While attending the Stocks 2011 Conference in Vancouver,
Canada (more on that later), I decided to stop by “Occupy Vancouver,” an offshoot of the Occupy Wall
Street protests occurring in NY and elsewhere. I expected to see a party.
From what I can tell, “Occupy Vancouver” is basically a large
collection of dirty tents and cardboard huts resembling a refugee camp.
When I first showed up at 10:30 am, no one
was awake yet. When I came back several
hours later, I didn’t see unemployed accountants or disenfranchised
schoolteachers; instead, I saw a small
group of professional protestors – the same raggedy-looking, unshaven youth who show up at G7 meetings and WTO summits.
I also didn’t see any protests.
The few people who ventured outside their tents were clasping cups of
soup with both hands, attempting to keep warm in Vancouver's cold and wet
winter weather.
A security guard on site told me that he believes “Occupy
Vancouver” will soon fade because the protestors are not having fun
anymore - many look tired, and more still are developing colds and
coughs from walking around barefoot on muddy ground.
When I told the security guard that the protest
site looks like a garbage dump, he
replied, “When rats come, of course that’s what it looks like.”
No agenda, no demands, no conclusion…how long can this last?
____
____
“Welfare's purpose should be to eliminate, as far as possible, the
need for its own existence.”
Ronald Reagan
____
