Forum Post: Occupy Wallstreet Preaches Equality and Practices Inequality

I went to occuppywallstreet NYC specifically Zuccotti Park. I was enthusiastic and had been following the movement closely on a daily basis. I do work and can not attend often. I met a lot of great people and some not so great but generally everyone was informed and polite. However, I asked a "facilitator" what exactly she was doing and why are there moderators etc. She then went on to say they are needed to provide structure to conversation as people go off on tangents. She then said the only rule is that a white male can not go first in discussion. She further explained that the logic was that this is forum to get the voices out there that are typically marginalized. This turned me off to the entire movement. I didn't even want to speak first or at all but the fact this movement has adopted antiquated ideals of affirmative action which is just reverse discrimination under the guise of it being progressive practice made me loose faith in the people who established the framework for this movement. We are all people and we should look at one another as such. You can not look at a person and tell by their gender or skin color if their voice has been marginalized if the rationale is based in historical terms that white males are the only people in the US not to have their voice marginalized that doesn't hold up. Aren't we all there to get rid of the old system and instead it's just an inverted system that marginalizes my voice based on the sins of my demographic history. The OWS movement adopts the idea of let's punish white males because they created this mess and they've had it so much easier with in the old system. Let's not punish anyone and not pay attention to who is speaking in terms of demography but instead shift our focus on their voice and message. The fact the movement looks at people in demographic manner is disturbing, because it demonstrates how little unity there really is with in this movement because instead of being viewed as part of the 99% I am viewed as a white male. To say white males haven't been marginalized or their voice hasn't been is ludicrous and ignorant. This is almost as ludicrous as the idea that the white males in power are representing me or are an outlet for my voice. I have never been discriminated against until that day which ironically was the first time I went to protest the inequity and inequality of our current system. It's ironic because I sacrificed a day off from work to show support for a movement that discriminates, views my voice as inferior, and can be marginalized under the false rationale that my voice has already been heard; because the leaders of the system (that same system we all joined together to protest) are white males. For a movement that is filled with progressive ideas it takes political correctness to a jihadist extreme. Why suppress anyone's voice I thought this movement was for equality? That is why I supported the movement until I became labeled as white male first and part of the 99% second. This movement was supposed to be about uniting people who have ideals for a better future but instead it labels “white males” as a 2nd class activists. I can not support a movement that does this even if I agree with 99% of its message. Please I implore all you facilitators out there drop this discriminatory practice because you need all the voices you can get and it makes you look like hypocrites by preaching unity and equality while practicing segregation.