Reflecting on Occupy

All I can say is this: that for the last year and change I have crisscrossed this country and seen the impact that our failing economy and irresponsible government has had on the everyday lives of people just like me, older and younger. College students question the value of their education and their future, while seasoned employees find themselves starting all over again. Decreasing tourism in Maui, a surplus of graduates with no jobs in the university city of Boston, unemployment in the Berkshires, are just a few things that I have not only noticed but been influenced by in much the same way as many other Americans, I can't find a job and my student loans are in unemployment deferment. I came down to Alabama to be with family while I figure out my next steps and get back home to Oakland. I learned that my grandmother's social security checks barely cover the most essential of her living expenses. She's been a laundry maid and seen the brutality of the Civil Rights Movement, her late husband was a veteran of the Korean War, but for the first time in her life she is dependent on food stamps and donations from the food bank to make ends meet. She is part of the generation that pinched and saved so that they could have more in retirement but social security is not enough anymore. What does that mean for me? Now, in Birmingham, watching and reading about the Occupy groups gaining momentum across the country, in Maui, Boston, Atlanta, Birmingham, and at my home in Oakland and Berkeley, my travels over the last year have added meaning and familiarity to the unique struggles facing each community across the country. I can't wait to get back to my hometown and show support with my friends and family there. Until then, I am the 99% in Birmingham, Alabama.