By Rebecca DiFede — After reading article after article detailing the persistence and baffling disorganization of the Occupy movements across the country, I began to wonder what exactly the purpose was. Sure, at first it seemed like they were there to stand with their fellow constituents on Wall Street, but after three months it leaves me with some questions.
What exactly do the occupiers want? At what point do they declare themselves victorious and go back to whatever holes they crawled out of? Or do they intend to permanently change the address on their license/state ID card to “McPherson Square”?
It is clear that they are dissatisfied with something that is going on, loosely related to the government, however it is not apparent as to exactly what that is.
Having done an interview with some Occupy residents before, I learned that many of them are unemployed. And not to be presumptuous, but at a certain point these huddled masses need to bathe, use the bathroom and eat, and if they are unemployed and therefore have no income, who exactly is paying for all of it?
If these people are purchasing these supplies for the purpose of the protest, or even if they owned them previously, it implies that they are in better financial shape than they would have the rest of the nation believe. It’s a little hypocritical to cry out for a job from the grassy expanse of a field, only to adjourn to your two person tent complete with wind flaps, a waterproof door and enough space for your 17 inch MacBook.
And if these Occupiers are, by chance, receiving assistance from the government which are in turn paying for their tents and constant access to food, water and clothing, then hypocritical doesn’t even begin to cover it. They lash out against the upper class, who pay the highest taxes, and in turn take government assistance which is paid for by taxes. So essentially they are giving hard-working Americans the finger while simultaneously stealing from their wallets.
In either case, it would be nice to see some progress from the movement towards a shared goal, other than building an eye sore in the middle of a public space for the sake of free speech.
Rebecca DiFede is a contributing editor to Americans for Limited Government.
