Occupy Wall Street West
The Occupy Movement emerged from its state of winter hibernation in San Francisco yesterday on the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission.
(As I’m sure you know, Citizens United is the landmark case that removed limits on how much money corporations and labor unions could donate to political causes. As a result of this lunatic 5-4 decision by our high court, a new type of political action committee, the so-called “Super PAC,” is now legal. Taken together, these unregulated, large-money organizations have, so far this year, dominated the political landscapes of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina during the Republican caucuses and primaries.)
The protests here in San Fran were part of day-long, Occupy Wall Street-related demonstrations all over the country demanding that banks put an end to evictions and foreclosures.
I very much wanted to take part in this Occupy protest and to be there to document it photographically. However, I wasn’t able to get downtown as it was a busy workday for me. Of course, fair-weather protester that I am, I’m not sure I would have shown up anyway; it was a very blustery winter day here in the Bay Area.
The event was mostly a success for Occupy: the San Francisco Chronicle reported that there were several hundred demonstrators in the Financial District who took to the streets, made a lot of noise, and shut down the headquarters of Wells Fargo Bank. The thousands of protesters that had been anticipated did not materialize, though.
I will have to get downtown soon for an Occupy-related event. I want to see how it’s evolved since I began my hiatus from protesting (because of my surgery and subsequent recovery). I ferried into the city nine straight weekends during the fall (from October 7 to December 3, 2011) to photograph the people, signs, structures, marches and other happenings of #OccupySF.
(I see the Huffington Post reports that the former (former?) Occupy San Francisco (#OccupySF) movement has reorganized and now calls itself Occupy Wall Street West. I didn’t know that until today.)
Political Passion, Facebook & Freedom of Speech
This morning, I posted a link on my Facebook page to an article about Keith Olbermann’s “Special Comment” regarding the Gabrielle Giffords shooting in Arizona yesterday (see “Olbermann Connects Giffords Shooting To Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck And Apologizes For His Own Remarks”). In the comment I made to accompany that link, I called for a halt to the widespread uncivil, inflammatory and insane political rhetoric in this country — such as the “second-amendment-remedies” remarks from the likes of Sharron Angle, Sarah Palin, and other assorted Tea Partiers.
Within minutes, I had a comment from one of my Facebook “friends” asking if that meant I would now end my expression of impassioned political opinions, noting my agitation about, and name-calling of, many Republicans over the years.
All I can say to this is: wtf, dude?
Are you saying that my opinions, however passionately expressed, have the kind of radical, evil intent (and, indeed, craziness) in them that imply support of assassination, murder and/or attempted murder?
With all due respect, when I make claims such as “George W. Bush is a liar and a war criminal,” there is considerable evidence to support that. And is in no way a call for harm to anyone. For you to infer malicious intent on my part is just plain folly.
And so, dear Facebook friend, in an unprecedented act, I have removed my post and your subsequent comment. You don’t get to insinuate, on my Facebook page (please use your own), that my passion has any relationship to the dangerous (and now murderous) rhetoric put out there by the political right-wing in recent times. You just don’t get to do that.
Update on January 10, 2011:
Today, via email, I heard from my Facebook friend regarding this incident. It seems that, to at least one individual in this world, I am not only an uncivil but a potentially-dangerous person.
The email I received came with the subject line: “F You.” A mildly-edited version (in my continuing attempt to preserve the person’s anonymity) appears in the comments section below. In the spirit of free speech, active listening, and valuing multiple perspectives, I present this commentary here.
A Touch of Class
I had lunch with a group of folks from work recently. The ceremonial get-together (to honor a few of our colleagues) occurred at a rather classy French restaurant (The Left Bank) in downtown Larkspur, California. Larkspur is the tiny San Francisco suburb where I currently reside, in Marin County, which, according to Wikipedia, was the county with the highest per capita income in the country per the 2000 census.
It was one conversation in particular during this event that got me to thinking...and still has me deep-in-thought. What’s on my mind is the whole matter of “social class.”
The two individuals on my left were engaged, for a time, in a dialog about places they’ve lived and visited; both of them are extremely well-traveled. So, when such places as Hong Kong, Paris (or even Philadelphia!), were brought up...well, there simply wasn’t anything for me to contribute to the conversation. I’ve been to a lot of the states in the United States, and lived in five of them, but I’m most definitely not a world traveler. I obtained a passport for the first time ever this year, though it remains unused and stored in my sock drawer. (And, I’ve never been to such obvious American places as Philadelphia or New York.)
Then, when lunch was served, they talked about the food. One of them had, like me, ordered the salmon. When asked how it was, she said, unenthusiastically, “oh, it’s ok.” (My reply would have been, “it’s wonderful!”) The other one commented similarly on his lunch and speculated about the spices used in its creation. (I wouldn’t ever have a clue about such a thing.)
