Occupy Your Space

"I lost a job, but I found an Occupation." - Occupy Wall Street Sign.  

"We are the 99%.  We will no longer remain silent." - Occupy Atlanta Slogan.  

"Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself!" - Republican Presidential Herman Cain.

Although I am not clear on why or what the occupation movement hopes to accomplish, I like their nonviolent approach.  Further, I am encouraged by the diverse nature of the protesters and supporters and I believe we can learn from these peaceful exercises of the First Amendment.  Our forefathers used similar techniques during the Freedom Movement, and maybe we can use them now to occupy our respective places so we can advocate for ideals that benefit all Americans, like equality, compassion, tolerance, and respect.

Herman Cain's comments on the occupation movement are disappointing.  First, he minimizes the legitimacy of their grievances by labeling them as a group of people looking for a scapegoat for their own failures.  Second, he has to audacity to say that if you are jobless, it is all your fault, although the recession has proven this it not always true.  I have met numerous people who worked for the same company for 20 plus years, have never been reprimanded, and always received good performances reviews, but still lost their job because they were allegedly making too much, the company was eliminating positions / off-shoring, or the company was going out of business.  Third, he assumes that everyone wants to be rich.