What Our Local 'Occupy' Event Is About

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

This past Sunday, I was taken by surprise at church when someone asked me about a story they had just read in The Pilot about Occupy Broad Street.

I had known The Pilot was interested. On Friday afternoon, I had received a call from my wife saying that staff writer Ted Natt had left a message asking me to call him ASAP. I was a little apprehensive because we are so early in the process that there just isn't that much to tell. By the time Mr. Natt's message was relayed to me, I had already missed him.

The result was a short article that, while factually accurate, was so light on details as to leave much to the imagination. As someone directly involved in the process, allow me to help fill in the blanks about what we are planning for Saturday, Dec. 10, at the downtown park in Southern Pines.

This whole thing came about as news stories about the spread of Occupy Wall Street movement made their way onto Facebook walls. As the movement spread from Zuccotti Park to cities across the country and around the world, the idea of doing something locally started popping up. A few of the people who were interested contacted a few other people, and we began working on putting something together.

The name "Occupy Broad Street" was the first one that came up, and it was what we used to do the paperwork and to do a Facebook page. But, as was discussed in the second meeting, it was a bad fit because Wall Street symbolizes something that Broad Street just does not.

In a world that often contrasts Wall Street and Main Street, the locally owned small businesses that make up Broad Street make it our "Main Street." Rather than corporate greed, Broad Street symbolizes the kinds of businesses we want to support. Our first meeting was at a restaurant on Broad Street. It is for us a destination, not a target.

Moore County, on the other hand, is a pretty effective symbol for the inequities of income and access to power that the occupy movement is about.

I had a chance to speak to Lee Riggsbee from The Southern Pines Business Association Monday. His association has reservations about the effect that the event might have on downtown parking - a legitimate concern. The last thing we want to do is to impede commerce to small businesses. We are looking for ways to make sure that parking will not be an issue.

I mentioned to Mr. Riggsbee that people who attended our event might actually use the businesses on Broad Street. He was skeptical that people who showed up for a protest would be inclined to then go shopping.

Here's what you need to know about the "kind of people" who are involved with the local movement: They are your neighbors. You go to church with them. They sing in your choirs. One reason we didn't ask for Dec. 3 is that some of our organizers will be representing Pinecrest High School in a debate at George Mason University on that day.

You play golf with our organizers. They volunteer in local charities. And, yes, they shop on Broad Street.

We are people with something to say. It can be as broad as "Hey, this isn't working for us. Let us demand that our leaders stop their posturing and bickering and actually do something to put middle-class Americans back to work."

It might be, "Maybe we can't solve all our problems by 'soaking the rich,' but punishing the poor isn't working either. If we tune out the talking heads and try listening to each other for a while, maybe we can find solutions." It can be as specific as asking people to write their legislators and ask them to support a constitutional amendment requiring that political campaigns be publicly financed because the market of ideas shouldn't be about the highest bidder.

This isn't Oakland. One of the reasons that it is an all-day event is to allow as many people as possible to participate. It is two Saturdays before Christmas for us, too. We have shopping to do, family in town and football games we don't want to miss.

Nobody is camping out. I'll be surprised (and gratified) if more than a handful of people stay all day. We have tried to be and will continue to be good citizens. All we want to do is to assemble peacefully and exercise our freedom of speech.

Kevin Smith, a freelance writer who contributes columns to The Pilot, lives in Aberdeen. Contact him at kevinasmith@gmx.com.

More like this story

SH59 1 year, 6 months ago

You may be angry about the disparity between rich and poor but try occupying Washington and take a stand against the political crooks who are using their insider trading loop hole to make as much money as they can for themselves. There is no incentive for them to anything for the people. They're the ones who are creating the divide.

ProudYankee 1 year, 6 months ago

Anything that chaps off the right wing nutters as much as this movement has, is a giant step in the right direction. Keep at it !!

dustyrhoades 1 year, 6 months ago

Here's what you need to know about the "kind of people" who are involved with the local movement: They are your neighbors.