In terms of “worldliness,” these two individuals, both about my age, clearly eclipse me. I felt out-classed because I was. Although a casual observer would likely place us all in the “upper-middle-class” of American society because of our education, occupations, and income levels, by sitting next to these two, and listening in on their conversation, I was aware of what I’d call a “class distinction.”
Both of my parents were high-school graduates, and I was the first in my family to attend college. Subsequently, after my bachelor’s degree, I proceeded over the course of my lifetime to earn three more graduate degrees. In terms of educational attainment in this country, I must place in the top couple of percentage points: I am not only highly educated, I am (admittedly) overeducated.
However, I continue to be aware, in situations like this lunch-time conversation, that my roots, and class origins, are decidedly not “upper” anything. I remain small-town working-class at my core: my educational achievements alone having contributed to an enhanced class status. I possess a set of life experiences and financial deficiencies that have apparently kept me stuck with the outlook and narrowness of the lower-middle-class.
Surely a person more worldly than me has: Traveled. Experienced. Tasted. More.
My lack of worldliness is a source of embarrassment for me, and it’s something I try desperately to conceal...you know, other than when I am confessing to it here.
Soundtrack Suggestion
Oh lets get rich and buy our parents homes in the south of France
Lets get rich and give everybody nice sweaters and teach them how to dance
Lets get rich and build a house on a mountain making everybody look like ants
From way up there, you and I, you and I
(“You and I” – Ingrid Michaelson)
Times Are A-Changin’
It seems strange to admit at this point, but, with regard to my enthusiasm for the candidacy of Barak Obama in the 2008 presidential race, I was actually a “late comer.” It was in February 2007 that I first made some observations here about the Democratic candidate field, praising John Edwards for both his honesty and his astute policy messages (after an appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher). And, right up until the time he dropped out of the race, during the California primary in February of this year, Edwards was my guy.
I happen to have mailed in my California primary ballot the same day Edwards abruptly withdrew. So, that’s how I spent that particular vote. After that happened, I had to go shopping for another Democrat to support...but the decision, for me, was a no-brainer. Who was really left at that time that had any viability? Well, Hillary and Barak. And Hillary wasn’t really an option. She just wasn’t. Plus, I had been watching Obama during the entire campaign; he had been impressing me more and more, with everything he said (in that endless stream of early debates) and in every primary victory.
What did I see in Barak Obama, the guy with the funny name? Well, a true leader. Someone, like Edwards, I believed I could trust. Someone with whom I shared the same basic realities about, and aspirations for, the nation. Someone who could bring about real, and desperately needed, change.
I just knew he was going to be our next president. And I felt great about that. What a difference he could make for us! What a healthy, delightful and delicious contrast he would be to “W”!
From the time of the California primary to the late-summer conventions, I became more and more of a political junkie and an Obama enthusiast. In addition to the “fake news” updates I got every night on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, I began watching a lot of MSNBC’s coverage of the campaign. Keith Olbermann became a favorite. And, then, they gave Rachel Maddow her own hour adjoining Olbermann. Wow, two hours a night on MSNBC and a half hour on Comedy Central. I couldn’t get enough!
I watched all four nights of both nominating conventions. Not exactly the high drama those events used to be, but I was thrilled with Obama’s pick of Joe Biden and the massively-attended acceptance speech outdoors in Denver. And I was appalled at things like Rudy Giuliani’s rambling, inflammatory speech and McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin. (A “laugh-out-loud choice,” commented Rachel Maddow immediately.)
Then, there was the remainder of the campaign: several weeks of surprise after surprise, including an economy that was increasingly going down the toilet and one sadly-idiotic remark after another from Palin. I watched the four debates, and “hacked” my way through all of them. I sent out many, many tweets, in real time, during those events and even had one appear on national television on the Current Network.
Finally, finally, came election day. And night. I had voted by mail two weeks earlier, so no line-standing for me. Alas, I had to be on campus that night to work, but was able to follow a lot of the early coverage on MSNBC, live, online, in my office. The early returns had me wondering. Kentucky went to McCain right off. Well, no surprise: except I had a difficult time imagining anyone voting for McCain/Palin!
In the end, of course, everything turned out just fine. Obama was declared the projected victor while I was in a classroom, away from the coverage. But I made it home in time to see McCain’s concession speech. And, finally, saw in him a candidate I could respect.
The scene in Grant Park was amazing, as was Obama’s victory speech. We’re going to be having a different kind of national identity from now on, I’m guessing. And it’s about time! Our eight-year nightmare with Bush is about over. America. Has. Awakened. (!)
Soundtrack Suggestion
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside
And it is ragin’.
It’ll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’.(“The Times They Are A-Changin’” – Bob Dylan)