So, as some of you know I've been moderating the chat room of the OWS livestream for over a week as FloridaMom, I've been there since day one, watching, witnessing, encouraging. I also home school my 16 year old high functioning autistic son. We've had many conversations about OWS and why this is important, and why I am volunteering my time to do this since I cannot be there in person for health reasons.
This year we're doing an in-depth unit study of the civil war. I waited until this year because slavery in and of itself was a difficult concept for him to grasp. He was not raised to see any difference based on skin color or belief. He does understand discrimination though. Most special needs kids do on some level. He is delayed in many areas but he's a very smart kid.This month we've been studying the election of Abraham Lincoln and the reasons for the secession.
Today he made some interesting comparisons with things going on in our current world.
Note his observations are in no way meant to demean or undermine the horrors of slavery in our past, he's just making a comparison between the political environment then and now.
The top five causes for the civil war are commonly understood to be; the economic and social differences between the north and the south, state rights vs. federal rights, Slave vs. non-slave proponents, the growth of the abolition movement, and the election of Abraham Lincoln. We discussed these in depth, the viewpoints of each side and what each meant, and what each failed to see about the other.
He then applied these to what is going on currently in this country.
Economic and social differences: Between the 1% and the 99%. These have in many cases grown so large that the 1% has no perspective on the lives of the rest of us. The economy has been in recession and we're looking down the barrel of a possible depression or at least a double dip recession. This will affect the 99% MUCH greater than the top 1%.
State Rights vs. Federal rights: Many issues here ranging from health care and infrastructure to same-sex marriage and medical marijuana, as well as the whole "drown the government in the bathtub" crowd.
"Slave" vs. "non-slave" proponents: He likened it to two different things: people vs. corporations and also migrant workers/illegal immigrants vs. States. He's not sure which one will have the most profound effect, though he suspects the former.
The growth of Abolitionists: He commented that OWS was both abolitionists and 'slaves' in the current time, the Occupy movement being the voice of the oppressed 99%. We are all joined against the oppression of the corporations, but we have more rights which allow us to to remain non-violent.
The Election of Abraham Lincoln: In some ways this is in line with the election of President Obama, but he's more worried about this next election. If the tea party splits off and runs their own candidate, the President could be re-elected without having the 'popular vote', much as Lincoln was. And as we can only assume from what we've seen that the republican party and tea party not only refuse to learn from history but refuse to learn it entirely there is concern that this could happen.
He knows Governor Perry was already talking about Texas Seceding in the past, and has asked what would happen to his Aunt who lives in Houston if that happens. She's a single mom with two small children, he's worried she wouldn't have the money to move. He doesn't want us to be fighting each other. I've used the Occupy Wall Street movement to allay some of his fears that we can do this this time without resorting to violence and war.
He is really rooting for Occupy Wall Street and other Occupations to be successful. He's spreading the word on the mmorgs that he frequents, teens from across the US are being educated in what we are doing and why it is important by my challenged, intelligent son. He is worried, begging that we remain non-violent, that we, the adults find a solution since he is still too young to vote by two years. He is learning about war in history, he does not want to live through it at home, in his own country. I haven't the heart to explain to him what war today looks like compared to war then. He's seen images from Afghanistan and Iraq, and we have a close family friend who fought there. I'm sure he can imagine on his own without my pointing them out, but he doesn't talk
about it.
This is why I got involved with the Occupy Wall Street movement, for those who feel helpless under the oppression of the corporate government. For those who do not want to go to war, but want their rights and our economy and their hope restored. For those who's pensions were whittled away, for those who are hunting for work, for those struggling to make ends meet. For unions forced out, for workers safety and rights dissolved, for people trying to make student loan payments working jobs at minimum wage because there are no jobs to be had in their field. For those forced from their homes to fulfill the greed of the banks who refused to help them. For our children, who want to have the same chance for prosperity their grandparents and greatgrandparents had. This is why I spend 10-12 hours a day making sure the face of the movement, the chat that accompanies the lives stream, which is where many questions are answered remains a unified, friendly place to be. I can't be on the streets in New York. Most days I can't be on the streets in my home town, because my breathing is just too bad to handle it. But this, this I can do!! I can get the word out, I can raise my voice as one of the 99%!
I ask that you join your own voice to ours, you too are part of the 99%. If you won't raise your voice for yourself, raise it for your children, your grandchildren, your nieces and nephews, the cute kid down the street that always waves to you when you drive by! Many of the children are not paying attention like my son is. Politics is one of his obsessions the past few years. But this will effect them. The outcome of this fight is important.
The Occupation is spreading, across the nation, and across the world. New York City, LA, Seattle, SanFransico, DC, Chicago, Philly, Harrisburg, Portland, Tampa, Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, London, more cities than I could possibly name here. If you cannot be there, you can still support those who are. We need things to survive the cold of winter, things to survive rain, snow, medical supplies, tarps, tents (in some areas). We need the message to spread, the movement to grow until we cannot be silenced.
Look to www.occupywallst.org or www.occupytogether.org or www.nycga.cc for more information about occupations and how to begin one.
In the words of Captain Sheridon of Babylon 5: "My father always told me, never start a fight, always finish one." This is a fight without violence, a fight without guns and mortar or cannon balls, but it is a fight. We cannot afford to not finish it.