Introductory Statement
What is inquiry? What is Occupy? For this section of the portfolio, it will focus solely on figuring out the answers to occupy by asking questions. Our class first started on the topic of Occupy Oakland with the article "The Hungry Got Food, The Homeless Got Shelter". The article was very detailed about the events that took place in Oakland. This was helpful because I was unaware of the movement at the time. First off, (now informed) an occupy movement consists of lower-class civilians upset at the government for having policies and financial regulations which highly benefit the rich, and leave the lower class to bite the dust. The occupiers thought the solution to this was to occupy and protest in places like Wall Street, San Francisco, Oakland, and others soon being added. When uninformed, I was assigned a few articles to read and critique a few articles (Critique shown below) that contain different perspectives of the Occupy Movement. Afterwards, I had to impose a question related to the topic of Occupy, then inquire through articles that could answer my question with unbiased, fair and reasonble response by authors. I chose to change the question imposed on the conduct of police officers on the protestors; i simply questioned the reasons why the civilians would find the Occupy movement worthy of protesing.(221 words)
____________________________________________________________________________________
Daniel Cano
Professor Hayes
English 100 (415 Words)
5/24/2013
Occupy Article Critique
Although I may be
able to illustrate in my mind what it is like to come from a family struggling
with poverty in America, I can also come to realize that “We’re All The 1%” by
Charles Kenny is the most convincing. But for this critique, I must say that the
least convincing article I have read from this assignment would have to be the
article “Forget Politics, economics; ‘Occupy’ is about Morality” Leif Dautch. Since
this article has been contradicted by “Occupy Movement misguided in its views
of the wealthy” by USA Today, this
contradiction assisted me in thinking about this articles reliability. This
also mentions Leif’s forgetting to mention the “may charities that depend upon
the financial backing of the rich. The wealthy are often the most generous Americans
.” Common sense would tell me “If the rich are lacking any interest in helping
those who need jobs or a source of employment, why is it they own companies
which allow them to work legitimately and earn a paycheck anyway?” About
Kenny’s article, it discusses how globally, if you fit into a category where
you can at least provide for yourself along a possible family, then you
automatically fit into the 1 percent of the wealthiest people in the world. I
am to believe this, our resources which we use every day are taken for granted,
as in other countries running water is luxury to them. This article argued
“…:tax people making $1million a year at 30 percent and thise making $10
million at 35 percent. But that’s not going to cut it.” Kenny is pretty much saying
even if we tax all those 1 percent who come from a rich and wealthy background
is “-still not enough to plug the $400 billion dollar deficit that year.” that
also would only come up with 281 billion dollars. That lack of the rest the
money to make up for the deficit will still have a negative impact on our
society’s economy. As for USA today’s article, it also mentions that taxing the
rich just because they are more fortunate, and others do not have jobs is just
highway robbery, and that taxing them even higher would “violate our nations
principals” because America is founded out of “equal protection laws” which can
benefit both high and lower class citizens. I am not as convinced by this
article as Kenny’s, but USA Today’s article fails to see what it is like from a
poor person’s perspective._________________________________________
Daniel Cano
Professor Hayes
English 100 (230 words)
March 24th, 2013
Occupy Research Report
1.) The question I have about the Discussion of Occupy Oakland would be “Did the police act fairly during Occupy in general? During Occupy Oakland? ” Although there are two different viewpoints regarding this situation which may involve police brutality, or even police corruption, this question is what I would find the most interesting.
2.) “The Occupy Movement is Turning Violent.” Megan McArdle
3.) This article is an opinion article. It originally made its appearance as an at issue report in “What’s the Matter With Oakland?” which was from TheAtlantic.com in 2011, which was later added to opposing viewpoints resource.
4.) I obtained this article from the gale group opposing viewpoints resource, which can be found in the CSM article database.
5.) I believe that this article is very useful is because the author seems fair when discussing the topic of civilian conduct when protesting and displaying their freedom of speech which can then backfire if not able to be handled properly. When the civilians go too far with their right to assembly and protest, then the police have their duty to maintain order and peace. But, did maintaining order and peace have to involve police brutality and civilian vandalism during such a movement? This will also raise questions about the civilian’s motivation for protesting to assert their demands for change, and the police’s ability and competence of fairness and service to the public’s safety.
_______________________________________
Exploratory Draft
Daniel Cano
Professor Hayes
English 100 (815 Words)
March 24th, 2013
Exploratory Draft
For this exploratory
draft, I have decided to use the sources I have found that responds to my new
question, since I would rather obtain opinions and information regarding the
affect from the Occupy movement: “What is changing, in anything, as a result of
Occupy?” In my words, I would have asked if the occupy movement was affective.
The first source
which I thought to be interesting yet unbiased would be “Occupy Protestors Need
Real Leaders” by Jeffery Boxer. At first, boxer discusses what he thinks about
the occupy movement’s ineffectiveness. Boxer says “Whether or not you agree
with it, the message behind the movement has always been a powerful one. But a
bunch of unemployed people and college students sleeping in Zuccotti Park in
New York City never seemed like much of a threat to the American political
bureaucracy.” Boxer’s viewpoint on the occupy movement simply states that it
had potential, but lacked the major necessity, the real leader. Boxer gave
great examples and characteristics about the leaders he had in mind. Boxer’s
described leaders would have to come from a background as a politician with
better plans for the occupy movement Boxer noted that “It needs to infiltrate
the political system.” This is an idea I found to be interesting, and I think
the movement would be more successful, if
it had that leader who had creative ideas, obtained resources, and
epiphany realistic goals for those
he/she would lead.
