#OccupyEverywhere

(Accidentally deleted this, here's the re-post)

I have been following the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement since early in the summer. I started following a couple of Anonymous handles on Twitter and through them found the @OccupyWallStNYC handle which I also followed. I watched as the handle gained followers and continued to reach out to people sympathetic to their cause such as rappers Lupe Fiasco and Big Boi. With the movement picking up popularity I figured I would weigh in on what I think about the movement, and encourage others to comment with their opinions as well.
The lateral organization of OWS makes it potent and very capable of gaining momentum, attention, and occupiers. By lacking a strict hierarchy and leadership OWS and Anonymous have achieved making the movement a movement of the people by the people. This has encouraged many people to come out and join the protesters in the streets and parks across the nation. The way that the movement has utilized social networking sites has changed social movements as we know it; Cybervism is the way of the future, that is undeniable. However, the lateral organization of the movement is also a weak point. When confronting an entity as large and powerful as the United States government, more organization is necessary. Part of what made the Civil Rights Movment so successful is that you had protesters who were trained to be protesters. They knew how to peacefully get their point across, and they knew the dangers of resisting arrest. When protesters are arrested, most charges against them are trumped up and can easily be defeated in court; resisting arrest is not one of those. It is also dangerous because it will only take one protester coming to a rally or march with a gun, killing a police officer, and have the whole movement tainted and witness its demise.
The police are also a part of that 99% that the protest refers to. I do not make a habit of defending the police because I do not trust them and have had many negative experiences with law enforcement officers that were due to my race. However in the case of OWS we need to remember that at the end of the day the police are just people who are working jobs to provide for their families alongside us. They just happen to "enforce" the law which often times neglects the rights of the people in the streets protesting for change. It is important for us to remember that the people who we need to be aggressively against are legislators and public officials who have not been working towards the interest of The People, as well as the heads of major corporations. The police need to see a constant non-violent and non-aggressive stance of occupiers towards them. Make your voices heard without using any form of violence, your true power is in your numbers.
There is a severe lack of diversity in the occupiers and the planks on their platforms for change. Any solution to the problems that our country faces that is colorblind is lacking at best. There is nothing wrong with celebrating the differences in people and our heritages, the only problems come when celebrating ones heritage turns to knocking someone elses. The 99% that the protesters refer to somewhat limits us by making the claim that we are all the same. By ingnoring the needs of the Black, Hispanic, Gay, and other underpriveleged communities within the 99% we are excluding them. We are all Americans, but we have more than one definition of our self-identities and to neglect our whole identity in order to fit into a larger group for social change is not a complete victory. More diverse ideas need to be presented and more groups need to represented in this movement.
Overall I like OWS. I think they have the potential to achieve some real change in the way our financial system operates. However, I think this is only the beginning of a larger movement for social change in America. There is still much to be discussed and accomplished in other areas of our society. I'm very interested to hear y'alls thoughts on this...

losing. my. way.

The easiest thing to do on this Earth is to lose focus of your goals, slip up, and come up short. Maybe not even lose focus of your goals, but lose focus of what you want in life or even who you are as a person. It's bad enough to wake up one day and realize what you have become is not what you had hoped, but it's even worse when you are watching it happen to yourself in S...L...O...W... motion.

If you're reading this now because you may have lost your way, know that I have too. So has everyone you have ever known or will ever meet. Do not get down on yourself, try your best to do what you can to get back on track. Every journey to success is different for every individual. "Every peak has two valleys." You have to go through some downs before you can truly appreciate the ups in life.

Realize that you should only learn from mistakes and not disparage yourself because of them. Most of us (especially seniors) are feeling like we have to take this time to set ourselves up for the rest of our lives (mainly careerwise). Do not be afraid to try different things and don't put all of your eggs in one basket. Most of the people whose professional careers I admire personally did not get to this point in their careers by any conventional metods, and none of them did it without help. Trust in God, and be yourself! Keep your head up kid :)

A song that I'm really feeling right now: Justin Timberlake's "Losing My Way"

Hi my name is Bob and I work at my job
I make forty-some dollars a day
I used to be the man in my hometown
'til I started to lose my way
It all goes back to when I dropped out at school
Having fun, I was living the life
But now I got a problem with that little white rock
See I can put down the pipe

And...

And it's breaking me down
Watching the world spin round
While my dreams fall down
Is anybody out there?

It is breaking me down
No more friend around...
And my dreams fall down...
Is anybody out there?

Can anybody out there hear me?
'Cause I can't seem to hear myself
Can anybody out there see me?
'Cause I can't seem to see myself...
There's gotta be a heaven somewhere
Can you save me from this hell?
Can anybody out there feel me?
'Cause I can't seem to feel myself

Losing my way
Keep losing my way...
Keep losing my way...
Can you help me find my way?
Losing my way
Keep losing my way
Keep losing my way...
Can you help me find my way?

Now you gotta understand I was a family man
I would have gave anything for my own
But I couldn't get a grip on my new found itch
So I ended up all alone
I remember where I was when I got my first buzz
See I thought I was living the life
And the craziest thing is I'll probably never know the color of my daughter's
eyes

And it is breaking me down
Watching the world spin round
While me dreams fall down
Is anybody out there?

It is breaking me down
No more friend around...
And my dreams fall down...
Is anybody out there?

Can anybody out there hear me?
'Cause I can't seem to hear myself
Can anybody out there see me?
'Cause I can't seem to see myself
There's gotta be a heaven somewhere
Can you save me from this hell?
Can anybody out there feel me?
'Cause I can't seem to feel myself.

Losing my way
Keep losing my way
Keep losing my way
Can you help find my way?
Losing my way
Keep losing my way
Keep losing my way
Can you help me find my way?

Oh my god please forgive me (father hear my pray)
'Cause I know I've done some wrong in this life
If I could do it all again
Have just one more chance
To take all those wrongs and make them right

Can anybody out there hear me?
'Cause I can't seem to hear myself
Can anybody out there see me?
'Cause I can't seem to see myself
There's gotta be a heaven somewhere
Can you save me from this hell
Can anybody out there feel me?
'Cause I can't seem to feel myself.

Can anybody out there hear me?
'Cause I can't seem to hear myself
Can anybody out there see me?
'Cause I can't seem to see myself
There's gotta be a heaven somewhere
Can you save me from this hell
Can anybody out there feel me?
'Cause I can't seem to feel myself

Losing my way
Keep losing my way
Keep losing my way
Can you help me find my way?
Losing my way
Keep losing my way
Keep losing my way

NDAA video; think it couldn't happen here?

A lot of people feel like the kind of terrible tragedies that strike nations throughout the globe could never happen in the United States because we always have this idea of these things being so completely foreign to us. This video however gives us a glimpse of what could come. Thoughts?