—The 99% movement, or Occupy Wall Street, or Occupy America, or whatever you want to call it, is really being put to the test. In the last few days and weeks, we've seen raids on the tent cities in Oakland, SoCal, Portland, and earlier this week, in New York City. Despite a general lack of coverage (or shitty, biased coverage when there is) on mainstream news channels, the Occupy movement is growing. Seriously, no city is too small for it. Last week, while visiting friends in Raleigh, NC, we stumbled upon the Occupy Raleigh protests. They're everywhere and that's exciting. It's this sort of demonstration that excites me, much like when Madison, WI was occupied by citizens tired of their corrupt governor and officials. Folks are finally remembering their first amendment rights and finding that freedom of speech, freedom to peaceably assemble, isn't quite so simple when the 1% is ordering parks evicted, SWAT teams to raid encampments, and forcing hundreds, if not thousands, to leave their personal belongings and property behind to be trashed (which is exactly what happened early Tuesday morning at Wall Street).
—I'm sure I'll come back around to the protests, but here's another little something worth paying attention to: Mind Reading: What We Can Learn From the Dutch About Teen Sex. I've mentioned in the past America's over-reactions to sex in media, while being a-OK with violence, and this article speaks to that (well, to the sex, not the violence). Sex is such a taboo, parents won't/can't/don't talk to their kids about it openly and teenage pregnancies are through the roof. Is it really that much of a surprise when "abstinence only" education is in place? Or when Sex Ed is boycotted by religious groups? We have a youth that is being told to believe sex is something they can't have, that's dangerous, so of course they want it. Of course they're going to dive into it. And they're doing it without education, without understanding it. The longer that goes on, the longer we're going to see huge numbers of teenage pregnancies and abortions and STDs amongst those of us just entering sexual maturity. Sex shouldn't be a taboo. It should be respected and discussed, with younger-than-me folks. Because gorram it, they are going to get down and dirty regardless. May as well make it so they aren't ashamed, embarrassed, and uneducated about it.
—To get someone else's take on the Occupy protests, let's turn to comic book legend, Frank Miller:
"“Occupy” is nothing but a pack of louts, thieves, and rapists, an unruly mob, fed by Woodstock-era nostalgia and putrid false righteousness."I highly recommend you take a gander at the entire rant, because it's absurd. More than anything, I feel bad for Mr. Miller, whose fame exists because of the rapists and louts he's deriding. There's no denying the man was talented. He did things with Batman that genuinely revolutionized the character. Same with Daredevil. His runs on those series' are among the best in the business. But, much like Alan Moore, Frank Miller has gone nuts. He sounds paranoid and a good bit like the ever-present talking heads from The Dark Knight Returns. I don't know where he's been getting his information about the protests (I imagine FOX), but he's totally unaware that some of the protestors themselves are veterans, whether from Iraq and Afghanistan or Vietnam, Korea, and World War II. The man deserves all the negative attention he gets from this. Hopefully it'll keep him from writing another All-Star Batman & Robin.
—You all remember how Bank of America was going to start charging their members a monthly fee to use debit cards? Well, they dropped that plan. But mostly because they didn't need the money. Turns out, they've been getting it directly from the most well-off among us: the unemployed! Apparently, 41 states (that's out of 50, for those keeping count) have deals in place with major banks when it comes to allowing the unemployed to collect their benefits. Said deals allow the banks to charge a ridiculous amount for citizens to withdraw their benefits. Very classy, very stand-up work from some of the nation's largest banks. Nothing really screams 'Murica to me more than corporate greed, screwing the citizens, and big banks and governments in bed together.
—I don't know what to make of American Horror Story. My problem right now is that I'm expecting sense, logic, and consistency. This show is pulpy and over-the-top. The sooner I make amends with that and accept what it is, not what it could be (I have the same problem with the Star Wars prequels), I'm sure I'll enjoy it more. Are any of you watching it? What do you all think of it?
—Here's a great read a friend of mine on thefacebook shared during the week. It's by the former chief of police in Seattle, Norm Stamper, and he's examining the paramilitarizing (that is not a word) of the American police force and how that affected his response to the World Trade Organization protests in the '90s to the police response now, with Occupy Wall Street. He makes a plethora of great points about not just how police are responding, but why they are responding in this way. Mr. Stamper isn't the only former policeman unhappy with how things are playing out, and how the police are being played and portrayed: Retired Captain Ray Lewis of Philadelphia found himself in a pair of handcuffs for his own civil disobedience. There's also World War II veteran, Murray Gittelman, who also protested the Vietnam war. In Oakland, there's ex-marine Scott Olsen, who was hospitalized after police in Oakland fired either a tear gas canister or a rubber bullet that struck him in the head. My point? These protestors aren't the dirty, jobless hippies our wonderful media has been portraying them as. This is a group of people, all ages, races, occupations, and backgrounds, coming together because they recognize a broken system. Whether you agree or disagree with them, if you're reading this blog, odds are you're part of the 99% and they're fighting for you. I don't want to preach about this, so I'll leave you with this (and kudos to whomever created it, anonymous internet!):
