Occupy Sacramento – The right sentiment, but will it help?
I dropped by Cesar Chavez park in downtown Sacramento this morning to see for myself what was happening. I almost drove past as it appeared to be just a handful of people and a few tents. But, I wanted to know more about the view and plan for Occupy Sacramento and decided to stop and check it out with whoever might be available. I’m glad I did, the protest isn’t over, they just have to leave the park every night and repopulate each morning.
I visited with several demonstrators who did a good job of articulating their frustration over the the control and flagrant abuses of financial services firms as well as an undue influence over politics and our own lives. This is a view and a frustration I share. I believe the current housing crisis is the result of investment banks bilking investors out of trillions on junk CDO’s they sold as AAA securities.
Where I question where this will go is in its organization and its goals. There is clearly a worldwide angst on the subject for something so fundamentally ‘grass roots’ as this to organically grow world wide in a month or so. But, in my opinion, if they don’t evolve quickly into a movement with a plan and a purpose it will fizzle. I don’t think they can simply be angry and want to talk about it. I think they need some specific goals to rally support behind. There is a lot to be unhappy about, but if everyone has something different to gripe about it will just sound like complaining rather than a plan to pursue and implement real change.
One possible flaw is that the tactics of Occupy Wall St. does not appeal to what I believe is a silent majority of frustrated middle aged, middle class, middle Americans that don’t protest. They have jobs, sometimes two. They go to work everyday. They raise their kids. And when times get tough, they try to do the right thing and do what it takes to survive. They don’t go to rally’s and complain. I think this is the population that needs to better understand what happened, and be provided ways they can participate in helping to solve the problem. And, sadly, I don’t think occupying the park is something this silent majority will do.
I would hate to see the ‘Occupy Wall St.’ movement die a premature death, because there is such need for awareness and change in the financial world and in Washington. If these issues are not tackled, it will have enormous impact on the quality of our lives for generations to come.
