Lately I've been swamped at work, with no time for Daily Kos, let alone political action of any stripe. If I were a conspiracy-minded individual, I'd suggest that THE MAN, in conjunction with THE ILLUMINATI, working on behalf of THE PENTAVERATE, had a list of folks who needed to feel the full force of their control, any time rebellion was afoot.
But despite the presence of black helicopters circling overhead, I still managed to send an LTE out to my local papers.
There's little-to-no substance to the thing, given the 300-word limit that most papers put on their letters (a limit which I defied... DEFIED I say!), but I present it to you here to copy, tweak, and use for your own purposes, if you're so inclined.
My tiny contribution to the movement comes after the squiggle.
A particular line of attack seems to have emerged against the 'Occupy Wall Street' protesters in New York City and elsewhere, that would be funny if it weren't so painful:
"The protests are costing us money."
Already cash-strapped municipalities are paying their police forces overtime in order to monitor the protests. Streets need to be shutdown, and traffic rerouted, in order to accomodate the protesters. And stores that find themselves on the frontlines are supposedly losing customers, who don't wish to brave the crowds (this last one ignores the fact that even protesters need to avail themselves of food, water, and other basic necessities).
But here's where the comedy comes in: the costs that are involved in managing these protests are utterly dwarfed by the trillions of dollars that the targets of the protests have stolen from the American taxpayer.
You want to complain about the costs of police overtime? Don't blame the protesters. Blame the wealthiest among us, who pushed for an extension of the Bush tax cuts. Blame the defense contractors who continue to profit from our expensive and seemingly endless wars. Blame the investment firms who gambled big with our retirement funds, lost, received government bailouts, and then handed out millions of dollars in bonuses to the same employees responsible for the whole mess.
Every dollar that went to these recipients of corporate welfare, is a dollar that couldn't be funneled back into state and municipal coffers, couldn't be used to help small businesses, and couldn't be used to create jobs.
The 'Occupy Wall Street' protesters are engaging in activities that are enshrined by the First Amendment to the Constitution; namely: freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. It's distasteful at the very least, and unpatriotic at the very most, to turn public opinion against them through the use of a price tag. Despite what the corporate newsmedia believes, political speech shouldn't be limited to those with the bank accounts to pay for it.
I know, I know. The whole thing feels a little like an after-school special, in which the All-American high school quarterback learns that, gosh, there are some things that are just more important than football! But 300 words don't allow for preciseness of speech, let alone subtlety.
I just felt like I had to give these guys-and-gals a little something more than bail money and a few pizzas, if I couldn't be there taking the hits with them.
UPDATE:
Don't forget to donate to Occupy Boston, or your own Friendly Neighborhood Occupy movement.