Occupy Nothing

The Occupy Wall Street movement is pretty much over. Stick a fork in it, boys, it's done. And the end hasn't come because of the evictions most of the "occupiers" have faced in different cities. It's mostly because no one - least of all the media - pays attention to them anymore.

A lot of Occupy Wall Street groups tried to make a statement about the conspicuous spending on Black Friday; some of them showed up as flash mobs in Wal-Marts expressing solidarity with the exploited and underpaid workers who were forced to work from midnight to 8 A.M. and possibly later that morning. Guess what: Retail sales for the day after Thanksgiving set a new record in 2011 - $11.4 billion. The truth of the matter is, even in a recessionary period like this one, to be against shopping is like being against America.

Also, new polls suggest that while most Americans still approve of Occupy Wall Street's objectives - making the rich pay their fair share - they increasingly disapprove of their methods and tactics, which include camping in public plazas, disrupting traffic in the general area (generated by people trying to get to work) and, presumably, playing bongo drums. (Middle America prefers melody to rhythm.)

Oh yeah, although many of the protesters are unable to find employment, right-wingers like Newt Gingrich are exhorting them to get a job as soon as they've washed up. The joke's on him; they're already washed up. Success in America is defined by hard work and playing by the rules, and conservatives have convinced Americans that the Occupy Wall Street crowd is capable of neither. Democrats, which hoped to catch of some of Occupy Wall Street's energy, are now being warned that an association with OWS could cost them the White House and Congress in 2012.

The Occupy Wall Street protests have become the sociopolitical equivalent of the grunge rock revolt; it's shaken the established order, but has pretty much failed to bring it down . . . and collapsed in the attempt.