Wall Street

It's been a while, so I guess it is time to write another post. Might as well jump right into the fray, and comment on the Occupy Wall Street protests. Up to today, I haven't really cared about the protests. While I generally agree that our current political and economic climate is unsustainable, I find that most of the noise coming out of the protests is just noise. The original organizers may have had some good ideas and good intentions, but at this point the main points coming from the masses are crazy. Just search Google for "OWS Demands" and you'll find plenty of sites that will detail them.

However, none of this is what really sparked this post. The reason behind this post is far more selfish and petty. The protest hit me personally today when it stood between me and home after a long day of work. I work for a large investment bank in the Financial District of Manhattan, so I spend a lot of time in the vicinity of the protests (I don't work on Wall St. itself, so up to this point I had not personally seen the protests). Today as I was walking to the subway station to get my train home I ran into a march by the protesters. They were heading down one of the main streets between me and my subway stop. Not only was there the march, but because this is NYC there were also plenty of police officers and the portable barriers that they put up to control large crowds at event. All of this blocking my way to the station. I walked up to the next crossing to see if the police had left an opening for people to cross, but alas they did not. I walked a bit further and found a break in the march. I pushed my way to the barrier and caught the attention of one of the police officers and asked how I could get to the station. His response was excellent, and I greatly appreciated it. He simply said "come over here" and walked up a few sections of barrier, swung it open, and let me through. So, to him I offer a big thank you.

As for the rest of the protesters and the movement. I too am one of the 99%. I am, however, starting a career and working hard to make my way in this difficult economy. I worked hard my entire school, and I'm continuing to do so now. So, please, stop interrupting my trip home after a long day of working to make sure that I can support myself.

~Alex