As Occupy Boston, New York, and D.C. kick off the day with drizzling rain and a forecast of sporatic collectivism, I wonder if the effort is mute or I should hop on the Red Line and look for it. My feet hurt already thinking about standing for 12 hours at a warehouse supermarket tomorrow pushing cheesecakes. It is not exactly what I had in mind laboring over a bachelor's degree that took me eight years and various deployment interruptions to finish. As the student loans rack up as much as a managerial position's yearly income, I dred putting on my suit tomorrow and "sucking it up" to cheerfully sell my hard work, hopes, and dreams. But as the unemployment line thickens I count my lucky stars to at least have some income coming in.
How are you doing Occupy Boston? Tuesday over 100 people were arrested as a line of opposition Veterans for Peace protected the crowd from the police. Things are already starting to escalate. This nationwide movement inspires revolt and a desperate attempt to pull lobbyists, Senators, and law makers to get off their high horses and join the rest of us. The stratification is daunting and scares the shit out of me.
I got a packet in the mail from a debt consolidation firm. On one side of the packet it states "Welcome to your debt consolidation!" On the other side it gleefully says "Welcome to your bankruptcy". Oh gawd. I tuck myself in at night swallowing sleeping pills and pulling the blanket in tightly hoping the creditors don't rip the bed out from under me. So far, I am able to pay rent, but after I graduate, then what? I can't drug deal cakes forever. I wanted to be a ballerina when I grew up. Now I am an overweight Army veteran living paycheck to paycheck. Occupy Boston, things have got to be better than this!
I think I'll forget the too-toos and point shoes and put on that business suit and Dr. Scholls shoes and pray that someone in Capital Hill gets the message. Until then, reality has a bitter taste and the world needs more cheesecakes.
I think the idea for Occupy Boston means well but everything I read about it says that its too disorganized and the demands are either ridiculous or just ambiguous. It'll definitely be interesting to see how things turn out. It is a bit nerve-racking that it has to come to this but hopefully things work out
ReplyDeleteYour cheesecake gig sounds like one of my former jobs at Au Bon Pain; condolences.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Occupy Boston/Wall Street etc. will amount to more than a pissed off mob that we describe to our grandchildren, which might receive a cursory reference in a "People's History" type history textbook in the years to come. Until then, we wait.