Occupy Is Dead

Mini Article By: John Paul McQuisten

I watched as the man within the Miami crowd presented a flower to the oncoming riot police while expelling statements seemingly intended to aim at the moral fibers of his would be oppressors. There were six individuals remaining the rest had chosen to disburse from the area as advised. The defiance to leave the area was stated to be loosely embedded in the first amendment right, unfortunately while the premise was sound the man was standing on private property. This was the last interaction with any Occupy movement I intend to have. Months ago I started looking at what change was actually being created from what more and more was looking like a cross between a circus and an UN-organized convention of causes. Myself and others had reached out to some of the groups protestors asking how we could continue to be productive and remain within the fight. It was clear rarely was anything with these efforts was being accomplished more often than not now Occupy was the joke of the media. Slowly the coverage dissipated I believe the moment to be all but dead.

In review it’s quite sad with all the people gathered, all that energy a year later my initial prediction carries on to be completely accurate. A YouTube video address I did to several Occupy camps highlighted just how I believed the effort was falling short of what could be accomplished. To me it poses the question does our generation have what it takes to not only make a stand, but also make a difference? After the tents being torn down, the mobilized cities of protest extinguished I can’t name a single measure that was initiated, carried out, and signed into legal legislation. The biggest thing that may have been proven is that today’s youth is ill prepared to do little more than rant and rave. I’m not alone national coverage saw this coming and in reflection much of it seems like a temper tantrum a lot of loud boisterous goings on, but at the core UN-able to express what was wrong and implement anything to resolve it.

Perhaps there are embers somewhere burning that will re-ignite the flames of democracy and the movement, but the chances of that seem slim. I take no joy in this overview for I too held out hope for the movement. At our core I believe more often than not we want to see the little guy come out victorious and the 99% movement embodied just that. So I will proceed with realistic optimism and remain thankful I was able to be a part of the movement in Minneapolis, California, Utah, and Las Vegas.