By Alexandra Taylor. I will be honest and say that I have had a hard time writing anything hopeful lately. I’m in a small town in the south.I’ve made a lot of friends, some of whom are connected to the Occupy movements in the large cities in Florida, but my closest here are those I’m around most often, and I’m around those from this small town that’s been absolutely battered by the economic collapse. I’ve made friends with a young man who works at the place our boat is, a young woman who works at one of the diners in town, a lady who works at the gas station we buy our ice for the cooler from.
Their lives aren’t easy and I see the reality of it all and it isn’t pretty. And to be honest, I am filled with outrage that these perfectly bright people are not able to have the same hopeful future that I have. Nothing separates us except where we were born, and to be deprived of a future just because you didn’t luck out with where you were born isn’t fair at all!
A snippet of what the tone of things in my writings have been like:
” The young Americans outside of the Occupy movement that I’ve met on my trip thus far seem to be quite apolitical, simply because they don’t feel like anything that they could do could make a difference. And to be truthful, I doubt that my political zeal and the hope that I have in the political process would exist if I were raised here. The apathy is understandable when you consider that this generation came of age during the wars, have been battered by the present state of the economy – and it’s especially understandable when you add the massice government that feels completely out of reach of the average, every day person, especially in small towns that have been decimated by the financial collapse, into the mix. Where’s the hope you promised, Obama?”
I’ve been particularly angry toward Obama lately because of signing that god-awful NDAA 2012 Act into law on New Year’s Eve. I saw it on my Facebook feed via Amnesty International nearly as soon as it happened, and I felt like crying.
The young people here are demoralized and I try so hard to be a voice to motivate them, but I can honestly see why they feel the way they do. This whole trip thus far has taught me so much and I’ve learned precisely how privileged I am to live where I do and to have all that I have as a Canadian. I mean, the cops here work on commission! They get a percentage of every ticket they issue. It’s disgusting. Such conflict of interest!
Martin Luther King Jr. march next week in Fort Lauderdale. I will hopefully have something uplifting, or at least not inflammatory and undiplomatic to write.
Alexandra Taylor has been writing about the Occupy Movement in Florida For Today.
A snippet of what the tone of things in my writings have been like:
” The young Americans outside of the Occupy movement that I’ve met on my trip thus far seem to be quite apolitical, simply because they don’t feel like anything that they could do could make a difference. And to be truthful, I doubt that my political zeal and the hope that I have in the political process would exist if I were raised here. The apathy is understandable when you consider that this generation came of age during the wars, have been battered by the present state of the economy – and it’s especially understandable when you add the massice government that feels completely out of reach of the average, every day person, especially in small towns that have been decimated by the financial collapse, into the mix. Where’s the hope you promised, Obama?”
I’ve been particularly angry toward Obama lately because of signing that god-awful NDAA 2012 Act into law on New Year’s Eve. I saw it on my Facebook feed via Amnesty International nearly as soon as it happened, and I felt like crying.
The young people here are demoralized and I try so hard to be a voice to motivate them, but I can honestly see why they feel the way they do. This whole trip thus far has taught me so much and I’ve learned precisely how privileged I am to live where I do and to have all that I have as a Canadian. I mean, the cops here work on commission! They get a percentage of every ticket they issue. It’s disgusting. Such conflict of interest!
Martin Luther King Jr. march next week in Fort Lauderdale. I will hopefully have something uplifting, or at least not inflammatory and undiplomatic to write.
Alexandra Taylor has been writing about the Occupy Movement in Florida For Today.
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