This will be the single most valuable effect of the event, IMHO.

MikeNC 1 year, 6 months ago

dustyrhoades 2 hours, 6 minutes ago Here's what you need to know about the "kind of people" who are involved with the local movement: They are your neighbors. This will be the single most valuable effect of the event, IMHO.

Yes, I agree with that as well. It sounds very reassuring. Possibly the merchants have a bit of concern at what they have been reading right here on other OWS threads. Many of our very own "neighbors" have been supporting the other movements even when ugly events started surfacing regularly. Some of our 'neighbors' poo pooed the violence as very little when put in context to the numbers of people involved. Other 'neighbors' of ours rooted them on openly and became distraught as the mayor curtailed some of their leeway; to safeguard the public....and urges them not to give up on their occupation. Sometimes our "neighbors" are not too neighborly. I do think all will turn out very well at this event, but I do see the concern of merchants on one of the last Saturday shopping days of the year....Mike

Yukonjohn 1 year, 6 months ago

Our OWS protest have been very peaceful, but l think today they will be over. It is 45 below zero here....if they keep protesting, they have alot more guts than l do. Wall Street has not treated me that badly yet!!

Bentpan 1 year, 6 months ago

I see Mr. Rhoades and Mr Smith want us to remember these are our Neighbors, kind of like they did when talking about the TEA party, I gotta tell ya, some hypocrit jokes write themselves.

dustyrhoades 1 year, 6 months ago

I see Mr. Rhoades and Mr Smith want us to remember these are our Neighbors, kind of like they did when talking about the TEA party, I gotta tell ya, some hypocrit jokes write themselves.

They may write themselves, but they're apparently poor spellers.

Believe me, I saw some of the Teahadists marching in the local parades. Old, angry, and ill-informed.

dustyrhoades 1 year, 6 months ago

jpb's off his meds again.

Bentpan 1 year, 6 months ago

I see Mr. Rhoades and Mr Smith want us to remember these are our Neighbors, kind of like they did when talking about the TEA party, I gotta tell ya, some hypocrit jokes write themselves.

They may write themselves, but they're apparently poor spellers.

Believe me, I saw some of the Teahadists marching in the local parades. Old, angry, and ill-informed.

Gee and I thought some readers might miss the point, I guess Mr. Rhoades can be counted on to be consistantly juvenile even if it means proving a detractors' point.

teufelhunden 1 year, 6 months ago

Nothing wrong with what JPB said, DR.

fugitiveguy 1 year, 6 months ago

"Believe me, I saw some of the Teahadists marching in the local parades. Old, angry, and ill-informed."

Yes, so much anger. Why there must have been dozens, even hundreds of arrests at these gathrings. When anger is combined with being so ill informed it inevitably turns violent.

teufelhunden 1 year, 6 months ago

That's odd. I saw them smiling and waving the American flag. Must have been a different parade...

Bentpan 1 year, 6 months ago

Yea those horrible TEA partiers 3800+ arrests, the looting, Assaulting police officers, The rapes,the murders, the molitov cocktails, wearing masks like criminals, the desecreting of the american flag, the drug use.................. oh wait I'm sorry I got confused for a moment, that was the OWS, what was it the Teahadests did again, oh yea they went to the ballot box and gave the left a serious black eye.

teufelhunden 1 year, 6 months ago

Have to admit that was pretty funny although I know some young whipper-snappers that are pretty full of hot air.

