Occupy OUR Streets

On September 17, 2011 “Occupy Wall Street” was born by the group Adbusters, a assembly of people based out of Canada who symbolize themselves as the 99% who aim to fight against the 1% of people who hold most of the worlds wealth. “According to a survey of Zuccotti Park protesters by the Baruch College School of Public Affairs published on October 19, of 1,619 web respondents, 1/3 were older than 35, half were employed full-time, 13% were unemployed and 13% earned over $75,000. 27.3% of the respondents called themselves Democrats, 2.4% called themselves Republicans, while the rest, 70%, called themselves independents,” but what about the forgotten ones. What about that lower social economical class who have been affected long before the middle class, the ones who are accustomed to working double and triples as means not to get on top, but just to survive, or what about those who “protest” in ways that are not in the conventional forms of marching and sit-ins?

When it gets to that point where middle class Americans across our nation are taking a stand, and lobbying against those “1 percenters” then America almost has to take a glance that the struggle that these people are facing, but who is there to sympathize with the forgotten.

Even though any race may fall in the low economical standing I want to focus on African American men and women, the people who resemble me, those whom I have hands on experience and eye witness accounts in dealing with this “Occupy Our Streets” matter.

Usually when it comes to women usually their options are few. Many have been placed in these economical standings because they have been born into them, or birth children that have placed them there. Sometimes working your way through college is not an option once you add up daycare costs that will become associated with a parent when they have to leave for these extended periods. One of the few options that these single women have is working 2-3 three low paying jobs, or jobs that require them to work odd hours that consist of doubles and triples, but at the end of the month once expenses are accounted for those many hours clocked in still don’t seem to add up to much. This is the only way that they have to protest against those “one percenters”, but to most it may not seem like a movement, but the only way they can compete for economical prosperity is to work crazy amount of hours at jobs that won’t pay much because of how easily they can be replaced by others who are in the same circumstances as them, or worst.

Men on the other hand have always protested in ways that weren’t fundamental to how the “Occupy Wall Street” are doing. A lot of men have pride issues that can be the motivational factor for you to do better for your family, or be the reason for its down fall. Pride can force a male to actually become a man and go out and work those 60 hours a week job to provide, or for a lot it seems like make him a coward and walk away. Then those all the others who only form of protest they know are to go out in their hoods, ghettos, and projects and start selling dope, robbing folks, hustling in whatever means that will provide for those babies, and/or wife/mother at home that’s depending on you to bring income back to the house to cover the rent, food, lights, and gas bills. Most people don’t grow up dreaming to become criminals. After adolescent years seeing people in their struggling communities performing confirming to these roles it almost acts as a social brain washing that tells that this is what your destined to be. Most men have too much pride to be your local burger flipping chef at McDonalds, or your express lane cashier at Wal-Mart. Also how many women are proud to claim that they are in relations with someone whose current career path is that of a McDonald’s employee or Wal-Mart lifer? Hold up….I’ll Wait. Growing up women too, but , men are always in competition with others to make money, have the flashiest car, be the best dressed, and smash the most “b*****s.” How do you tell an 18 year old that has grown up around poverty, but sees nothing but luxury living when he looks in magazines, the t.v., and local neighborhood superstars that he can get by on 7.25? You cant tell most because his pride won’t allow him to listen. No one man wants to be the guy that no woman chooses, or the one who is ridiculed because his sneakers from the clearance rack, or that feeling of self worthlessness because his pockets are touching. So he ends up “occupying his streets” by the only way he knows how. He doesn’t care whether you accept it, but he just wants understanding, but at the end of the day he doesn’t care if you understand it either.

In the words of Clifford Harris (T.I.),“before you going judging these people, loving them won’t because at the end of the day they’re just doing their job.” Even though its wrong at the end of the in terms of how it affects society, its has all moral standing when it comes to providing for their families. No one wants to be the mother of son that sold drug, and no child wants to have a mother that has to work 60-70 hours a week because they need that physical love, but what can you do when you are constantly teased with an American Dream in a nation that still looks at you as a second class citizen.