happy may day. some thoughts about ows

ows- the acronym for 'occupy wall street.'

you remember that movement, right? they haven't really gone anywhere. it's been kicking around doing its thing but with the volume a little lower than it used to be. it seemed much momentum for the ows movement was sorta lost when the nypd were able to lock down and effectively evict protesters from zucotti park (aka- freedom square).

so today, on "may day," ows organizers decided to try and throw together a a whole day jam packed with ows action. the idea was for everyone to call out of work and see how the country operates without the 99%. obviously not everyone called out of work today... but that was the idealistic vision behind it all. everyone would call out and take to the streets.

and take it to the streets they did (i didn't unfortunately). but i saw pictures and video and read stories about it throughout the day. there were all sorts of parades and gatherings and noise being made in new york city. and i was also seeing and reading things from other major cities across the country as well.

this makes me happy. i'm a big fan of the 'occupy wall street' movement (if you've followed this blog or known me for the past year or so, you know all about me and my brother being part of a mass arrest on the brooklyn bridge). i'm a big fan of anything that aims to make a whole lot of noise without the use of violence to try and get a valid, positive point across.

that positive point? mostly to get money and corporations out of politics. that's where all the problems begin. if you want to break it all down on how our economy got so fucked up in the first place, it can all be traced back to politicians' pockets being lined with filthy money from billionaires and corporations who don't give a fuck about the middle class or the poor.

and sure, other people come out and bring their messages with them too. stuff i usually agree with: no more bailouts for banks and corporations, end wars, tax the rich, reverse corporate person hood, reinstate the glass-steagall act, etc. it turns into a smorgasbord of what the fuck is wrong with this country at this moment in time.

so i'm glad to see it back and sorry i didn't partake in it. i had my reasons. my arrest on the brooklyn bridge was taken off my record like it never happened based on the condition that i don't get arrested in the following six months... that was january, so i have till some time in june before that little caveat goes away.

and it's not like i would go out on the streets with the intention to get arrested. but shit happens. there were many arrests today. when it comes to protesting, sometimes you're only getting busted for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and nothing else. plus, i wear my heart on my sleeve. i like to make some noise. i like to get up front and see what's happening. so taking all that into consideration, i figure enough people would do their part today and get things back into action.

but i plan to get out there in the very near future. i understand that for a movement to work, it needs people. and anyone who feels connected to the movement should feel some sort of obligation to get out there and be a body on the streets at some point. no bodies on the streets, no movement.

the most popular criticism i get from people who disagree with my participation in the ows movement is, what is it exactly i hope to accomplish by doing this? me, i just wanna make some noise. i just wanna be heard. if you look around the past few months, ows has brought light to some important issues, issues our politicians won't bring up unless the masses are in the streets shouting too loud to be ignored.

i can see how some people see all the protesting as an inconvenience to others around them. but shit needs to be said and screamed and most importantly heard. there's a lot of important issues that go on being ignored because people with big money don't care about them. we don't have the money but we have the numbers. it's just democracy people. come on in or leave a nasty insult in the comment section.