Forum Post: Notes from my Visit to Occupy Wall St

Having followed the Occupy movement for the past couple weeks I was finally afforded an opportunity to see it first hand on Monday. What I saw was breathtaking, people of every conceivable background coming together to stand up for something. I had been bothered by the seeming lack of a concrete agenda but found that the diversity of objectives had actually created a greater vision of the change that we are in such drastic need of. From economists to environmentalists, the Occupy movement stands for one thing above all: change. We know our system is broken and the Occupy movement is all about fixing it. The diversity of goals means that we will not be satisfied with patchwork, stop-gap solutions, we need real systemic and substantial change. The change we seek cannot be encompassed in one act of Congress or one wave of the President's pen, its change that will require sacrifice, something that Americans seem to have lost their appetite for. So to all those who stand in Zuccoti Park and to those who stand with Occupy around the world, I say keep standing, keep speaking and keep moving forward. With that said, a few notes from my brief visit.

1. Keep the community - I was amazed to see such a diverse group act with such civility towards one another. Despite the size of the crowd people courteously moved for one another, were mindful of others and generally treated each other with greater respect than I am used to seeing.

2. Stay organized - From the info desk to the kitchen providing meals, the Occupy movement displays greater organization than most in the media have given credit for. I was similarly encouraged to see the ban on alcohol and drugs, the movement cannot afford to be seen as anything but what it is, a movement for change. Although we lack a centralized authority, the movement seems to be self-aware with no one stepping on the toes of their fellow protester's message.

3. Keep it Clean - Several times during the day I stopped to thank those individuals who took it upon themselves to keep the park clean. Help these people out, they are the unsung heroes of the movement.

4. Celebrities - I was star struck when, while carrying on a conversation with a fellow occupier, I turned to see Kanye West and Russel Simmons right in front of me. While I think its good to have the support of such visible people, we must also remain conscious of the message they may be trying to send. I was disheartened to hear that his visit was essentially a photo op. Celebrities who join the movement must put ego aside and understand that in the struggle we are a part of, their media empire has been as much to blame for the state of our world as any other factor.

5. Finally, Keep on Keeping On - No matter what, we cannot stop until the movement is complete. This will take time, years, maybe decades to do. But if the spirit of the movement stays intact, I have no doubt we will get there. For all the criticism for a lack of a single agenda, the movement can best be summarized as community, helping those in need, giving everything we can to each other and realizing that in this world, no man is an island. One of the best things I saw was a man asleep under a number of tarps, when I asked a fellow occupier what his deal was, he told me that the man had been with Occupy for a few weeks. The man was a heroin user, who with the help of the Occupy movement had remained sober. That spirit of community inspired me to believe in the movement, it revitalized my faith in humanity and comforts me in the face of all the selfishness and greed in the world today.

Those are my thoughts and observations from just a few hours of being on the ground with Occupy Wall St, I hope people who read this can either add to my observations or will see them and be inspired to join. The 1% will distort our cause and many of the 99% will be manipulated to stand with the 99%, but in time our cause will prevail because we are the people.