Why I haven’t attended any “Occupy” demonstrations

First of all, let me express my support for the movement
Now, let me explain why I have not taken part in the demonstrations

The biggest reason is one based on fear
-I am afraid of my government
-I am afraid of being beaten up by riot squads
-I am DEATHLY afraid of jail
-I am afraid of being placed on a watch list

When I was growing up, my parents taught me to question authority but respect the police and armed forces
Yeah, it sucks to get a ticket or to be arrested but 9 times out of 10, the person brought it upon themselves
My encounters with police have always been “Yes Sir, No Sir” events
That’s why I have only been to jail once and that was for 45 minutes in Rockwall while my friends paid my forgotten speeding ticket
Keep in mind that I know that there are corrupt/bad cops etc….but we need such authority to keep some semblance of order

The second reason why I have not attended these protests is that I believe my entire adult life has been a protest against unchecked corporate greed
While most Americans were taking on lots of debt in student loans, new car payments and obscene credit card purchases, I was living below the poverty line, driving shitty cars, living in crappy apartments and keeping my posessions to a minimum (drums don’t count)
I have had a credit card for at least 10 years now and the balance has never been over $1000 (and that was emergency money after my car died on the road)
-No big screen TV/giant stereo system
-No brand name wardrobe
-No expensive girlfriend/wife/kids

Why did I live such a spartan existance?
One of the main reasons is because I didn’t wanna give “The Man” his interest rate for financing my personal version of the American Dream
Anything I had was either a gift from my family or bought with money I saved from working my shitty just-above-minimum wage-job

My protest was not to participate and it still is
No one seemed to notice these problems when they were brewing over the last 10 years
All of the sudden, the people who had a deaf ear to the things people like me stood for all these years seem to be listening
Nevermind the fact that many people just like me saw this coming during Bush administration
I remember their attitudes when things were going great
Now they understand
But I fear it is too late
The people who truly own this country (term stolen from George Carlin) are not going to let go and they sure as hell are not going to let it go back to the way things were

I don’t hate corporations, we need them
I don’t hate rich people, politicians and cops, we need them too

If anything, it is YOUR fault as much as it is theirs
YOU let this happen by getting soft, comfortable and complacent
YOU let them buy your complacency
Now that the golden goose has stopped laying eggs, all of the sudden, YOU are angry
Try to rememeber that when you think back over the last decade
How many times did you care about corporate greed when you had it so well?