By Joe Johnson (The Cascade) – Email
Date Posted: October 20, 2011
Print Edition: October 19, 2011
What is to be made of that Occupy movement which has taken hold across North America and the world? I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this question since it began on Wall Street a month ago. Present throughout any discussion is the overarching theme that the government has found its way into the hands of big money. Money that is used to buy and shape the political agenda in the favour of the elite and rich corporations which have no other purpose than to increase their profitability on the backs of the working class.
While the protestors initially began on New York’s Wall Street, and have been using Zuccotti Park as their provisional home since, the flames have sparked the rest of the country to join in. But really, how could it have not? Not only are politicians now a commodity, the US is in such bad shape financially. Unemployment is at record levels. Job growth is virtually non-existent. Their debt has grown from $6 to $14.7 trillion, in 10 years. And the top one per cent of income earners own a disproportionate 38 per cent of all wealth in America. This is all while banks were bailed out with the taxpayers’ stimulus money, just to have those banks sit on it instead of feeding the economy.
But that’s the US. We all know Canada is nothing like that, right? Sure, we didn’t have to bail our banks out. And we have a solid economy, even if it is a little too reliant on south of the border. According to a study by the Conference Board of Canada, the rate of our inequality is growing faster than that country in which we’ve become all too smug about. And when compared to 17 peer countries, Canada is the only country to have had its grade dropped during the period of the mid 90s to mid 2000s.
Vancouver has allowed us in BC to see firsthand the great wealth divide. Just hang out at Hastings and Main for about two seconds and it can’t be any more evident. What should be stapled to the beautiful glass facade should be the designation of having the highest low-income rate of all the large Canadian cities. So it can’t be any surprise that the city, along with Kelowna, Nelson, Nanaimo and Victoria are in step with the rest of Canada in giving rise to their own Occupy protests.
The Vancouver Art Gallery was, on October 15, turned into Vancouver’s version of Zuccotti Park. It’s unknown exactly how many people materialized on the first day, but initial estimates do peg it to have been within 4000-5000. In leery anticipation of the mass gathering, the VPD made it clear that they would have their presence known. And they have to be as they’ll be scrutinized just as much the protestors. They have even suggested that people refrain from wearing masks – but really, what is everyone to do with their Guy Fawkes’ masks?
The non-violent Occupy movement could quickly be slandered and credibility destroyed if any criminal act occurs. It would certainly be justifiable for the police to be ready to quash any activity that has the potential to turn things upside-down, as long as they don’t demonstrate an abuse of power.
On the Occupy Vancouver website, they’re offering tips on how the protestors should handle potential interviews. The direction is to make it clear that each individual is only speaking for their self, to have a few main points, to be aware of how they’re interpreted, and to think of the audience. With that in mind, I was in attendance to talk to a few people regarding their own views. It was interesting as it seemed that nobody was there simply for the spectacle.
There was Sheryl Mueller who was only there during the day. She made a succinct statement to me, “Our voices have to be heard. And as a big voice, they’ll hear it… they have no choice but to hear it.” She’s going to keep coming back until there is a change.
I also talked to a woman who would only give her first name, Darcy. Homeless, and with her boyfriend and dog, she brought her tent up from Stanley Park. With the Occupy protest falling during the Homeless Action Week, this was her cause.
I then spoke with Jay Summers, who said that all that was wrong in the world was rooted in a “Global Greedfestival”. He brought up how corporations like Monsanto and large weapon companies sit on trillions of dollars while 30,000 children in Somalia have died in the last three months. He’s there for as long as he can be.
