Damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Vision Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Mayor Gregor Robertson is proverbially stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to making a decision regarding Occupy Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and its growing presence on the lawn of the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Art Gallery.
If he lets the protesters continue to take over the public space surrounding the art gallery, supposedly there for use of everyone, he chances alienating many taxpaying residents. On the other hand, I have a feeling a forcible end to the camp could result in a violent clash with police as was unfortunately the case last week in Oakland, California. It's not that I believe the peace-loving core group of Occupy Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»will get ugly. It's the fringe element these types of protests attract that makes me nervous. So the mayor waits.
Meanwhile his opponent, NPA mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton, insists the Occupy Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»protesters should be given their eviction notice before a team of city workers moves in to offer their services.
Anyone with an opinion on the Occupy movement is also damned if they do or damned if they don't. I included one sentence about the movement in a recent column about We Day, in which I expressed hope that the youth of today might learn enough to change things so that these types of protests will no longer be necessary in the future. In response, I received a three-page tirade from one reader accusing me of being responsible for all the inequality in the world. Whoever wrote that letter has obviously seen, and envied, my 1998 Toyota Corolla.
So, bearing that in mind here goes.
One of the problems I see with the entire Occupy movement is that, as a colleague described it, it's a bit of a flake magnet. No matter how legitimate the concern and outrage over the growing inequality between rich and poor, I find it really hard to take anyone seriously wearing a jester's hat. Kidding. I love a good jester's hat. It's many of the comments I've heard or read in the media, including in the Courier, from the "faces of Occupy" that have me rolling my eyes.
I'm not bothered that there have been few precise demands or that many protesters don't exactly know why they're sleeping on the grounds of the art gallery. I understand there is a feeling of frustration and resentment against government and corporate corruption and greed, which can't always be articulated. Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint exactly who's to blame, so I'm definitely onside with the movement. In the newspaper business, Conrad Black is the king when it comes to an example of corporate greed. When I worked under the Black regime, our newsrooms were slashed and burned while he and his wife famously partied, shopped and travelled the world.
But I am bothered when I hear comments like one included from a woman in a video clip filmed by Courier reporter Naoibh O'Connor, in which the protester explains she hasn't been able to work-not because there's a lack of jobs for someone with her university training, but because she can't find a job that suits her high moral standards. It reminds me of the time a Courier intern told me she didn't think journalism was for her because she doesn't believe it's natural to wake up to an alarm clock.
On CBC Radio last week, Early Edition host Rick Cluff questioned a young female protester about her thoughts on the ideological differences between the mayoral candidates plans for Occupy Vancouver. She replied that the municipal election isn't important and her real concerns are global issues. She obviously has no plans to vote in November but expects our municipal government to provide washrooms, water and security while she works on vague global concerns while "dialoguing" several times a day. Besides regular yoga sessions, "dialoguing," is a main activity at Occupy Vancouver. I also recently heard the CBC's Stephen Quinn patiently ask another young woman repeatedly what Occupy Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»wants to achieve. She responded that the protesters had taken a week just to get to know each other and that demands would come later.
While the Occupy movement is about improving the lives of the 99 per cent, it's time for 99 per cent of the protesters to pack up and go home. Leave behind a main tent with a rotating shift of serious volunteers dedicated to the cause who can convey a succinct message and watch as sympathy grows on their behalf.
Twitter: @sthomas10