For my second source by David Dietz’s “Occupy
Wall Street Six Months Later: Why OWS Failed and How it Can Be Revived” His
title clearly described his viewpoint on the whole incident of the occupy Wall
Street. David clarified “From the outset, Occupy Wall Street was destined to
fail. As it did, it fell victim to every Fox News stereotype nearly ruining a
golden opportunity to challenge America's corporatocrisy.” I thought about his
reasoning for his claim, which I found to valid and relevant to my first source’s
viewpoint: The occupy had its reasons and meaningful message behind it, it just
had nowhere to go with it’s dysfunctional system-David revealed “The failure of
the occupy leadership, was just that: a failure to assume leadership. The
group's noble and rather democratic goals of allowing the occupy movement to be
a big tent for all gripes and grievances quickly diluted its founding
anti-corporatocrisy message.” As mentioned earlier, the cause of the group’s
unsuccessful attempt would be that the group’s lack of a leader, along with
missing credible political advisors that could further allow the leader to
bring persuasion, recruits, and most crucial of all, success.
As for the third
source by Josh Linkner’s “To be Taken Seriously, Occupy Needs To Focus Its
Message” he describes his trip to San Francisco. Josh explained “I was in San
Francisco last week and wandered into "occupied" territory. I spoke
to several protesters with an open mind to better understand what they want
changed. Rather than clearly articulated demands, I heard a mish-mash of angry
spew.” Josh also gave the answers he received from the occupiers, which seemed
aimless because it seems that they are only complaining about the conditions
they live with as the middle to lower class citizens of the United States.
Their complaints are what’s allowing the public aside from the movement to view
them as clowns; not to be taken seriously. Instead of aimless complaints, Josh
would then offer advice to those who truly deserve to protest by two steps “1.
Create a rational case for change. Just
being angry isn't enough. You need to clearly articulate why the current state
is unacceptable in a thoughtful, reasonable way. No one will be moved to action
unless they understand why they must act.” Josh transitions to the second step-“2. Make a specific, realistic ask. Demanding a Prius and a high-paying job for
every American is a foolish, unattainable request that is completely
inactionable. On the other hand, real change can occur when a rational and
consistent solution is proposed.” Josh’s advice to the complaining seem
valuable, had they had people with a mindset like his, I believe the occupy
movement would become a success over time. Josh elaborates the true mindset of
the occupiers “While they profess to represent "the 99%," they are
really just a fringe group of frustrated people who would rather complain than
make a real difference. As a result, it is highly unlikely that this
"movement" will accomplish much of anything.” If the occupy movement
had powerful and realistic intentions with goals, they would be taken more
seriously.
Sources Cited
Boxer, Jeffery. “Occupy Needs Real Leaders.” The Justice. October
25, 2011. http://www.thejustice.org/forum/occupy-protesters-need-real-leaders-1.2663287
Dietz, David. “Occupy Wall Street Six Months Later: Why OWS
failed and How it Can Be Revived.” Policy Mic. March 27, 2013. http://www.policymic.com/articles/5601/occupy-wall-street-six-months-later-why-ows-failed-and-how-it-can-be-revived/105115
Linkner, Josh. “To Be Taken Seriously, Occupy Needs to Focus
Its Message.” Fast Company. October 31, 2011. http://www.fastcompany.com/1791879/be-taken-seriously-occupy-wall-street-needs-focus-its-message
Daniel Cano
Professor Hayes
English 100 (1550 words)
March 24th 2013
Professor Hayes
English 100 (1550 words)
March 24th 2013
Occupy: Was it Worth the While?
The
occupy movement in Oakland was demonstrated by valiant and persistent protestors who attempt to show
the nation how upset and dissatisfied they were with the government; the
occupiers knew that the United States economic taxing system was being more
favorable and beneficial to the rich, and denied higher chances of better
living to the poorer community. Someone from a neutral viewpoint on the occupy
movement may ask if all that protesting, occupying, and assembling is worth the
time, effort, and constraint. A hard-core and committed member of the occupy
movement would insist that their efforts were all but worthless, but one from
an anti-occupy stance may share a different viewpoint. The purpose of this
discussion is to question or inquire the motive and efforts of the occupy
protestors. Is the Occupy worth the effort, the membership, or time?
