Could you please occupy a shower next?

In case it was not understood from the title, this post is going to be about "Occupy Wallstreet" and its constituent protests. Fun!

I was riding in the car with my mother as we went through downtown on our way home. We drove past the courthouse on our way and, sure enough, there was the Ft. Wayne contingent of the 'occupy' movement....

All twenty of them.

They had held a big organized protest in One Summit Square; the local newspaper was only too eager to report that, "About 300 demonstrators showed up Saturday morning at One Summit Square plaza, for a rally inspired by the grass-roots Occupy Wall Street movement that began four weeks ago in New York City."

"Marchers were invited to take the mic and express their opinions, as passing motorists honking in support nearly drowned them out. By 1:30 p.m. the number of demonstrators had grown to what organizer Lambert thought was about 400. Earlier in the week, organizers had predicted 600 people would turn out."

I don't know about that. From what I have heard from people present during that time period there were about a hundred protesters, and those driving past were not in fact honking in support, but beseeching the participants to, 'get a job and take a shower.' Which are both, I am sure, valid requests.

I'm afraid that I often have the strong urge to ruthlessly mock the protesters. I can't help it, I have absolutely no empathy for the people demanding such things as amnesty from debt; free higher education, or the beheading of responsible businessmen.

What strikes me as the most poignant, is this: the protesters are so proud that they have been having these week long constant camping protests. And what is the reason they can do so? They don't have jobs of their own; they probably aren't even paying taxes. They are out protesting in the public square, while the very people they are protesting are working full work days in order to make a living, which includes all the taxes they have to pay so that these protesters get their unemployment checks. If these are the 99%.... I'd rather stand by the bourgeois capitalist pigs, at least they earn their bacon.

And this is all just talking about the local protesters......

New York.
What else need I say? If you have followed any of this you will know what things are like in the area of the protest. I don't feel the need to list some of things that are happening there. But let me ask you a question. In all of the hundreds of gigantic Tea party events across the nation, were there ever any mass-arrests? Or video and audio recordings of *extreme* antisemitism?

I cannot help but hope that those who have done so continue to compare these protests to the Tea parties. The difference is night and day, and people see that.

Thank you for reading.