I'm sitting here watching all the news reports on the occupy Wall Street protesters. The mobs are trying to shut down the subways, blocking the streets, trying to basically shut down the city.
They claim to be for the 99% who they believe are the downtrodden of our country. What they either don't want to know or are too ignorant to believe, they are hurting the working people. They almost succeeded in shutting down a small restaurant on Wall Street. Business had gotten so bad that the owner was forced to lay off half of his staff. Eventually the barricades were removed and his business improved slightly. I wonder if it will ever recover.
I feel for the people who are just trying to make a living. They go to their jobs every day doing the best they can. And yet, they have to contend with closed streets, unruly mobs, the stench, the threats, etc. And the people who are paying huge rents to live in downtown Manhattan have had to contend with the crowds and noise 24/7. Don't they have rights too?
Things may be looking up though. Mayor Bloomberg finally grew a spine and ordered that once beautiful Zucotti Park be emptied and cleaned out. He SAID that the protesters would not be allowed to stay there overnight (I'll believe that when I see it). Today a stock trader and his brother got together with others, made signs saying, "Occupy a desk", "Get a job". I know that unemployment is high now, but there are some companies hiring. It just takes a little work and maybe taking a lesser job for the time being.
When asked how he would have handled the occupation, former Mayor Rudy Guliani said, "There is no sleeping in the park, end of story". This would have ended in the first week. Rudy, we miss you. Come back Rudy.
1 comment:
It's hard for me to fathom disobeying the order of the police. It trickles down: teacher/student, parent/child...Who is in charge? The good that could have been achieved by the protesters is being overshadowed by poor choices they are making.
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