The Occupy Movement: Who are Those Guys?

Butch and Sundance scrambling over boulders to evade capture cannot shake a relentless posse uncannily tracking them across rivers and rock. Exasperated, they turn to each other and ask: “Who are those guys?”

America wants to know of the : “Who are those guys?”  At Inglewood Plaza in Sammamish on Saturday I took a survey. I want to set the record straight. Those guys are not just a bunch of anarchists and hippies, rabble rousers and ne’er do wells that just want to cause trouble.

The main stream media focuses on trouble. Images of orderly middle class professionals and homemakers exercising their first amendment right to assemble peacefully do not draw viewers.

Around the country, around the world, people of every ethnicity and economic pigeon hole (except for the 1%) are gathering together in mostly non-violent protests.

And what do they want? That is the second most popular question. On Saturday dozens of signs, neatly drawn by organizers Pat Martin, Laura Thomas and their volunteers, spelled it out.

No War, Invest at Home

Jobs not Cuts

Take Money out of Politics

Medicare for Everybody

The word from these picture perfect Americans:

“If kids can’t afford to go to college or even get a job, they will become troublemakers. Everyone needs hope. Without it we are headed for trouble.”

Carol told me she is a stay at home Mom looking for a part time job after her husband got laid off. They did everything that was expected of model parents and caring people, paid their taxes, bought several Thanksgiving bags of groceries for the needy every year, saved for their children’s college education. College is in doubt now as they are living off that money.

This story is typical of the 99%. And what does that mean? It means 99% of America’s wealth is controlled by 1%. The 99% is struggling to find work, pay for college, under employed, and targeted by banks committing fraud, burdened by outrageous health care costs, paying for wars that drain our already tapped out treasury.

The overriding message is this. When did the Founding Fathers say people don’t matter? They didn’t. Those that want to discredit the Occupy movement by painting it as a fringe group are simply mistaken.

My informal survey yielded these results. The group broke down like this. Retirees, mostly retiring from professions like teaching. Many teachers, including college professors and school administrators. A small business owner, a few high school students and two homemakers. The others work at regular jobs at companies like UPS and Costco.

There was not a single anarchist in the bunch.