Some thoughts on Occupy L.A.

On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Police Department moved in and broke up the encampment of Occupy L.A. protesters that had been peacefully protesting at City Hall for the past two months. On Wednesday night, protesters were back, saying that even though they weren't allowed to camp out anymore, the movement was far from dead. The question of the day is, has the "Occupy" movement that has swept the country really accomplished anything?
Let me be the first to say, I am a HUGE proponent of the First Amendment. I believe that people should always have the right to gather en masse and protest those things they view as injustice. And in this case, in particular, protesters have every right to be angry.
The "Occupy" movement started on Wall Street, with protesters angry about what they perceived as mismanagement of this nation's financial systems. They're right. It's no secret that corporate CEOs have been gorging themselves for years, at the expense of the middle class and the poor. Heck, even when they get caught with their hand "in the cookie jar," they're still awarded with multimillion-dollar "golden parachutes" when they're fired. Only in the most egregious cases (such as Enron) do these greedy fat cats ever see prison time.
The "Occupy" movement has done a great job drawing attention to the inequities inherent in our financial system. The movement has done a great job of channeling justified citizen anger and changing the national dialogue to finally focus on the inequities that have plagued our country for decades. The question now is, what's next?
Obviously, protesters can't stage sit-ins forever. People have to work. And forcing the already slow-moving wheels of government to grind to a halt benefits no one in the long term. So what's next?
The first thing I would say is that protesters don't need to let this movement simply die out. Now is not the time to "just move on." Organizers have captured lightning in a bottle here. They have tapped into very real anger over very legitimate issues. Continued "occupations" aren't realistic. So keep the momentum going through the use of social media, such as Twitter and Facebook. The protests have been effective, so keep those going, too, just on a smaller scale. Make them less frequent, and people are more likely to pay attention when one occurs.
I also would encourage organizers to do their research. Identify some of the major offenders, then organize a series of nationwide boycotts. Sometimes words aren't enough. Sometimes, creating a media spectacle and simply drawing attention to the problem isn't enough. If organizers want to send a clear message to Wall Street and to corporate America, hit them squarely in the wallet. If enough people get on board, so that these companies' bottom line begins to be affected, watch how fast they'll sit up and take notice.
Finally, I would urge organizers of the "Occupy" movement to set up a series of "town hall" meetings across the country. Bring politicians together with regular folks. Let people vent their frustrations. And get politicians on record talking about how they would deal with people's concerns. Then, take the knowledge gained to the ballot box. Elect serious candidates who recognize the problem, and are focused on finding a solution. That's not a "quick fix." It could, in fact, take years. But I firmly believe that the power of each person's vote remains the best solution to fixing the problem for this, and future generations.