They can tear down the tents and enlist pundits to discredit the Occupy Wall Street movement, but we know none of that matters anymore. The Monopoly Man isn’t going to be able to put the genie back into the bottle. The 99 Percent are mad as hell and they’re not going to take it anymore.
Maybe you’re not facing down the police batons. Maybe you don’t live in a tent — yet. Maybe you’re still filing TPS reports in an office that makes you feel like you live in a Ziggy cartoon — for 40 hours per week, give-or-take the unpaid overtime.
But, you get it.
You were lured into buying things you couldn’t afford at rates that couldn’t last. You’re being forced to give up more of your life for less pay. You’re afraid to get sick because your health insurance won’t cover you. And no matter how much you play along, there’s no guarantee you’ll even keep your job if your company can find a third-world worker to do it more cheaply.
No doubt, you’re angry with these, and other wrongs. We’re all angry. But, we’re lucky, too. Lucky that some brave, young people have put a face to the discontent and to the injustice that has been eroding the quality of our lives for four decades. And we need to stand with those visible dissenters, by attending the demonstrations — now in every major American city — or at least, by showing solidarity in a symbolic way.
To that end, I present this emblem for the 99 Percent. It’s for those on the front lines and those on the sidelines. It’s a symbol of our solidarity with the idea that Americans want a fair shake for everyone — not just those who can pay for lobbyists. A symbol that says we want health care, politicians who can’t be bought, fair pay, jobs in our own country, a clean environment, an end to privatization and corporate welfare, safe food and good schools.
Can one symbol say all of that and more? You bet it can.
Granted, red ribbons didn’t cure AIDS, nor have the pink ones stopped cancer, but they have certainly made our government pay attention and provide funding.
Download this file, print it out, and make stickers, posters, T-shirts, mugs, lapel pins and whatever else you like. Let this be the sign you carry and disseminate, in big ways or small, to let the 99 Percent know we’re all living in the same campground now — and to let the One Percent and their security forces know that they can take down the tents, but not the Occupation.
Remember, the Happy Camper icon and other images that will be posted on this site, are free to use for non-commercial purposes. This is a movement, not a marketing opportunity. ‘Kay?
While WordPress is a fabulous tool, I still can’t get it to display the correct date 11/17/11 at the top.