Why Attack the Messenger?

I see the signs.  My Occupy Wall Street posts on Facebook have less and less “Likes.”  I stopped clicking “Share.”  But my position didn’t change.

I’ve been reading a lot from people who oppose the Occupy Wall Street position.  Instead of giving thumbnail sound-byte type information, I’ve come up with a few thoughts of my own.

I still applaud those who “took to the streets” when their voice was not being heard. They rose from the ashes of apathy and in spite of being ignored for weeks, or worse, pressed on.  And now, as temperatures drop, they continue to stand.  This simple act of OWNING their country, and not throwing up their hands in disgust and resignation, makes me smile. It gives me hope.

And then I read more about their situation. My hope starts to fade.  I think about my kids' futures. I think about the Oakland police, ill-equipped to deal appropriately with peaceful protestors. I think about how quickly America is to support underdogs in oppressive regimes in OTHER countries, but maybe not when it happens at home. Focusing on these issues doesn't really solve the larger problem facing us all.

So I read some more.

The Wall Street Journal (Nov.7, 2011) wrote “GenerationJobless:  For Those Under 24, A Portrait in Crisis.”

Though workers of all ages face economic headwinds, teens and adults under the age of 24, especially those with little or no college education, are faring the worst, economists say. The 16.7% unemployment rate among Americans in that group is more than twice the rate for workers 25 and older.

And if you want to see Labor Statistics about how the young adults are faring, look at this:

“The Kids Are Not Alright” from the Economic Policy Institute.

In the past 4 recessions, young adults are experiencing a significantly higher rate of unemployment AND it’s gone on for more weeks than ever seen before.

If the middle-aged employed people could stop focusing on themselves and look at the bigger picture, we might actually find a solution. But instead, they say “Stop railing against those of us who have done well!” Why do the entrepreneurs who HAVE done well, voice their concerns against these protestors?  Why not side with them and say, “Yes, corporations are completely out of control and something must be done to stop them.” Instead they get self-focused, fearing their slice of the pie might get a little smaller.   Shouldn’t  ALL Americans be horrified that banks got bailouts and didn’t let any of it trickle down?  Shouldn’t everyone be enraged when corporations take over of our political system and congressional choices are being bought and sold by lobbyists?

When people want less government intervention for big businesses, I’m struck by the thought that that’s exactly what happened.  No one was watching them and they ran amuck.  It was the lack of government intervention that exacerbated the problem and took Americans to the brink of disaster. The temporary tax cuts were supposed to be just that…temporary. But everyone got comfortable with paying less taxes and…surprise, surprise!... our country has less money!  I’d love to say that businesses took that opportunity of tax relief and found a way to make their business more stable. But that’s not what they did. They took the money and banked it. They set up systems to move the jobs overseas. They fretted that the government might want more from them so they hunkered down and didn’t do anything that would help the American economy.

Facts are facts, too many people are unemployed.  And our unemployment numbers aren’t even accurate because if a person stops looking for a job in their chosen field, they’re not even included in the numbers any longer. Then there are those who are patching together jobs at Starbucks and McDonalds, just to keep their head above water. This is not what our young adults envisioned their life would look like. It’s not what we told them it would look like. They’ve entered their early adult years with debt and no safety net. We sat by and let Big Corporations steamroll our economy….and no, I am not talking about your small business on Main Street.  I don’t know whether it’s because we (adults 35-55) were so busy trying to stay afloat ourselves that we didn’t look into it, if we counted on the Anderson Coopers of the world to keep everyone honest, or we were intimidated when CEOs implied we were not savvy enough to understand. But  maybe we just liked aligning ourselves with The Successful People.   

 

And so when unemployment rises, and people are saying, “we believed you, but you lied,” the response is, “Now, now, you just don’t understand.”  “Trust us, we know what’s best.” Or “What are all these ignorant ragamuffins doing protesting on Wall Street? They just want a free handout.”    

Maybe they don’t understand a lot of the intricacies – I know I don’t.  But they know they are unemployed. They know that large corporations are doing remarkably well in this economy that is crushing them.   When opponents to Occupy Wall Street shout, “What do you want? Socialism?” Why weren’t they yelling when the government went the socialism route to bail out banks or loaned billions to automobile giants? Have you seen Detroit? That money never made it to the blue-collared workers.

Instead of writing against the protestors, what if we simply helped young adults find a way out of this dark hole?  What if we stopped with partisan finger-pointing  and took time to see how to get our country back?  Prolonged unemployment has serious ramifications on any society.  We need to look at the real problems and not get carried away with picking at the messengers of Occupy Wall Street. Does anyone else hear Big Business Corporations chuckling to each other about how the masses are turning on each other and ignoring what they’re doing?

"I'm Right and You're Evil"

It’s a little shocking to read it that way, right?  Yet that’s the position of so many people.  This type of thinking permeates the airwaves of radio and TV.  For some reason, we have come to tolerate a violent rhetoric in our society today.  Congressmen can shout “you’re a liar” at the President during a speech. Homeland Security committee members are spit upon. Talk show hosts scream at their guests.  This display of disrespect has reached a Jersey Shore level, even in places where we expect decorum and civility to be present during discourse. And these are simply the tips of the iceberg.

Everyone needs to repudiate these kinds of actions and ways of communicating. Openly. Without hesitation.  We need to eliminate visuals, such as putting people in crosshairs for visual effect. We need to openly oppose those who say, “if the ballots don’t work, we’re not afraid to use bullets.” That’s just unacceptable language.

While I know many people are not Bill Clinton fans, he said this:
It’s not that we should reduce our passion,  But we have to think about our word choices. They fall upon the serious and the delirious alike. The connected & the unhinged.

