a silent majority. Have progressives been acting as a silent majority? We have certainly been silent. As the occupied streets of cities across the U.S are demonstrating, we are not going to be silent anymore. Instead of debating the possibility of a silent majority–a term that is as annoying as it is impossible to prove–I would rather focus on becoming a loud majority. Only time will tell what Occupy Wall Street becomes, but it has gotten progressive ideas, rhetoric, and action flowing once again! With our populist message out in the open, a majority is certainly possible.

  

Protester waves flag on 4^th and E. Santa Clara

Have you been to an Occupy Wall Street event? Leave a comment with your experience!

The Next Few Minutes: I’ll start to tackle the rhetoric of immigration policy in the next post. Also, stay tuned for more on Occupy Wall Street, as special reports come in from some of our New York ‘correspondents’.