And the Meme Became a Movement

By: Gus Victoria

And the meme became a movement. For weeks now I have been following the Occupy Wall Street protests with the same detached irritation that a majority in this country shares. It is not that I do not believe in the dialogue that the OWS movement attempts to start. I do not disagree that this country has indeed been taken hostage by corporate interests that outweigh and deny any possibility of effective democracy. Change is needed that is clear. However this OWS movement was a seemingly feeble effort by spoiled children of a self-centered era. Feeble in that there was no clear leadership that identified a problem and promoted a solution. Revolution in this atmosphere is dangerous because when the hearts of many are turned and ignited by the thought of injustices done, real or perceived, it creates a force that no institution can stand against indefinitely.

It seemed this professed movement was not taken seriously by a majority despite the passionate appeals of many within OWS. That is not to say that it was ignored either as the various other similar protests that OWS spawned demonstrate. As this occupation lengthened patience amongst many tired, myself included. Yes we understand there are problems; but what the hell are you solving by Occupying _____? Those that work hard, despite the understanding that those in power were overly greedy, almost saw it as an insult by those that participated in these protests; “why does so and so complain about this and that when I work hard?” People began to distance or divorce themselves completely from inclusion in the 99%. That beloved 99% slogan then became a meme. A quick internet search will yield many different takes on the slogan that incorporate humor and pop-culture and diminish the intended effect of that slogan.   

Then came the government reactions. OWS might have been confined to a meme had government not panicked. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, those in control of government. The backlash against these relatively harmless and comparatively lost groups legitimized the whole endeavor. Whether THAT is what the few architects of OWS were counting on is not yet clear, but any student of Thoreau or Gandhi would probably have been able to predict that response by the government if they felt threatened. To me the surprise was that those in power felt threatened enough to initiate physical action and reprisal against these protesters when a good portion of the country had already, without intervention, discounted them.

Revolution is carried in the blood. It lays dormant when the life we live provides for us and those we care about an existence we accept. Usually this means access to basic things that allow for a propagation of society in such a structure that all within agree to it either explicitly or implicitly. When justice is absent long enough or dramatically enough then that blood begins to churn. It moves and us with it as it heats at the view of injustice. Injustice is incompatible with compassion and I believe humanity is, despite the injustices we create, predisposed to, on its own, choose compassion. When we live within the structure of government and society that we accept then we can get caught in the cogs of its soulless machinery and eschew that compassion for a duty we must perform. We in essence become slaves to a system. Sometimes that system oppresses us as we fight for its very existence against those that would see it torn down. It is a paradox that diplomacy cannot break us from. It is a disease to which politics is no cure. The only way to rid ourselves of the cancer of oppression is by waking up to its odious effects and choosing to end it. To enact a revolution within ourselves! A revolution is no panacea though, for it is like fire. It can purge and help clear in order to create. It can temper the resolve. But to burn uncontrolled can also cause destruction far worse than if nothing had been done in the first place.

That was my main objection with OWS initially. The lack of vision and leadership made me skeptical of its aims and wary of its actions. An uncontrolled revolution is always to be feared for it is little more than a mob. Then, as I stated earlier, came the government overreactions. Fear became evident. Hope slowly was uncovered. Not in what the OWS did, but in the injustice that the government’s actions highlighted. Clearing the protesters in such a hurried and violent manner, though not the bloody reprisals we have seen in other places at other times, was such that it effectively uncovered the government for what it is; a puppet state controlled by a now fearful financial oligarchy. And this is so un-American and inhumane that no matter one’s opinion on OWS the actions taken against them MUST be condemned. That is where I stand now. More to come later…

"I am 27. The hell with details because, lets be honest, you really don't care if they don't further your opinion. Why share then?

I am NOT part of the "1%"

I am NOT part of the "99%"

I AM part of the "100%"

Do not divide humanity for that perpetuates problems.

Love ALWAYS overcomes injustice and greed!

Never when we blame others before fixing ourselves.

Enact a revolution in your heart first before taking one to the streets!

I am the 100%

Pink Toenails

(originally posted May 16, 2011)

Fox News is a silly thing. I tend to ignore it more often than not. To me that entertainment network has equal journalistic credentials as the Weekly World News. And while the Weekly World News may tell me that the Loch Ness Monster’s third cousin is living in an abandoned UFO at the bottom of a lake in Minnesota with the brain of Hitler in a jar that gives prophecies in the form of pie recipes what I WONT find is the kind of crazy Fox News puts forth.

Recently there was an ad put forth by J Crew that showed their Creative Director, Jenna Lyons painting her son’s toenails a bright pink. In the picture you can see a nice, tender, loving and fun moment shared between mother and son. That there is reaction beyond that is surprising to me. But oh boy is there. Fox News leads the charge of course, but they are not alone. Without pointing too many fingers (I only have ten after all and that’s simply not enough) I have to say that the very idea that such an act can lead to years of psychotherapy or are the genesis for gender identity issues is small-minded at best and dangerous at worst.

I’m not saying that little boys go put on dresses or little girls go pick up a toy gun. All I’m saying, if they’re young and they want to why not? It is not the gender roles imposed on us by millennia of culture and society that make us who we are. And to say that cosmetics or fashion is a harbinger of a societal shift towards a liberal “celebration of transgendered children” (ahem “Dr.” Keith I’m looking at you) is silly and shows ignorance of history. Centuries ago it was the men that were as peacocks with tons of make-up and incredibly elaborate clothing. Things that would be deemed effeminate today and thus condemned were normal years ago. So keep in mind styles and tastes change and do not mean more than the meaning we give them now.

The reaction from the conservative right was strong enough and lacking of both common sense and decency that it made me want to act and do something. I am a straight man that believes strongly in both women’s rights and gay rights. To me they are HUMAN rights.  Does that make me weak or less of a man? I have never thought so. I love all my friends regardless of sexual orientation because I believe love is universal and if we deny it to anyone we deny part of ourselves and demean ourselves in the process.

So what could I do?

Why paint my own toenails of course! And that I did. Luckily I have the love of a strong woman that believes as I do and was incredibly supportive of my decision to paint my own toenails a bright pink. She thought it was a great idea and even picked out a really shiny pink and painted my nails for me. It was fun! Here we were one evening; a straight couple having fun doing what others would say is gay or a cause of gender confusion.  I highly suggest others try this from time to time.

Because I was on vacation all of last week (which explains the lack of Sasquatch posts in that time, sorry!) and because in Florida that means sandals or bare feet, especially at the water parks, there was plenty of opportunity to show off my shiny pink nails! The reactions I got were fun and interesting to behold.

When I was with my lady holding hands people would look and their look of confusion was hilarious. Funny enough more than once it happened that she was blamed as the originator of the idea and that I was doing this to please her. The looks lost their confusion and became more judgmental when I was caught alone without her. Then I’m sure more than one person simply made the automatic assumption that I was gay. Because I live in the Orlando area and I was at Disney most of the time the reactions were only in stares and minimally invasive. Most of the questions came from our friends and once I explained my motives, to show that painting one’s nails does not make one gay or straight, most were on board.

This was a protest and experiment. I hope to be able to do it again not solely to provoke others, but to learn from their reactions and to hopefully open up some dialogue and perhaps to show that we need not fear a little nail polish. We are all people and embracing our differences makes us all stronger and makes the world a little better in the process.

This is love. No labels.