We have stood by while radio personalities and politicians have uttered incredibly hostile comments.  All in the name of Free Speech.  But free speech has its limits. You can’t yell “Fire!“ in a movie theatre, or make comments about bombs in airports.  So when those on the TV and radio cannot stop with the vitriolic speech, then we simply have to speak up and say “Enough.”  It’s wrong. And there IS fallout from it. The media is about ratings - and screaming banter draws a crowd.

Maybe it’s as simple as mothers standing up and saying, “Don’t talk like that.”  or “if you see/hear something bad and say nothing, you are now a part of the problem.”  Or maybe just turning off the Talking Heads who rail against others in a way that does nothing to create solutions.   Instead, it entertains those who are evidently so frustrated they are wishing for some bully to come in and do their dirty work.  Real solutions are difficult to find and create. But we need to stop tolerating the banter that only creates obstacles.

 It is up to us to have conversations with our families about acceptable and unacceptable ways to communicate. We need to be clear about ramifications that come from sitting by quietly when those with opposing views are demonized. No solutions can come from that style of communicating - whether it’s an altercation on the playground or among politicians talking about our economy.


originally posted on Facebook after Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot by someone who was apparently caught up in all the drama in the media.

The Political Texas Two-Step

Texas has a very strange voting process. And, what really surprises me is that I had no idea we had this process! I'm guessing it's because we haven't had a really close race before.

For those who don't know, it's frequently called the Texas Two-Step. Voters go to the polls on March 4th - or they do the Early Voting. Then after all the voters have voted at 7 p.m., they can come in for the Caucus.

Normally, I like the idea of voting on the Big Day. It's always a little exciting to me. But this year, there's the chance of long lines at the polling booths. And, I, as usual, have a really packed day. Not a lot of time to spare waiting around. So, Michael and I ran over to Early Voting on Friday, when he got back from his classes.

Friday was the last day for Early Voting. At first, we went to the Assisted Living facility near our home. There was a note on the door telling us that they were no longer an official voting place. So we went to our second choice, the only other option in Pflugerville - the County Tax office. There were long lines. And they weaved all around the room in the most unorganized way. Doors were locked in an attempt to control the way the crowd entered. This was later remedied, but clearly they didn't expect this many people.

My son-in-law, Jay, was ahead of us in line, waving at us as we entered and tried to find the end of the line. This is his first time to vote - he became an American citizen just in time to register to vote.

So, we all cast our vote and put our little caucus cards into our wallets. These cards would show that we voted - a requirement to participate in the caucus.


Tuesday Night....
I went to my local voting precinct at 7 p.m. There were still people in line to vote, although the doors were locked to more voters. Only caucus voters were allowed to enter. The cafeteria was filling up. Ultimately, there were nearly 350 people there! I live in a really integrated neighborhood. Lots of diversity. But the caucus was filled with primarily Black Americans - there were maybe 25 white people in the room. It was mass chaos, really. The woman in charge said that typically, they had only 4-5 people show up for caucus. But it's not like they didn't realize this was going to happen! At least the Obama camp sent food - pizza, cookies, and coffee. (smart move)

This was Michael's first year to vote for a President and he really wanted to participate in the caucus. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anyone to cover for him at work. So we tried to set up his lunch break so he could run over, sign in, and leave quickly. No such luck. He got there about 7:15, the time it was supposed to convene. Unfortunately, there was still a line for people who hadn't voted yet. And the caucus couldn't begin until they all had an opportunity to join us in the next room. Michael's 30 minutes passed and he had to leave, before it even began.

I stayed. Around 8:00, we began to move into lines to sign our name onto the sheets for our candidate. The room was overwhelmingly pro-Obama. By 8:30, I reached the front, gave my info and my candidate choice. Those who wanted to become delegates for the county convention, or those who wanted to vote on the Democratic resolutions were invited to stay. Everyone else could leave.

The room thinned out considerably.

I sat and spoke with a father & daughter. They were Clinton supporters. The daughter was a Senior at Pflugerville High. She was really enthused about the opportunity to be a delegate. We talked a little more about the comparisons between Clinton and Obama. We talked about reactions we had heard from others regarding the different candidates.

I called Michael on the cell and asked him if he'd like to be a delegate, since he wasn't able to actually attend the caucus. He thought it would be great.

So, by 9 p.m., the precinct chair began going through the resolutions. Clearly, she was not accustomed to voters who wanted to discuss the resolutions. She read the titles and if we wanted to know the Dem position, we'd raise our hands. People moaned and groaned, but she pressed on. We discussed a few proposals, took votes - all while the caucus votes were being tabulated.

In the end, 280 people actually voted that night. 222 for Obama and 57 for Clinton. This would mean that of our 26 alloted delegates, 21 would come from the Obama camp, and 5 would come from Clinton supporters. FYI, delegate numbers are determined by last year's voter turnout.

I was still sitting with my pro-Clinton friends. We were excited that Hillary actually got 57 from a room that appeared to be FULL of Barrack fans. This would mean that she'd have a good shot at being a delegate!

At that point, we separted into 2 different sides of the room, based on candidate choice. We were asked how many of us wanted to be delegates AND were available all day on March 29th. Twenty-six hands went up. A strong white-haired woman evidently decided she wasn't going to allow chaos to dominate any longer. She asked those who had "a burning desire to be a delegate" move to the table and find a seat. She started a couple pieces of paper, for delegates and alternates. I moved to the table for Michael to be a delegate. I offered to be an alternate, if that would help the process.

By then, it was after 10, and Michael was off work. He went straight to the polling precinct, and made it in time to sign in as someone with a "burning desire to be a delegate." Phone numbers and emails were exchanged, and that was the end. It was nearly 11:00 p.m.