Bentpan 1 year, 6 months ago

They are willing to stay weeks and months for what they believe in. I'll bet you wouldn't spend an April afternoon demonstrating for what you believe in ...........whatever the he## that is. Well I'm A Harleyman, I did once spend 6 years demonstrating what I believe in, 82nd Abn,div. 3rd brigade 1/325 but I guess that doesn't count, does it?

teufelhunden 1 year, 6 months ago

It counts. Thank you for your service.

moonchild7 1 year, 6 months ago

Thanks for the "invite" to THE OBS on Dec 10th justpassingby but I think I'll take your moniker and use it's meaning instead and "JUST PASS IT BY". Any of you see the pic of the 84 yr old woman who was PEPPER SPRAYED at the Seattle OWS demonstration? Very sad as these are PEACEFUL PROTESTS. Now I'm not an 84 yr old but even at a "younger" 58 I think I'll also take a pass on the pepper spray. I'm quite sure that "OBS" will be very peaceful and it won't get to that level but perhaps I'll "check it out" without actually participating. My Rep will be doing that while I buy a few Christmas cards at the shops. I had my "HAY-DAY" in the 70's at DC's Anti-War demonstrations. I wrote before how we "did it back then". As in, sleeping in abandoned buildings, empty cars, out under the trees....selling underground papers or just pan-handling for a few bucks to live on. We hitch-hiked to demonstrations, ate at soup kitchens, and used the many FREE CLINICS in DC when needed. It was so exciting to have been a part of changing the direction of our Nation both by personally demonstrating and then voting. I've been doing the voting thing ever since and will leave these demonstrations to someone else. I still have those fabulous memories to keep me going and want to see how the youth today try to stop the awful greedy and corruptive elements(the 1%) that's so rampant in our society today. GOOD LUCK.

bufordsplay 1 year, 6 months ago

Yes Moonchild, I completely understand you demonstrating against an unpopular war when young people were being drafted to be sent overseas to die in a war they didnt believe in but I have no sympathy for these that want us to pay for their student loans and protesting inequality.There will always be inequality in a free society because we all are different and we are all where we are because of one thing and that is choices that we make.

RmeMP 1 year, 6 months ago

what MOONBEAM DOESN'T tell you about the "poor 84 yr old" who was pepper sprayed, is that:

"Seattle police said plenty of verbal warnings were given to demonstrators attempting to block intersections and streets during rush hour; pepper spray was deployed only against subjects who were either refusing a lawful order to disperse or engaging in assaultive behavior toward officers".

a wise man once told me, "if you cant run with the big dogs, stay on the porch" - i have NO sympathy for a lady, who herself said, she's been protesting for liberal causes for "DECADES"; if you want to rumble in the middle with these VIOLENT protestors, then you get what you deserve...

pattruslow 1 year, 6 months ago

Moonchild...I, too, remember those days and the reasons for protests. Probably, if it hadn't been for those days, we would still have the draft. Remember people like Norman Mailer who spoke out so effectively, much like Michael Moore today. The big difference in then and now is that so many of the people are passionate about certain issues, albeit often uninformed about them. They don't know how to step to the podium in an effective debate or research an issue in order to determine the real from the fake. Worst of all, they temper everything with disgust and hate for others, always failing to recognize there is ALWAYS two sides to a story, ALWAYS anothr opinion, and ALWAYS room for comprise. This type of attitude/behavior is at the root of the unrest in our wonderful country; I'm shocked, saddened and ashamed to find the same right in my own back yard. Thank heavens that I've lived long enough to know that the good ALWAYS outweighs the bad, and that the worst of us is usually the smallest in number. I applaud the effort and tenacity of those that have arranged this OBS opportunity, and I intend to do everything I can to support them. If any of you naysayers want to show your face at the event, I'm the white haired lady with the bronze-colored cane...please introduce yourself as you drop your can of food in the Food Bank doation box.

pattruslow 1 year, 6 months ago

Spelling correction...it s/b "compromise"...pardon my blunder!

fugitiveguy 1 year, 6 months ago

I'd say that when it comes to big money influencing politicians it doesn't get any worse than organized labor having politicians (most often Democrats) in their pocket. Funny, the lefties don't seem to have a problem with that. Does any "legal" organization have a more corrupt past than organized labor?

What Our Local 'Occupy' Event Is About

More like this story

Comments