Thoughts on the Occupy LA movement

I work in downtown.  I work a block and a half away from city hall, which means the Occupy LA movement is literally down the street.  Being the closest (or what I assume is the closest) free Wi-Fi to this Occupy, we get a LOT of people coming into our store (Starbucks) on a daily basis.

At first, it was kinda fun to see all these new faces.  Then, those faces became familiar... and, to be honest, annoying.  But, that's jumping ahead... Let me back up a bit.

See, I want to agree with everything the OLA stands for.  I want what they want.  I want a discussion to be put on the table, and I want people to start trying to figure out a new way for things to happen in our society.  About a year ago, I lost my job... It took me over 3 months to find a new one, and in that time I was desperately scrounging for money.  I was getting married in 6 months, and freaking out that my wedding, marriage, and eventual future was going down the drain.  Luckily, God blessed me with a loving fiancee (now wife!) and supportive friends & family.  So, when I got the call to become a Starbucks barista (making MUCH less than I was before) I jumped at the chance to get working again.  It's been about 10 months since I started working for the mermaid, and truth be told I wake up each morning thanking God for the blessing this job has been.  (Sometimes I thank God in a very VERY tired voice, but it's still a blessing)

So, here's what my daily schedule looks like... I get up at 3am EVERY day, so I can shower and get ready to go to work at 4am.  In an effort to let my wife sleep, I grab the clothes I laid out the night before to get dressed in the dark (which I'm real good at!).  I say bye to my wife (who I silently hope I don't wake up, so she can sleep a few more hours until she has to get up for work herself), and slip out the door.  There's nobody on the road at 3:30am, which means about 1/4 of the time CalTrans has decided to close the freeway into work to do construction.  I get myself into work at 4am and usually stay for a 5-7 hour shift.  This usually means I take my lunch around 6:30am (lunch!  HA!), but I'm off around 10ish... I head home, but usually stop along the way to run errands for our family (shopping, bank, car repairs... whatnot).  I try to get a small nap in, but that's usually hard to do between schoolwork, applying for more jobs, and various other chores.  Around 5pm, I start making dinner, and about 5:30-6pm Alyssa comes home and we eat dinner together.  I can sometimes stay up a few more hours to watch some TV with her (or just catch up on our days), and then I have to pass back out to re-set for the next day.

So, when I hear about a movement that wants to equalize wages or create more jobs or take down banks that are sucking up all the money... I want to agree so bad.  But, in reality, I was beginning to get bitter with this movement.

Throughout history, people have used movements like this to be an excuse for rebellion.  Most of the time, these people are ignorant to the root causes and ignorant to the true intention of why they should be there.  I am not speaking of those people who are really trying to help, really trying to make change, and really trying to talk to the government, corporations, and power players.  I am talking about the drugged out slackers that don't want to be a productive part of ANY society.  And I might sound harsh here, but it's the truth... that's what they are.

For the past 2 weeks, these dregs have been coming into our store and stealing everything from coffee to mugs, from condiments to umbrellas.  And it makes me mad.  I want to blame the Occupy movement because they are the reason they are here, but that's not fair.  And every day, it gets harder to be civil with these people.  The other day, one person (while waiting in line) was talking to his friend about how corporations like Starbucks sucks the soul out of its employees.  He said, "...just look at their eyes, you can see that everyone that works here is dead inside."  Umm, hey buddy... Starbucks provided me a job when nobody else would.  Starbucks is now one of the leading corporations seeking to CREATE jobs in the USA.  And... if I look dead inside, it's probably because I've been up since 3am working REAL hard to get a paycheck that puts food on the table and a roof over my head.  But I digress...

These people are negative, they are mean, and they are not helping society at all.  But is this what Occupy LA stands for?  Is that the kind of experience they want to leave people with?  No.

Today, for the first time since the beginning of the movement, I had a genuine positive experience with an Occupy LA person.  He came up to me and asked if I was the manager.  I said no, but I would be willing to pass on a message.  He then explained to me how he was part of the Occupy LA movement, and he felt horrible for the things people have been stealing from us.  He wanted to apologize for the image others have left, and told us that if someone stole from us, he would be willing to testify against them to make sure they could keep the occupy movement honest.  And in that one gesture, I was back on their side.

Alyssa has been telling me for a few days now that negativity will only cause us to become bitter and resentful.  Either we have to forgive and walk away, or confront the situation and push through.  I have told her the last few weeks that it has been difficult, because it feels like I don't know how to do that.  Today, I was offered a way to forgive.  And today, I can do just that.