Time to Occupy our parks and minds

       There has been a lot of talk from the media about how the entire "Occupy" movement is unfocused and directionless and most unfortunately, without leaders. The talking heads on TV seem to mostly focus on the imminent demise of the movement and how the sophomoric protesters don't even know what they want.

      However, the average citizen who identifies with the movement each has their own grievances with the banks or with congress or with "the system" in general. When these people get in front of the cameras of the various news affiliates, they are given the opportunity to voice their feelings, but more than too often this opportunity is wasted.

      When Occupy Atlanta was in its infancy, the Atlanta Journal Constitution and 11 Alive had media circus, which of course was expected. Several of the protesters interviewed about their motives responded with ridiculous nebulous statements like "I just want to change everything that's wrong with this country" or even worse "Tax the corporate fat cats!" Such inflammatory quotes are like catnip for the media. I know it's a democratic movement, and

you can't say who can and can't talk to the media, but people need to be policing them- selves about what they say when they are inter- viewed; its going to be on the internet forever.

     That being said, I think Occupy Atlanta has made some positive strides, as well as a few steps backwards. When the protesters were forcibly removed from Woodruff Park they didn't get much media attention, but the impact from that will come later. They made a good choice in forcing themselves to be removed, because they created a symbolic center for their protest.

         From the beginning, I was skeptical of their choice of location. There are plenty more symbolic centers that they should have been pro- testing outside of, such as the Federal Reserve Bank or the Bank of America building. Why they chose to occupy a park that is regularly "occupied" by Atlanta's homeless is beyond me. And then, after they were removed from the park, they chose to occupy the Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter. I mean come on Occupy Atlanta, you're just asking for people to make cracks about how you're all homeless layabouts. But don't get me wrong, I know it's not entirely true.

      Now that the Occupy movement has been removed from the park, it's re-entrance into the park will stand for their resilience in the face of adversity. People don't think that they are serious, but that they are a bunch of fair weather sailors and summer soldiers. Now is their chance to show some courage behind their convictions and re-occupy the park. Now that they are no longer allowed to stay, you can count on the fact that they got someone's attention. So now that you've got that attention Occupy Atlanta, what are you going to do with it?