Occupy Wall Street has captured a lot of people's attention over the past
couple of weeks. More than likely, you've seen links to articles on Facebook
and Twitter devoted to various aspects of the protest. Major television networks
and the rest of the media at large have started covering OWS with a bit more
regularity even if they sometimes have a mocking tone, as shown by CNN's
Erin Burnett the other night. The crowds in Zuccotti Park have grown to an
estimated 20,000 and similar movements have sprouted in 45 other states
and counting. Yet there's some thing left unspoken, some things left to be
fully desired when you look at these crowds of protesters and dig deeper.

First, let me start by saying I'm glad people are making their voices heard.
I've been involved in activism myself and I'm always glad when people take
hold of their right to dissent. But I'm wary about this movement for a couple
of reasons. The first one being the fact that there was no definitive voice out
there from the jump. Any and every protest movement NEEDS a direct voice,
a stated list of demands. If I have to scour Google just to find that listing, it's
a problem. Even the Yippees in Chicago, as open and organic as they were had
a structure from the outset. People sitting there saying 'we don't need a leader,
we're all leaders' are kind of avoiding things. And if OWS grows larger, you are
going to need disciplined people leading and forming committees throughout.
A couple of folks I've spoken to who have been down there have felt that some
direction was needed. Look at the Radiohead situation. OWS wouldn't have been
the victim of such a hoax if they had a clear voice from the beginning. They had
to scramble and apologize to people and lose some sympathetic people.

That vagueness also leads to another issue; the hangers-on. The jackasses
who are there only to get high, get drunk and get laid. 'Hey look, I'm out
protesting!! Give me some action!!' They are detrimental to such a movement.
It may seem like you can't avoid them, but a free-flowing group will have
these folks involved. Just this morning, Chris Hayes of MSNBC asked a friend
he knew who would be considered part of 'the 1%' about OWS. That friend
said 'it got their 26 year old off the couch and there's less marijuana smoke
in the house.' THIS is how they already see the movement, and you don't
want people to add to that. Especially if you're going to have whole families
take part down the line. Those folks need to have reps talk to them strongly
about their behavior and if there's resistance, throw them out. The cause has
to be greater than the process.

And the biggest concern I have with regards to the Occupy movement is the
fact that over the past couple of weeks, people of color haven't been able to
find a definitive place fully. I think that while many Blacks and Latinos do
share and support the what the Occupy movement is doing, there's a feeling
of distrust by some. They see a movement that's mostly white in some cities
and feel as if they're looking out for themselves mostly. There have been a
couple of instances where POC activists have been shouted down for trying to
add inclusive language to the list of demands. And in probably the most appalling
situation, Congressman John Lewis was not allowed to speak at Occupy Atlanta
yesterday. From some accounts, even people who tried to apologize to him were
shouted down. To me, the fact that you can have disdain for someone who GOT
HIS HEAD SPLIT OPEN fighting for civil rights in this country, who was doing that
before most of them were born is disgraceful. And it sends a bad message. Already
right-wing blogs are having a field day.


What's needed is something that I saw lacking even when I was protesting
years ago. There needs to be more of a concerted effort on both sides. If you
are Black and Latino and want to support the Occupy movement, do so. And
to those in the Occupy movement, if you don't want to be seen as just a bunch
of 'dirty White hippies', get the word out directly to activists groups of color, the
churches. Speak directly to them. Understand that Black and Latino people are
trying to hold onto what they have left and see you as being late to the party only
because you're just now going  through what they'd been through for decades.
Cornell West and Russell Simmons being there for a day is nice, but you need all
of us with you.

I hope that if anything, Occupy Wall Street and the other movements can get
stronger, and really tell those who manipulate the politics to get lost. And that
all of these problems get resolved before they make their voice weaker.