Occupy!

I co-wrote a letter to the editor about the Occupy movement and I want to post it here as well.  It was printed in the Daily Illini at my alma mater UIUC.  From almost a year ago, 10/24/11:


Occupy Wall Street has gone global. People worldwide are frustrated with corporate control over our governments, over our human rights, over our environment and over our lives. People from Hong Kong to Chile, from Spain to Central Illinois have peacefully occupied public spaces to create a place where they become empowered again, where their isolation is broken and their voices heard.

Occupying is creating a space to discuss our grievances and realizing we are not to blame for the economic crisis; it is about literally taking a stand for a real democracy, protected from corporate influence. It is about putting the power back in the hands of the people — the idea upon which our nation was founded. We, the students in our generation, have not known anything like standing up against the government in our lifetimes, so we urge you to experience it first-hand instead of being fed pre-fabricated ideas by the media.

We challenge you: Talk to your parents, your teachers, your friends, and develop a solid opinion of what is wrong in our society.

Ask yourself: Do you think corporations should have the same rights as people? Do you want to be ruled by a government that bails out multinational banks instead of to-be-homeless mortgage-owners and to-be-unemployed students in debt? Do you want a government that prefers waging endless wars than rebuilding public schools?

Don’t buy into the mainstream media’s accusation that the Occupy movement has no clear goals. We’ve published clear documents with goals all over the place (see occupywallst.org), and local Occupations have our own specific goals, suited to address local issues.

You have a better solution? Join the Occupation and make your voice heard.

Ari Sahagun, Francisco Mena, Damian Reyes,
graduate students and junior in LAS