Why Not Go Straight to the Top?

Occupy Oakland just got thrown out of their house: no more camping and no more tents. It is a truly low blow to get thrown out of Oakland.

The A's have been trying to leave Oakland for ten years. They can't find anybody who will take them.

So why is it that the Occupiers can't come up with an agenda? Forget all the excuses. The real reason is probably that the people in the park are there to express their frustration, not to effect change. There is no huge gorilla in the room, just an infinite amount of nasty mosquitos.

If the government was stupid enough to load all of its misdeeds onto a troop train, the Occupiers would lie down in front of it. But the government is not stupid. It spreads its incompetence and venality in all directions. You can't campaign against yesterday's war.

So if you want campaign finance reform but your neighbor in the park wants free brown rice to be given to the homeless and his neighbor wants to end racism in public hiring and her neighbor wants banks to lend money at no interest to anyone who asks for it, how are you going to come to a decision about anything? This is where the word 'leadership' comes in.

Here's an idea: instead of hating on Obama, ask for his help. Remember who used to be a community organizer? How about it? The President of the United States could actually use this rudderless movement to affect the kind of change he can't possibly get working with aging windbags in congress, and you Occupiers could channel your frustration towards goals that are reachable.

Hell, you don't want to stay in downtown Oakland anyway, do you? Nobody wants to stay in Oakland.