October 31, 2011
Why many people say we should 'clear them out'
This week’s poll is still in its early stages, but I don’t expect the numbers to change much: well over 50 per cent say their reaction to the Occupy Kamloops protest is that we should “clear them out.”
Showing tolerance or listening to them are options for only 20 per cent each.
I can see where these results might be disappointing for people who consider themselves progressive, and were hoping the Occupy protests might lead to some change in the world. But after about 20 years of living in Kamloops, I would have to say those kinds of expectations simply don’t jive with the kind of community we live in.
From my perspective, residents of Kamloops see themselves as people who work hard and expect other people to work hard also. And if that doesn’t do the trick, they should work even harder. The last thing they should is do ask for something to be simply handed to them.
So when they look at the protesters, they don’t see idealists. They see people who are not working, and who are asking that they be given something even though they are not working. They see people who are not taking responsibility for their own circumstances, and instead are blaming others.
I don’t totally subscribe to this view. My experience of life is that things are never as cut and dried as we might like them to be. But I can understand the appeal of the logic behind it. After all, it would be tough world indeed if even our best efforts weren’t good enough.