Occupy... Teenagers

Whooops. My cousin just picked up her 16 year old niece from the Occupy 'protest' in Saint John about a half hour ago, so 2am their time, drunk out of her mind and hanging out with 20+ year olds. She is not a happy camper. She has figured out that the occupy protest there (and too many other places to count) has become a big stinking mess.Her words - ""WTH is their message? No Rent - Mess around with young girls?"". 


I saw about a month ago that my little cousin was hanging out there, helping hand out literature on the protest at a wooden table... and I worried about it but did not want to cause a stink by saying anything. Not that she would have listened anyway, but I have been watching her page for updates. I have seen the REAL news that has been going on at various protests around North America and did not like it one bit. Especially since it has been dragging on and the people who probably had a good concept about why they were there are long gone, back to work and their families, leaving the muck behind. I've seen programs where the journalists showed up at night to talk to some protesters and began knocking on tents, but they were empty! Just left up to make it look like a ton of people were still there supporting the cause, but they were not. I have watched citizen camcorder interviews with protesters who are very clearly drunk and/or stoned out of their minds, mumbling jibberish about how 'the rich should be BEHEADED'. Oh ya - im sure that 99% of the country agrees with you. What a crock.


I've seen far too many photos and videos to mention of people defecating right in the middle of the park. And to think, they didn't pick it up with a doggy poo bag or anything. Just squatted, took a dump while people were walking past filming, and they didn't care one bit. THAT is who is hanging out at these protests, especially the long standing ones. Get real.


And there are young girls and boys hanging out like it's a new party haunt instead of the Occupy Protest. I got my first and only underage drinking ticket in a public park here in town when I was 17. Yeah I was stupid, yeah I drank from the age of 14, so it's not like I am above my young cousin in my mind - but I was not at the park under the premise that I was protesting big corporations. I was there to hang out with friends and have some budweisers and a cop drove up and put the spotlights on us. Ooops. 


But what is going on at these protests is something else entirely. A free place to sleep, drink, and be merry. And take a crap apparently. Throw garbage around, feel up young drunk girls, get some drugs, drink some booze, and pass out and sleep the day away, ready to 'protest' again the next day. I mean evening. 


All while pretending to represent 'the 99%'. Really? And then I have to wonder what they were drinking. What did my little cuz drink? Moonshine they made in some guy's boot? Or could it have been something from *gasp*, a big corporation. A brewery. Someone that uses fossil fuels to run their business and transport the booze to the stores? Someone who is decidedly non-eco-friendly. A company that probably gets tax breaks instead of giving it to the people in the tents? No. Never! Not possible.


At any rate, I hope that after my cousin's headache wears off tomorrow, she will think twice about what is going on down there and how her hard work at the beginning (i will not begrudge her for believing in something enough to get out there and help) was turned into THIS mess.