An Open Letter to Those Occupying

October 27, 2011

To Occupy Oakland:

I am not the 99%. I wish I was, but I’m not. I grew up 25 miles away from Frank Ogawa Plaza, but can’t begin to understand what those who have occupied it have gone through. I was given the world, but I barely graduated high school. I bullshitted my way through college. I got the job that I have now through connections that I made because I was privileged enough to work for free while my parents simply deposited money into my bank account.

And still, even with everything that’s been handed to me, the blinders that I’ve worn, the blissful fantasy that I’ve lived, I’m grateful that I can see, not understand or comprehend or know, but see what the majority of my countrymen, the citizens of this United States of America are going through.

These protests across the country have shown the true fiber of the American people. We aren’t asking for much. We’re not asking for a handout. We’re not asking for pity. We are asking for a fighting chance to stand up to those who have taken what’s been given to them and squandered it. Yes, those who we stand up to have had financial gain. They’ve made themselves wealthy. They’ve made themselves rich. But they have not enriched the country that has allowed them to be in the successful position that they are in today. They do not help others. They only help themselves. Politicians rail on about ‘class warfare’ and the evils of it. But there is class warfare. There’s been class warfare for decades. The rich, year after year, have posted profits and gains and successes on the backs of the majority of Americans.

What started out as a small, symbolic movement in Zuccotti Park, has become a national and international movement. One that has substance, meaning, and purpose. And it is no surprise that this movement has come to a head in Oakland, California. Oakland is witness to the best that this country has to offer, and the worst. It knows the sorrow and sadness that comes with senseless acts of violence, hatred, and murder. But it also know what this country is capable of achieving. Oakland is smack dab in the middle of innovation and progress and success that we as a country are not just capable of, but destined to achieve.

The country and the world saw what happened in Frank Ogawa Plaza on the night of October 25, and I asked that all those who were there, please don’t let this deter you, please don’t let this stop you. Please come back and take to the streets that are rightfully ours, in order to pursue a government and a country that stands up for the cause of the working man and woman.

All of you are so much stronger than I will ever be. Because I can sit idly by and watch the back-and-forth between protesters and police, between activists and the status quo. You all know exactly what you’re doing, and what you’re doing is right, and just, and necessary.

I hope that the fight does not end here. I do not want the lasting image of this movement to be upturned tents and injured veterans like Scott Olsen. I don’t want this movement to just be remembered. I want it to be a turning point in our nation’s history, where we said in one voice, ‘enough is enough.’ Where we stood our ground. Where we took this country in a direction that did not just benefit the privileged and the wealthy, but gave everyone a fighting chance to pursue the American Dream.

This idea is not revolutionary, but the drive and willingness to achieve it is.

Oakland, please don’t let this be the end. Let it be the beginning.

From the bottom of my heart, I know that everyone who is involved in this movement has the capacity to change the world. Do not let it slip through your hands. Do not let this become a news story that falls by the wayside in the weeks and months to come.

You are all more than I could ever hope to be.

Please keep fighting.

Most Sincerely,

M.