So, why would someone among the lower class
join the Occupy Oakland Movement? In his written experience as a once active
member of the Occupy movement, “The Hungry Got Food, The Homeless Got Shelter”,
D. Scot Miller shares with his audience the reason for joining the occupy, which were
similar among the rest of the protestors. Scot Miller was able to answer the
inquiry by saying “For many of us, the primary motive for participating in
Occupy Oakland was feeding, clothing, housing, healing, and supporting every
disenfranchised person who came, regardless of who they were , what they looked
like, or what they believed.” One can see what Occupy Oakland is all about, a
cause by bringing together a diverse group of individuals who share the same
frustration with a capitalistic system, they believe it intends to hold them
down in the bottom of the heap while the rich only feed them scraps left on the
table after dinner. From Scot D. Miller’s further analysis of the Occupy
Oakland Movement, it looks like the movement serves a greater purpose besides
the demand for change in American taxing. If a person familiar with the urban
lifestyle, one could simply think of a city like Oakland, and thoughts like the
danger of being shot or assaulted may come into process. Scot shares with the
audience that some of Oakland has changed for the better; with a sense of
togetherness in the Oakland’s poverty stricken community, Scot said, “The
hungry got food, and the homeless got shelter. The street kids who smoked and
drank at the plaza before Occupy arrived continue to smoke and drink-and now
they passed around books from the free library. People were helping each other,
looking out for one another, and turning their backs on the stresses of
foreclosed homes and benefit cuts. I saw people being radicalized by
conversation and generosity. Kids ran through the straw spread on the ground
beneath us those first days. Guitars and drums played. A woman with two kids
who had been staying in a shelter got a free tent.” From this Occupy Movement involving
a diverse group of individuals demanding a higher chance to escape poverty,
there also came a second purpose to this gathering, the down fall of
discrimination between ethnic groups, and togetherness which could briefly
bring better change in Oakland after all, if not able to acquire the demanded
changes from the economical purpose.
As for “Occupy
Protesters Need Real Leaders” by Jeffery Boxer, he defines the occupy protest
as a group who need politically connected leaders who are persuasive, cunning,
and competent. Although Boxer mentions his viewpoint on the general Occupy
Movement perspective, (aka bird’s eye viewpoint) earlier mentioned writer D.
Scot Miller, described the Occupy Oakland Movement superior to others, based on
the resources and supplies available for the protestors. Miller insists that
“Compared to Oakland, all the other sites-including Occupy Wall Street in New
York-looked, well, busted. Just a quick glance at the occupy San Francisco
site, for example, revealed people who had to sleep under tarps on the
sidewalk, who were hounded by both the police and people already living on the
streets, and who were eating bologna sandwiches out of paper bags.” From what
the passage tells us, it looks like Occupy Oakland was much more organized, and
may not have made its impact to the politicians, but it built its success among
Oakland inhabitants. Boxer tells us “Whether or not you agree with it, the
message behind the movement has always been a powerful one.” This tells me that
Boxer has some respect to their efforts and example for others and sees what
they are fighting for; but does that mean he finds any point in the protestor’s
raving and ranting? Boxer also lets us know that if they can’t acquire such a
powerful and influential leader, occupy ‘s followers will only consist of “a
bunch of unemployed people and college students sleeping in Zuccotti Park in
New York City never seemed like much of a threat to the American political
bureaucracy .” Therefore, his answer to the Occupy movement efforts imply that
it will have no greater impact or influence on the American taxing system
unless having the right connections to the political system, which allows the
rich %1 billionaires, millionaires, and stock holders to be less taxed than a
poorer family.
 |
| This could be politically connected leader... |
 |
| ...this is just nonsense. |
In addition to the
inquiry based on Occupy’s causes, this particular author says the effort coming
from OWS is affecting the economy, but only as a “pinch” level of attack. Nicholas
Pell, writer of the article ”Is the Cost of Occupy Wall Street Worth It?”
writes “In one of his several tirades against OWS, Mayor Bloomberg complained
that the protesters were costing the city what was left of its tax base.
Regardless of who one chooses to blame, the fact is clear that businesses are
losing money because of the protests. Small business feels the pinch first and
hardest.” Rather than being a large roundhouse kick that can change the United
States’ policies and debt crisis on students, it can only affect the economy so
little.
In conclusion, although Occupy Wall Street or Occupy San
Francisco was subject to negative criticism by others and have not reached
their goals due to not being as powerful nor politically influential, Occupy
Oakland made its success from within. Maybe the Oakland protestors did not get
they thought they deserved or needed, but what Oakland really needed was a
stronger diverse community that gets together and increases the positivity of
living amongst each other also known as plural acceptance. It looks like the
occupy Oakland movement served its second purpose, for a while until it was
raided by the Oakland Police.
Works Cited
Pell, Nicholas. “Is the Cost Of Occupy Wall Street Worth
It?” GoBankingrates.com.Web. November 13, 2011
Miller, D.Scot. “The Hungry Got Food, The Homeless Got
Shelter” California Northern Magazine.Print.2012.
Chapman, Steve. "The Occupy Movement Is Based on Resentment
and Misinterpretations." The Occupy Movement. Ed. Stefan Kiesbye. Detroit:
Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "What Occupy Wall Street Gets
Wrong." Reason.com. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 19 Apr.
2013.
Boxer, Jeffery. “Occupy Protestors Need Real Leaders.” The
Justice. Web.October 25, 2011.
http://www.thejustice.org/forum/occupy-protesters-need-real-leaders-1.2663287
Home: Click Here.
Last Essay! Right Here.
