DFP: Challenges don't deter Occupy Detroit protesters from getting out their message

[Bozita]

Challenges don't deter Occupy Detroit protesters from getting out their message
Oct. 29, 2011
BY NIRAJ WARIKOO
DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Jessica Dawl, 26, of Hamtramck was drawn to Occupy Detroit out of frustration. "I have student loans on top of bank debts," she said. / Oct. 18 photo by PATRICIA BECK/Detroit Free Press
Many are recent college grads, frustrated by a lack of jobs and saddled with student debt. Others work full-time, stuck with low wages. And some are middle-age Detroiters who are unemployed after working decades in the auto industry.

Despite their diverse backgrounds, the protesters with Occupy Detroit -- now camped out in Grand Circus Park for two weeks -- are united in their efforts to send a message: The system isn't working for them.

The 150 or so protesters who have set up tents downtown have endured rain, winds and biting cold. They've had money, a cell phone and a computer stolen. And they've had to deal with homeless people swarming their encampment.

Despite the challenges, the protesters, part of a national movement of Americans upset at the growing concentration of wealth in the U.S., say they're committed to staying indefinitely. They are backed by unions, such as the AFL-CIO and UAW, as well as some churches, civil rights groups and women's organizations that are providing supplies.

more...
http://www.freep.com/article/20111029/NEWS05/110290432/Challenges-don-t-deter-Occupy-Detroit-protesters-from-getting-out-their-message?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

[Cal Carpenter]

1. Thanks for posting but AAARGHHH

AARGH at this line:

"And they've had to deal with homeless people swarming their encampment."

What the fuck do people think this movement is about?

'Deal with' homeless people? How about the fact that the homeless people have been 'dealing with' the struggles of our nation's inequality much longer than any of the middle class people who are just starting to feel the pinch? How about the fact that if we don't address the problems at a deep enough level to address the causes of homelessness then it's a wash because the middle class will accept some crumbs and 20 years from now we'll be right back where we are today?

Pardon the rant, and in my experience at 2 Occupy sites the people who see the participation of the homeless as a problem (as opposed to a vital component) are a tiny minority, but this type of comment by the media pisses me off to no end.

Sigh.