What's Been Occupying My Mind?

Alternatively Titled:
Wherein I Break My Own Rule About Writing OpEd Pieces.

Take your pick.

For the last five and half weeks we've all been hearing about the Occupy Wall Street Movement, and the para-Occupy Movements that have emerged; Occupy Moncton, Occupy Fredericton, Occupy Saint John...the list goes on.

While I absolutely believe that people have the right to congregate peacefully and express their concerns and opinions, here are somethings I don't understand:

The overall direction of this movement.  From what I have read and understand, there are no defined demands or goals.  The protesters in Zuccotti Park are divided amongst themselves as to what the demands are or even if they should have demands.  To me, protesting because of lack of responsible legislation and then turning around and saying, "it's the job of the nation's leader to draft legislation [which is true] and if they had done their jobs we wouldn't be protesting" seems a bit of a circular argument.
 
Locally speaking, is it reasonable to expect that if something works on Wall Street it will also work on King Street?  New York City has more people in it than the whole of the province of New Brunswick.  The sheer force of numbers are on NYC's side.  I would be surprised if there are 50 people in the Tent City in King Square.  What is this supposed to accomplish?  I'm not saying don't do anything, I'm questioning the effectiveness of what is being done.

Do the [live in] protesters not have family/home/job responsibilities?  And is ignoring those responsibilities to protest the fact that the government has ignored their responsibilities not just a tad hypocritical?  If someone loses their job to be a part of this Occupy Movement, should they forfeit the right to draw EI - a government funded subsidy?  Conversely, if some of the protesters are currently unemployed and drawing EI I honestly don't see how constructive it is to be sitting in a tent in a park, biting the hand that feeds you.

If I'm being very honest, I have to say that I think this whole thing is not a little embarrassing, trivial and dare I say greedy, in light of what is going on in parts of the rest of the world.  I understand the 1% vs 99% principle.  I am a part of the 99%.  But does the North American 99% grasp that compared to the most rest of the world, we have it made in the shade.  We are part of the 1%, globally speaking.  Sure, I live paycheque to paycheque - sometimes it's my own fault for not being responsible; most of the time, however, it's because I run out of money before I run out of month.  That being considered, I still have a roof over my head, food on my plate, clothes on my back, a job, and a government system in place to help me get those things if I can't or even won't get them for myself.  And that's not including the extras that I have: a car, a Cottage, and some disposable income with which to entertain myself.  That's a ridiculous disparity from the people on the Horn of Africa who are suffering and dying from a horrible famine; or refugees displaced because of war - living in a tent isn't an act of protest for them, it's a way of life; or children as young as five years old who are sold into the sex slave market.  My mind can't even comprehend what these little babies see and are forced to do in the run of a 24 hour period.  We are blessed people living a blessed lifestyle in two equally blessed countries, and we take many, many, many rights and privileges for granted.


So in a nutshell:

Do I think the government is perfect? 
No

Do I think we have a right to responsible government?
Yes, because we are blessed to live in a democracy.

Do I think that we have a right to protest a non responsible government?
Yes, because we are blessed to live in a democracy.

Do I think that we should expect change in a non responsible government?
Yes, because we are blessed to live in a democracy.

Do I think that the Occupy Movement is the best way to effect that change?
I have my doubts.