Forum Post: Late Night/Early Morning Ramble on Occupy (pt.1)

Alright, first I'd like to offer my apologies. I'm rather tired at the moment, but I seemingly can't sleep until I post this, so forgive any rambling and/or spelling and grammatical errors.

Now then, I've never commented on any Occupy thread on anything until now, be it OWS or any other location. I've simply been reading various viewpoints, both for and against, and watching as the movement developed. A single question has been dogging me over the past week or two, and I feel the need to ask it: Why not?

Perhaps I am missing something, and I don't claim to be an expert on everything that everyone has ever said or done in the movements here or around the world, but it seems to me that those who disagree with this movement are getting to the point of rage in many cases. As such, I would like to, if I may, give my own thoughts on matters I have seen come up time and time again.

1. "They are all socialists! (or some variation to that effect)" : I frankly don't want this to be my first point, but I've seen it so much that I think it would be remiss of me not to have it. I disagree with this. Granted, the majority of protesters that I have read opinions from state that those with more wealth should be taxed more than they are now. This would mean that more of "the 1%"'s money would be distributed. This does not mean that the majority of the party wants all wealth to be evenly distributed among the masses. Indeed, I have seen many comments saying that they praise hard work and dedication, and such virtues should be rewarded. There is a large difference between enacting a "socialist" policy and converting to Socialism. Public roads, fire and police departments, public schools (which, like it or not, do raise the overall education level of the country, though their end worth has been debated to no end in these discussions), and more are all "socialist" policies. If I recall correctly there were even cases when fire departments were privately run (they didn't end well), though that could just be a story I heard. The point is, I don't think socialism should be an outright dirty word. If you disagree with the ideas, discuss it calmly and rationally, but don't use it as an insult.

2. "They're just greedy and want handouts!" (or some variation thereof): The point that sticks most in my mind for this one is, to paraphrase Herman Cain: "You work hard and get your own Mercedes, you don't take someone else's." My response to that is simple. The majority don't seem to want a Mercedes, much less yours. What I believe the equivalent would be is that they're asking the wealthy to go without a custom leather interior so that a few people can get basic medical treatment who otherwise couldn't. Yes, they're asking for a small sacrifice, but nothing that can't be borne with a little patience and understanding.