So we have visitors and locals alike spending their time in downtown Pittsburgh for #OccupyPittsburgh. It’s been an ongoing rally over various states and even some countries as they feel that government and corporations are controlling, and running this country into the ground.
My only real gripe with anything slated as #Occupy, is that I feel that it’s not been given a direct voice from specific people spearheading the “Operation Occupy.” I just feel that without a direct voice, people are protesting, but can’t all be heard as one.
Some of the confusion stems from the nature of the movement itself. Members have agreed in general to oppose what they view as corporate greed, but individuals are free to promote their own causes as well, a common trend among quickly growing, leaderless movements.
This quote is taken from the Post-Gazette’s report and I am inclined to completely agree. While I understand the right to give everyone their voice, there are parties getting involved looking to promote their own issues as well as the direct goal of these protests.
That makes it skewed, and the voices become many, and not just one large collective assault on the masses.
Asked how he promotes the group’s message when there are so many different causes, Michael Lawson, who is overseeing Occupy Pittsburgh’s hospitality efforts, said with a smile that there’s “no easy answer, especially when there are a lot of people with a lot of different opinions.”
Across the nation, Occupy Wall Street spinoffs have prided themselves on their efforts to be all-inclusive.
“Because the original group on Wall Street calls itself a leaderless movement … there is all of the potential for people to bring their own signs and make their own demands,” said Michael Kazin, a Georgetown University professor who studies social movements. “It is a carnival of activists.”
Low and behold, I don’t think you will find a ton of people who disagree with the assessment. I am a supporter, I think big business and big government work hand in hand to monopolize and give for their own, rather than the people that make it so.
Who knows though, as this is a totally random post, I just hope that the collective voice finds its way, and at least changes something to make someone’s life a bit easier.
Tue, Oct 18, 2011
Daily, Events, Political