The Occupy: TEA Party Movement?

Occupy: Wall Street started as a simple demonstration in New York City. Now it has spread all over the United States in a similar fashion to another movement: The TEA Party.

Since the very beginning of the Occupy: Wall Street movement (OWS), many observers on the right have considered the protests a waste of time. Filled with unemployed lazy whiners, according to these conservatives, the movement is nothing more than class warfare against the wealthy. Considering the barrage of liberal institutions that have swooped in like ants at a picnic and the demands made by many of the protesters, the right wing interpretation of the event is understandable. However, now that the movement has expanded throughout the country, it reminds me of another recent nationwide movement: The TEA Party.

RE: Satire when it’s called for

In response: http://kentwired.com/our-view-satire-when-its-called-for/

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This morning, as I checked the top headlines of the day, I was shocked to see a story on CNN.com about the Affirmative Action bake sale hosted by the University of California, Berkley College Republicans. My surprise was not because of the concept; rather it was because of the outrage against these student’s exercise in Freedom of Expression.

As a left-leaning anti-authoritarian, my views are often at odds with mainstream liberal ideology. Yet as I read the story, I became very conflicted. These students got together to demonstrate against what they see as an injustice. Yet, I believe they were demonstrating for all of the wrong reasons.

White privilege is a real thing. If you are a straight white male, congratulations, your won the prize of having the most potential in this world (extra points if you look like Robert Pattinson). Seriously, look at what our society considers successful and then look at the color and gender of those people. Often times conservative activists do not consider this fact before they start railing on about “Illegal” Immigrants, "Urban" Thugs and Affirmative Action. In response, rational thinkers outside of the (culturally) conservative circles start to cringe when bloated talk radio hosts start throwing out these buzzwords. And so it follows when the President of the U.C. Berkley College Democrats gets upset about a demonstration fighting Affirmative Action laws.

So where do I stand? While recognizing my white privilege, I hold one value higher than any other, even egalitarianism: voluntarism. Voluntarism is the concept in which all human interaction should be voluntary (i.e. performed without the use of force). In the case of Affirmative Action laws, while I agree with their intended purpose, I cannot agree with using the power of government to fix social issues. It is not only immoral, but impractical as well. Even if you disagree with the concept of voluntarism, at the very least we should respect the right of the U.C. Berkley College Republicans to have an opinion and express said opinion. After all, if you start unjustly censoring people, one day you may be the victim of unjust censorship.

Corey Moore
President of the Kent Student Liberty Alliance