Yesterday was a solemn reminder of what Occupy Wall st has become. Three years ago to the day a group of young idealist gathered in the Financial District of New York city to protest, to organize, to inform but most of all to try to work out a solution to all of the problems being plagued by society today.
It was an amazing experience to watch the movement develop from the first day. Some called us idealist, some called us hopeless optimistic and unrealistic. Hundreds of people gathered to help broadcast the one demand, yet no one could agree on what that one demand should be. Some people demanded less debt, others demanded more funding, some people demanded more accountability while others protested for more freedom. We all agreed we need to fix things, yet no one could agree on how.
During the time of occupy, the short yet so significant two months in which it existed in full, many interesting characters came forward. The movement brought forth some twisted and quite dangerous people who lived on the fringe and took this as an opportunity to gain some publicity, gain some camera time, get some money or just feed their messianic complex.
During this time I also witnessed some of the kindest, most humanitarian and selfless acts possible. People with nothing but compassion came forward with genuine desire to help their fellow human by any means they could.
This became the staple of the Occupy movement- unreasonable compassion mixed with unbridled issues. For every good deed there was someone there ready to take advantage. I believe this is a perfect reflection of humanity itself and how it is up to us to find the balance between compassion and fear.
Three years later we gather to see how far we’ve come. And we have come a long way. Where once we gathered together united without a cause we now have a cause. We now know what the solutions are and how to implement them.
We now understand that we will not change anything by ASKING for change, there is no one out there that has the answers for us, no one is going to stand up and fight for us and provide what it is we are looking for. We’ve tried that. We’ve tried that countless times before.
The only solution is the solution we do, the only salvation is the salvation we bring. The revolution is not something other people do for us, the revolution is us- you and me- coming to realization of what world we want to live in and working on ourselves to be the people we want to be in the environment we’d like to be in.
Are you happy? What would make you happy?
Ask yourself first, what can I do to love myself?
Photos by Natalie Shmuel