I’ve been watching the Wall Street protests, and I’ve noticed a few things. One of the things I’ve noticed is in the beginning the vast majority of protesters were young people between the ages of 18-25. Now I’ve noticed that several different unions and organizations have moved into the protest, and even some government officials have stated support for them.
As always when I have a question about someone or thing, I like to look at motives or what’s going on behind the scenes. The truth is that few people do anything without benefit to themselves, so what are the unions and government officials getting out of supporting them?
Another thing I’ve noticed is that there doesn’t seem to be an overriding issue that these protestors are gathering around. What exactly are they protesting against? Are they protesting capitalism? Most of them as well as everyone living in America have benefited from capitalism. Don’t they realize that the devices they’re using to communicate are the result of that system? I’ve seen almost every cause imaginable protested on some sign or other, so I ask you exactly what are they protesting?
I have no doubt that there are some really scared and sincere people there who love this country and truly believe they are doing the right thing. I commend them for standing up for what they feel is right, but I wonder what does defecating on the hood of a taxi-cab have to do with the protest? What about having public sex? Some people like to say that the Wall Street protesters are the same as the tea party. I beg to differ. The tea party was organized, they had a central issue, and every demonstration was carried out respectfully within a designated period of time, not to mention that there were no arrests in any of those events to my knowledge.
It seems to me that this group of people is being exploited by others for their own purposes. I realize that people are worried, and that they’re fearful about the future, but I fail to see how protesting Wall Street is going to change anything. Protesting capitalism, in my view, is a lot like killing a cow because somebody got a bad bottle of milk. It just doesn’t make sense.
Just because people and companies abuse a system does not mean that the system itself is broken. It’s not the system that needs to be done away with, but rather the people who abused it. I didn’t agree with bailing out Wall Street, or for that matter bailing out anyone. I think people as well as businesses should be responsible for themselves.
It bothers me when I hear talk about taking from the rich to give to the poor. It sounds good in theory, but would you want someone to take away what you worked and sweated for. Would you want someone else to decide how much money you could earn or what you could spend it on? I’m sorry, but I don’t.
I think it’s wrong to call these people names and to demonize them just as it’s wrong to exploit them. These people as all people have a right to be heard and to be treated fairly, but shouldn’t they as all people communicate a clear message and present themselves with dignity?
wayneaugden 