Part One - 2013 – July 16 11:45am

I watched the season premiere of The Newsroom this morning and there was an interesting side story that parallels a decision I have to make for myself. In the show, which was set in early 2011, a stringer got wind of the very early roots of the Occupy movement. He asked his producer for permission to follow the story and at first she said no, because it didn’t seem like what was being planned was of little significance. Feeling sorry for him, she relented and let him go.

After listening to them he met with a woman and they talked about the Occupy issues. While he was sympathetic to their cause, he came to the same conclusion as his producer did, but he didn’t say it out loud to the woman but you could tell by his reaction this was is thought. Now, because we know the results we know he is on a big story but in the timeline of the show we can assume the station will regret not getting in on the ground floor.

In fact, the theme of the first episode of the new season seems to be built on ground floor opportunities that might be missed by the news crew. In the case of Occupy, the story ultimately went big near the end of 2011 but it could be argued that by 2012, especially as a component to the 2012 campaign, it wasn’t a factor. If anything it was a blip story that sizzled for a bit then fizzed. At the end of 2011, the Occupy movement looked like it would be a movement that would resonate throughout the country but now, in July of 2013, its impact is negligible. I covered the Occupy movement locally and the first rally had estimates of over 1500 who protested and marched in the city of Phoenix. That number quickly dropped, and by quick I mean by a week, that number dropped to 50 to 75 hardcore members and within two months, when Jesse Jackson came to town and the movement had one last gasp, 300 people showed up to march.

Those numbers don’t tell the whole story because if you discount the efforts of some to get more people involved, on most days, a month after the movement in Phoenix started, no more than 20 people were constantly at the Occupy site at any given time. Their protest fell on deaf ears and while people in the movement might have a lot of people they could blame, such as the media, the truth is when I checked for updates to their website to see activities they planned, a good amount of time there were none.

In the wake of the Zimmerman verdict, there is a rally planned for this evening. My journalism instinct wants me to head down to the meeting and document it. I feel like the stringer in The Newsroom and want to get on the ground floor of something that has the potential of being big. My thought is, however, that this is not like the Occupy movement of 2011 but the Occupy movement of 2013. There was a rally Sunday and while I understand it was hastily put together, looking at reports from the rally showed that about 100 people showed up. That’s a good number but will the movement become a real movement or will this be a feel good for the moment endeavor that will fizzle out once the media spotlight has dimmed? The local Occupy movement had 1500 with the first rally but dropped to 50 hardcore people within two weeks. My gut, not the journalism gut but the cynical gut, tells me this will be a lot of good meaning people getting together to vaguely talk about doing action but ultimately will do nothing. The energy and the numbers will not pan out.

I’m not sure if I will go cover it or not. I have a few hours to make a decision so I will mull it over.

Part 2 – 2013 – July 16 14:00pm

It took less time that I thought to make the decision about covering the rally. I could weave a very plausible tale of logistical issues that kept me away from covering it, but the truth is there are two simple reasons why I’m not covering it. The first is a bit superficial and had a minor factor in my decision. I promised myself that this week was going to be a vacation from the ugly reality we deal with. The San Diego Comic-Con is a few days away and since I will be in attendance I took the opportunity to make this week about the convention. I wasn’t going to go in on the heavy issues but my nature is such it’s tough to turn my back on a possible story.

The bigger factor that made me decide against covering the rally is while I wish the event will turn into something in my gut I keep seeing Kony and Occupy and any other movement that claims to bring about social change. I want to believe in the power of people wanting to make a change but I don’t see the conviction in their hearts. I see a lot of people motivated by emotions, which is good to some degree, but the heart is fickle. The icons of the protest, the Skittles and the hoodies, which should be symbols of revolution bring to my mind protest fashion statements. I don’t sense a long term commitment in the contact I have seen with people forwarding information about the rally because some of the same people were down with the cause of Occupy or Kony. Trayvon is the protest of the moment and they will go and get their camera time with the press and when another social crisis occurs they will be on the front lines again for a hot minute.

There are, no doubt, people who are deeply passionate about this cause, but will the genuine concern they have in their hearts now motivate them to do real change? Will they be in it for the long haul? My experience says no. There is a romanticism about protests, spurred on by the media of course, and all that spur of the moment optimism people feel now will dim with the long term commitment needed. Revolutions and social change doesn’t happen in a week, a month or a year. The fervor of people, who after the massacre of Sandy Hook felt the tide change on gun control, cooled as time went on and now, despite the polls, there isn’t a fiery movement to enact legislation to change the gun laws.

The fight for change is an ongoing struggle and even when you think progress is made, something can come along to turn the tide back. Settled law about abortion rights in 1972 are being eroded by state legislators across the country. As an example, the Texas legislator that won the hearts of many because of her filibuster was short lived since the policy was brought up again, was passed and will probably get signed into law. The Voting Rights Act hasn’t been struck down, but a key element has made enforcement difficult. Victories against questionable voting rights laws in 2011 and 2012 became mote before the ink could dry on the pull back by the Supreme Court a few weeks ago.

I don’t think people shouldn’t try to fight against the system, but people have to understand this is a fight of comic book proportions. You may think the villain is defeated but a few issues later, the villain is back. It is a constant struggle and I believe a good number of people are unwilling or unable to make the battle an all-consuming obsession that will drain you of mind and spirit.

Right now, my energy isn’t in covering an event that possibly will end the same as all the others. I could be making the same bad decision as the people in The Newsroom made, but like them I don’t have the benefit of hindsight to guide me. I have my guts and experience and because of this I need to pass at this time.