During the interview, the reporter asked him if he had talked to many people who are very angry. "There are no angry people here", he told her. "What about the people holding up the signs and yelling"? "That's not anger", he said, "that's passion".
I decided to bring my friend to Occupy Wall Street today so that she can see what is going on and get a better understanding of it. I've been popping in and out for the past week or so. Today, we arrive around 3:30 and we are waiting for my friend Al who is predictably several hours late, but I give him a chance to be on time before we enter the park.
We are across the street on Broadway, near the corner leaning against one of the police barricades when we overhear a conversation between a couple, who appear to be tourists and a man who appears to be local and is pontificating about what is going on in the park. He is, validly, lamenting the loss of the use of the park to the neighborhood. His statements about what he thinks is going on is completely invalid. "This is just an opportunity for them to sit around and do nothing", he says. The two tourists nod wisely and join in the speculation about what is going on in the park. This goes on for a while.
I realize that they have no idea that this, what is happening here (ain't exactly clear) is, right now, the most important thing in the world to the people in the park, in fact, right now at this moment it is the most important thing to me. I turn to the well dressed Woman who is nodding sagely as this man speaks and say to her, "Why don't you go into the park and talk to them and find out what is really going on"?
She turns to me angrily, "I don't have to talk to anybody, I'm having a conversation over here". I respond mildly, "Well I'm standing right here, I can hear you and I'm just making a suggestion". She looks at me, I am wearing my leather coat, my hair is done, my makeup is on.."You don't even know what is going on in there". "Actually", I say, "I do". She says something else about how she isn't talking to me and about how "that is the problem" and I turn to her again and say to her "You are right, that is the problem. People don't talk to each other. That is the problem with America today".
I turn back to my friend. She says "it must be hard to love your enemies". "That's nothing", I say. I was the hated Liberal moderator on a Conservative forum. I can take allot from people. The only thing that I can't tolerate is any kind of racism or antisemitism. This is just ignorance. I can take that.
If this couple had gone into the park and talked to some of the people there, perhaps they would have spoken to the young man we ran into who was dressed in a suit and tie. He has been out of school for two years and has not been able to find a job. Fortunately he has no student debt but he is now going to go to graduate school and will have some debt when he is finished with his education. What about the people who do have student debt and no job? They went to school, because that was what the Echo boomers were expected to do. They were expected to go to college and to get jobs when they graduated. They are now being blamed for making that choice.
Perhaps they would have seen that there were all kinds of people in the park, from all walks of life. Yes, a few of them were dressed bizarrely and writhing around in yoga positions but the majority of them were talking to each other and to curious visitors and many of them looked just like me, just like them, just like their grandmothers or their uncle Joe.
I am not a Christian but my friend is. so we stopped to speak to a middle aged man holding a sign quoting Matthew 6:24 (You cannot serve both God and Money). I don't remember everything that he said, but he made the cogent point that if corporations are people, as the supreme court says, then they are psychopaths.
We stopped at the coaches table to speak with Michael Badger who is a life coach and has been coaching people in ways that they can work with Occupy Wall Street. This is extremely intense work. While we were there, a reporter from Regional News Network pulled him aside for an interview. During the interview, the reporter asked him if he has talked to many people who are very angry. "There are no angry people here", he told her. "What about the people holding up the signs and yelling"? "That's not anger", he said, "that's passion".
We saw her talking on her phone. She returned later and told him that they weren't going with the story, that they were going in another direction. "They want anger", she said..
Throughout the evening, I explained to my friend the difference between Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party, as I see it. I told her about the Student loan debt that I racked up when my son was a senior in College and I was unemployed. I could afford to send him to college when he started, I explained. I told about how I have no retirement, no savings except for (ironically) a few shares that I purchased in Apple 10 years ago. I am better off than most people. I am employed but I am still not very far from potential disaster.
I explained to my daughter, who works for [redacted] bank in an awful entry level banking job that no, I am not sitting around in the park smoking pot and that yes, I do want her to get rich and take care of me when I'm old.
Later, Van Jones, the person that I admire the most, arrived. I was too star-struck to speak to him, but I did get my picture taken with him. Google him.
Cross Posted on NomadNewYork.Com