Update:
I follow closely various blogs, official sites, Facebook pages, Tweets and articles on Occupy both here in Vancouver and around the world. I add my comments occasionally on a topic that interests me, or one I think needs my amplification or echoing… but the fact is that the attacks are stronger now than ever. The Canadian government has formally branded the movement “RADICAL IDEOLOGISTS” US and British list the movement as a terrorist regime… Are you kidding me? I’m trying to stop Monsanto from poisoning our food supply, fish farms from killing wild salmon and shooting seals, Oil Empires from bulldozing our pristine wilderness… I’ve never broken the law. Never been arrested. My actions are with words.
I believe in Freedom of Speech.
Muzzle that Harper!
From November:
I got up early this morning to prepare for an interview on CBC Radio. I scanned the freshly posted headlines that had accumulated in the 5 hours while I slept. Things did not look good for Occupy Vancouver. General public opinion was falling with the exception of the under 30 demographic.
I pulled up a search on hash tag (#) Occupy on Twitter and followed links to a few articles. One from the Province newspaper left a particularly nasty taste in my mouth. I’ve been called a lot of names in the past weeks while having associated with the Global Occupy Movement, but these were sticks and stones that bruised my soul:
- Morally Indignant
- Ill-Focused
- Intellectually Dishonest
All that and more, in just one article. I tried not to take it personally.
The actions of a few were spoiling the intentions of many. A blatantly disrespectful performance at the Mayoral Housing Debate was the last straw for many who had pledged their support to the group holding ground at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
The comments on the Facebook page were divisive, accusatory and downright ugly.
Drugs, overdoses and the death of young Ashlie Gough placed a focus on the occupiers that drowned out all rational messages. Fire hazards, public safety and the disruption of holiday festivities became political platforms while the real issues got pushed to the side.
I struggled to regain my original posture. One of justice, compassion and optimism for a better future.
My attempts to find comfort on social media channels failed miserably when I spotted the following tweet from
@juicedds – If you are a part of
#occupyvancouver and u can read this….please go fuck yourself with a rake! 2 hours ago Retweet Reply
Somehow it feels like it’s going to be a long day.
The Big Picture, The Fine Print 
Every movement has strong opposition. To put it into context, imagine being in the civil rights movement and having KKK members threaten to lynch you. A tad worse than an ignorant soul with a twitter account.
Opposition is to be expected. I thought, the fact that our message and cause was so legitimate would enable us to power this movement without facing opposition. But of course that was naive.
There is too much positive work that could be done for the movement that I personally don’t have time to listen to the naysayers. If they have legitimate arguments, I will listen intently. How often have you seen that, though?
Like you say ‘I know too much’. We’re both seen first-hand the ills of society, and also people who are willing to come together and fix those. We know what Occupy is–the ‘critics’ miss the boat altogether.
History indicates that this is going to be a battle. But its a battle I’m welcoming and quite ready to fight
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By: Anthony Mayfield on November 24, 2011
at 1:06 am