"Shit is Fucked Up and Bullshit"

The rallying cry of the 99%, or Occupy Wall Street, or Occupy San Diego, or whatever, is "Shit is Fucked Up and Bullshit," or, at least, it was the sign from one protester.  But if there was ever a time where such a statement was true, it is now. And if there ever was a blog where such a statement would be applauded, its this one.

So, why haven't I written about the Occupy movement sooner?  Because I'm not a big protest guy.  During the Iraq War, I saw hundreds of thousands of people protest against war in Iraq, and we got war in Iraq.  I've seen protests against Obama, protests for Obama, etc.  People march, feel good about themselves, and go home.  Nothing gets done.  And when I heard about Occupy Wall Street, I thought that was what was going to happen.  Another useless march.

What I didn't expect, and I think this goes for everyone, that the protest was going to be a 24/7 occupation.  Even in my relatively tame burgh of San Diego, the Occupy San Diego movement has lasted for well over a month now.  Wow.  And this occupation is important because it actively pisses off the establishment to the point where the establishment does something stupid.  That's the whole point of nonviolent protest - you are trying to get a violent response from the authorities, and then shame them into submission.  Now, if the authorities have any brains, they'd ignore this provocation and sit on the protesters.  That appears to be the tactic of the SDPD (to some extent) at least.  But elsewhere, such as in New York City and Oakland, the Occupy movement has sparked violent reactions from the police, even when its been relatively unjustified.   Hell, 18 city mayors have coordinated their attacks.

All this has done is stoke the fires of anger that lead to the occupy movement in the first place.  New people get involved, and more attention is paid to their causes.  Of course, the Occupy movement has no leaders, and its goals are murky.  But its in that murkiness that the Occupy movement has become a Rorschach test for the body politic.  Whatever angers us about banks, about the corruption of our government, about the failure of our leaders to do anything about the economy when investors will literally PAY the Federal government to borrow money from them - all of those things are part of the Occupy movement, and none of them are.  That's the whole point of the 99% - we're all pissed about something.

And I cannot say enough about what this movement has done - it literally changed the debate from budget austerity to income inequality.  It gives Obama room to maneuver as the community organizer leading from the back, and it shows that Americans aren't pissed about paying taxes - they're pissed their government is owned by the financial sector.  And they should be - whenever the financial system screws up, we all end up hit with shrapnel - we bailout the wrongdoers and end up with a cycle of boom and bust.

So, where does it all end?  I honestly have no idea.  But congrats to the people who are part of the Occupy movement.  You've convinced me.