The whole of the #Occupy movement is reminding me of Barack Obama. Obama isn't perfect, and there are policies stances I disagree with him on, but when I try to criticize him I feel guilty because some on the other side of the coin will use that, twist my words and make my statements seem more vicious than they are. When I see what is on the other side, when I see the quality of candidates from the other side and hear the plans they have for my side, I cringe at the prospect of letting their side take over. I may not like some of the tactics of the local #Occupy movement, I might listen to the squabbling and wonder where is the unity. I may hate that for some the movement is occupying a plot of land rather than the global message of helping your fellow person. I might even find it curious that yoga meditation or 'teach-ins' get more publicity and participation when mentioned on the local #Occupy Facebook page and website. All of that fades away when I see police officers, sworn to protect and defend, shoot pepper spray into the faces of passive young people who only want to protest the increase in tuition from their university. My anger against the 1% grows when a woman who was 3 months pregnant looses her baby because two police officers shoot pepper spray in her face and kick her in the stomach, all while she screams at them that she is pregnant. I grow more angry when I heard, and have confirmed at the time of putting this down, that while it has been reported by local and national media that the woman was attacked by the police, reports of her miscarriage has gone unreported other than by 'fringe media' and callers into progressive talk show programs who confirmed that the local media is being quiet or has outright pulled this new revelation. I shake my head in contempt when Newt Gingrich, a man who dared to claim the reason why he cheated on his cancer stricken wife while he declared a moral war against Bill Clinton for having a blowjob in the White House was because of the pressures of being Speaker of the House, had the nerve to say people of the #Occupy movement should 'get a job and take a bath.'

Unlike a Presidential election, I have options of what I can do for the whole #Occupy movement. I may not march as much as some and I may not be in agreement with all they have to say. That is my right as an American and as a human being. I think for some, they believe you have to pass a litmus test, a religious rite of passage, to be considered part of the group. I hate that. Sometimes I don't play well with others. Sometimes I have to suppress some strong emotions I have because the greater good is more important than a minor disagreement in tactics. There are friends of mine that I strongly disagree with some stances they have made. It might be said I am crazy for sticking with them if I am so diametrically opposed to what they stand for. The thing about friends is there normally is something, some hard to define bond that keeps them together. The thing about friends is you can disagree and still be civil. You can even agree you will never agree on the conflict but still be friends.

The #Occupy movement is helping all of us. There are things I don't like about them, and I'm struggling to understand those disagreements, but the goal we both have is the same. We see a lot of wrong in this country, and it doesn't make us bums, it doesn't make us traitors, it doesn't make us malcontents to demand a change to the system. We should focus on what we have in common, not what keeps us apart. That is what the other side wants. They want us to be crabs in a bucket, fighting each other, keeping ourselves down. I may still (who am I kidding, I'm still going to do it) point out issues I have with the local and national #Occupy movement but I will also continue to condemn the wrongs that effect us all.