How Occupy Vancouver Blew It

Occupy Vancouver Failure | BCBusiness
The occupiers had us at “rebel,” then they squandered most of that empathy by falling into vagueness.

The occupiers didn’t know what it was, but they were against it anyway. No wonder they’re being turfed.

A long time ago, a musician friend of mine wrote a satirical protest song. Putting on an early Bob Dylan hat and a turtleneck sweater, he would intone a refrain that went so: “I’m against it. Deep down in my soul, I’m against it. I don’t know what it is, but I’m damn sure I’m against it.”

I couldn’t help thinking about his song as authorities moved in on the occupiers at the Vancouver Art Gallery and other locations around the country.

Of course, this weekend’s civic election in Vancouver might have had a something to do with it. Polls showed that it was the number one issue in the city right now – really, we’re that short sighted  – so Mayor Gregor Robertson had to move.

I have no doubt he would have preferred the benign neglect approach, but with opponent Susan Anton breathing down his neck he had no choice but to come on hard. No easy task for Mayor Nice.  

Still, I can’t help but be disappointed – not only with city officials, but with the occupiers themselves – as this fiasco comes to a close.

The Occupy Wall Street movement, and its sprouts that emerged around the world, had all the makings of a good old revolutionary movement – when ordinary people rise up against those who exploit them (I’d like to stay away from Marxist terminology here, but if the shoe fits).

And, man, are they being exploited these days. Bankers make billions while the tax dollars paid by the exploding numbers of small businesses, entrepreneurs, and fresh new freelancers (read: the jobless) bail them out when they blow it. Laws are being rewritten to favour big corporations over small shops. Society praises those who go into business with the sole purpose to “get rich,”(i.e. connive, undercut, finagle, and just plain old steal) no matter what the expense, instead of simply doing work they enjoy.

But that all changed, apparently.

The occupiers initially had us at “rebel,” then they squandered most of that empathy by falling into vagueness, confusion, and randomness.

The great tragedy here is that while the occupiers may have had sympathy behind them initially, they quickly lost it because they couldn’t articulate an idea beyond “I’m against it.”

That’s why, I believe, it was so easy for street people, the angry and disaffected, drug dealers, and the usual other parasites to take over the occupy movement.

Something always fills a vacuum and, in this case, absence of thought was the occupation’s downfall.