There's enough stress in our lives right now with classes, midterms and worrying about getting a job. You now want to participate in a demonstration that is angering most of the country's controlling conservatives? That's just plain dumb.
A wise woman once told me college is 90% the life skills you learn outside of the classroom. It's the all-nighters and the parties. The learning how you function as an adult. So why add the stress of the country on top of this seemingly insurmountable pile of personal stress? Call me misinformed, but I'm trying to pass Calc I -- not worry about the country's problems on a day-to-day basis.
When I first heard of Occupy Wall Street I wasn't too sure what it was all about. Then, as if overnight, it exploded. Occupy Wall Street has become the vehicle to complain about everything. I saw a Facebook status a few days ago that said it perfectly: "I'm going to Occupy Gallettes Tuscaloosa (a popular on campus bar) and really take a stand. A stand for Bud Light and Alabama football. We're college students y'all, let's act like college students." Clearly my friend was making a joke, but he has some valid points.
It is important to every American citizen to be interested in what is happening in our country. As students seeking higher education, it is extra important to understand what is happening in the world around us. Is complaining about it the answer? Our predecessors who participatd in the sit-ins of the '60s would be ashamed. They stood for change. They stood for integration. They were groups of people that got together without pomp or circumstance. What is Occupy Wall Street standing for? Nothing. Every Occupy movement has a website filled with press releases and media coverage. OWS websites call for donations. As it cools down here in the South, Occupy Atlanta is soliciting blankets, tents, gloves and similar items for protesters.
OWS has become a circus. The Internet has all kinds of rumors circulating that participating in OWS could land you on the Real World. Is that not every twentysomething's dream? Go from one
ridiculous outlet for attention and complaining to another?
Personally, I'm trying to prove to the older generations that I am a smart, well adjusted woman, not an attention-seeking silly person. I have opinions and I agree that the economy needs work -- especially since I would like to have gainful employment that uses my college degree in just two short months. Are OWS "organizers" suggesting I sit in the cold in hopes my resume will get picked from the pile?
So why would I Occupy Wall Street? I have a Calc I test I need to study for.