Occupy or protest

I am a strong proponent of the American right to protest, in my mind guaranteed under the First Amendment. From a historic prospective, the Occupy protests are similar to the Hoovervilles that formed in the early 1930's. The largest was in New York's Central Park, but Hoovervilles were common throughout the United States. There was one near Cabbagetown in Atlanta, and probably others.

With high unemployment and no welfare, Hoovervilles were a cheap place to live in a home crafted from wood taken from crates and palettes. Normally, these "homes" remained as a family moved on, ready for the next occupant who came into the town.

The occupy protesters are very disorganized. Only recently have they begun to focus their frustration on the banks (apparently the original "Wall Street" target was falling on deaf ears). As Georgians know, many banks, especially the local banks, are barely getting by. Each Friday it seems another small local bank in the state fails, only to be taken over, mostly by a stronger regional bank.

Recently, the protesters have begun to center on foreclosures in an attempt to attract support. Well just about everybody, myself included, hates to see a bank foreclose on a property. Maybe if the bank had done more due diligence upfront, checking credit ratings, verifying employment and requiring a down payment we might have avoided this foreclosure mess. But they were forced to accept the so-called sub-prime loans thanks to one man, Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank.

In 2003 when the Bush Administration asked Congress for oversight on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae congressman Barney Frank stated that the entities "...are not facing any kind of financial crisis" Frank, as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee starting in 2007 tried to offset a statistical drop in home ownership with no down, no credit check home loans. This kicked off the famous mortgage bailout skit on Saturday Night Live, which NBC banned for many years:









Now, I don't blame the financial mess we got into in 2008 on Barney Frank. I do blame it on some Wall Street firms who knew they were taking advantage of antiquated laws with Mortgage Backed Securities and Credit Default Swaps. The banking mess, however, was because of the banks being forced to shore up the housing market courtesy of Mr. Frank. So, for the protestors to try and blame Wall Street or the banking industry without including the Pelosi Congress is sadly mistaken. Their movement is failing to catch widespread support because the basic tenant is wrong.

When we protested the killing of the Kent State students in 1969 many people who joined were righteously indignant over the killings and joined the protests across the United States. 100,000 people protested in Washington D. C. alone. The occupy movement pales in comparison.