Occupy Richmond - 2011
Part I
Preface:
Apparently, some Virginia Right! readers on the right are confused by the video and writeup of my visit to Kanawha Plaza and my characterization of what I actually found to be true. The article was intended to be true investigative journalism. As such, I reported exactly what I found and attempted to write the story based entirely on my observations, checking my bias at the door. Looking over the comments posted by those who are participating in the event, it seems that I did just that. None have written that they went down to Kanawha Plaza, looked for themselves and disagree with my assessment. And I can state as fact that should anyone wish to go down and look around, you would be welcomed as I was.
I have printed many lines dealing with the lies and unfair characterizations of TEA Party events and I am keenly aware that you cannot trust the mainstream media to accurately report on the TEA Party. And so too, it seems, with the Occupy Richmond gathering. And I am well aware of what has been reported about the OWS events in other cities. I am not speaking to the behavior, conditions or events in those cities. I have no first hand knowledge of them. My report and comments concern ONLY the Occupy Richmond group. Not all TEA Party groups are the same, and it seems that the same can be said of these occupy groups.
As I stated in the article, I traveled down there expecting to document all of my preconceived notions of filth and civil disobedience run amok. Instead, I uncovered a story of a Richmond Mayor – Dwight C. Jones – who is looking the other way. Not because he is sympathetic to protests, because he was anything but sympathetic to the Richmond TEA Party, rather, because he is ideologically aligned with the leftist, hardcore agenda of the Progressive Movement that pretends to be the 99% of America.
You know, the ones truly behind the Occupy Wall Street movement’s The 99% Declaration.
I didn’t set out to write a two part series on the Occupy Wall Street movement. But as I began putting the story together, I thought a bit of history from my personal perspective might be helpful. Not to understand me, for I really don’t care about that. More to help the reader see the correlation between this group today and the events of the past protest movements.
As I mentioned in the video, I grew up in the ’60′s and was involved in a lot of things in that era. Truth be told, it was probably my involvement with some of the protests that eventually convinced me that Conservatism was the right path for this country. I had long hair, played in several Rock bands, hung out at Monroe Park and attended Virginia Commonwealth University, which many of us dubbed Viet Cong University. I was a regular at the Generator which became the Ram’s Den. I occasionally hung out at Hubaba’s, but the bikers could get a bit territorial. I attended several anti-war demonstrations, believed that Richard Nixon was the anti-Christ and that the Establishment was to be loathed and hated and never trusted. The man was evil incarnate.
But mostly, I went to these places and events to party, meet chicks and listen to the music. And I was one of the 99% who were there for the same thing. It was the 1% who were there with a serious political agenda. Most of us neither cared nor shared these beliefs. We were just looking for something to do.
So, the Occupy movement is nothing new. My generation occupied a number of building with sit-ins. Probably the most infamous being the Kent State incident. We occupied a farm in upstate New York for a while (but I missed that one!).
We didn’t like the way things were going. The War, the “hassles” and an entire generation rebelling against the status quo.
Oh, yea. And right before I started going to VCU in the early 70′s, I was planning to go to Theology School and become a preacher or Missionary.
So I do have some qualifications and experience with liberal indoctrination (VCU) and protests. The “Occupy” movement is nothing new to me. Been there, done that.
And we have something to show for it! All our hard work and protests, sacrifices, blood, sweat and tears changed the course of the Nation. Tricky Dickie (Nixon for the uninitiated) resigned in disgrace. A lackluster Gerald Ford took his place and finished the rest of Nixon’s term and finally, we had our chance to really make a difference at the ballot box! We were going to change the world. No more of these lame-ass right wing dictators like Nixon.
It was our turn!
Our answer was the epic failure Jimmy Carter. He managed to bungle everything he touched. By 1980, Nixon was not quite the monster we thought he was. Though we blamed him for Vietnam, we began to realize that it was not a war he started. To use a more modern analogy, he inherited it. In retrospect, Nixon tried to win the war and come home. But it was us – and our anti-war protests – that forced him to stand down and refrain from bombing Hanoi. People like Jane Fonda and John Kerry managed to pull defeat from the jaws of victory.
What happened, in reality, is that our anti-establishment movement, the “original” occupy movement, was co-opted by people with a political agenda. Their efforts were directed not at true social change and reform of government, but at a way to seize power. The “make love – not war” movement became the vehicle which Progressives and Socialists would ride to victory. 99% of us were young, naive, impressionable and easy targets for those with an agenda.
Of course, our efforts gave rise to a memorable quote in the 1981 movie “Stripes” staring Bill Murray as John Winger who said “But we’re American soldiers! We’ve been kicking ass for 200 years! We’re 10 and 1!”
So, fast forward 30 years or so and we find history repeating itself. Another anti-war movement involving people like Cindy Sheehan was compromised. Again, Progressives like Nancy Pelosi saw this as an opportunity to seize power. They used Sheehan as a means to an end using the successful model of the 60′s and 70′s as their framework. They turned the truly anti-war protesters into an anti-Republican, but mostly an anti-Bush movement. Having failed to unseat George W. Bush in 2004, this new approach used people like Sheehan to propel them to victory in 2006. And they continued to fan the flames of hatred and parlayed their success into a complete and decisive takeover of all three branches of government in 2008. Much like we were cast off and discarded when those who co-opted my generation rose to power, so too were people like Cindy Sheehan. We were all simply useful idiots. Tools of the Progressive movement.
And this co-option of the movement is well documented in the music. The Hippie movement and the era of love glorified in songs like “If you are going to San Francisco” gave way to protest songs which rang out so poignantly and found willing believers among the core group advocating love and peace.
Camouflage jackets replaced Tie Dye shirts. Love beads and flower power gave way to bombs as groups like the Weather Underground and people like Bill Ayres used violence and fear to take control. “All you need is love” gave way to “Revolution” and eventually, perhaps realizing what was happening, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” stated the obvious. “Meet the new boss, same as the ole boss.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Barack Obama promised to end the wars. He actually has managed to get us involved in two more – Libya and Africa. And we are about to cut and run in Iraq and Afghanistan. If “Stripes” films a sequel, the writers will have to add two more wars to the “loss” total.
So, with the war protesters going home, despite the continuation of wars and the addition of new ones, the economy in the crapper, unemployment at historic lows for a historically unprecedented length of time, the prospects of Progressives retaining power is grim.
If only they had another peace and love movement full of useful idiots to use as a vehicle to maintain power.
Enter Occupy Wall Street.
Now I won’t pretend to know the exact genesis of the ‘Occupy’ movement. It is impossible to know if this was a true grassroots movement in it’s inception, or if it was conceived by Progressives desperate to hold onto the power that appears to be slipping away.
In Part II we will look at what the Occupy Richmond movement has actually agreed to and “The 99% Declaration” that is supposed to be the “demands” from the group.
