Lately the Occupy Movement has been getting a lot of press. While I certainly am in sympathy with the Occupiers' grievances, as I wrote in another blog, the issues they are protesting are not as clearcut as they would like to believe. In fact, I am concerned that the protesters may be hurting their own chances down the road by participating in these demonstrations. Let me explain.
I am a child of the Sixties and Seventies, so I grew up in a time where there was a lot of social activism. I have spent time on a picket line protesting so I know what it is like to have Brave Passersby yelling obscenities and even throwing things as they speed on by in their cars. I have received hate mail for my views as well. Ironically, because of where I work, I now find myself on the other side of the picket line. That's ok. This is still a free country, and while I might not agree with those who stand outside my company's gates, they do have a right to do so in a peaceful manner. I will say, however, that they are wasting their time. The issue they are protesting is too big and too complex to be solved by holding a sign in front of a building. If they wish to accomplish their goal, they will need to change legislation and the way we as a society view acceptable risks and how to determine if a new drug or treatment is safe and effective without resorting to animal testing. Yes, one hears a lot about FDA recalls of drugs that have proven to be unsafe once introduced into humans, but I can tell you that for every drug the FDA recalls, there are 99 others that you never hear about because they never make it that far. That is no small matter. And that is all I am going to say on that subject.
As I said before, I do have an activist past, which I wish to keep private, not because I am necessarily ashamed of it, but I have learned the wisdom of discretion when it comes to discussing controversial subjects. Back then there was no such thing as the Internet, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, cell phones with cameras, so it was a lot easier in a sense to keep a low profile when out demonstrating. I did not have to worry about it following me the rest of my life and affecting my prospects for future employment. The Occupy protestors do--and that is the difference.
A while back, we were discussing electronic media in a departmental meeting, and to make his point, my boss Googled my name. He chose my name because it is not very common. Let me tell you, it was almost like being stripped naked in front of my co-workers! Everything I ever did on-line under my name, as well as everything that others did who shared my name, was right up there for all to see. The tag line under one of the entries contained some very questionable words of a sexual nature and of course my co-workers seized on that--we know what you've been doing! Never mind that this individual who shared my name lived in another country. I wasn't really worried because I already knew pretty much what my on-line profile would show.
In the closing act of "The Crucible", John Proctor starts to sign a confession that he has acted in league with the devil, but when he learns that this confession will be posted on the church door for all to see, he changes his mind and tears the document up. "It is my name!" he cries. "I will not have another in my life!" I am very careful about what I post on-line under my own name, or allow to be posted. I cannot control someone taking a picture of me unawares and posting it, but I can control the situation under which it may be taken. Because, like John Proctor, it is my name, and the only one I will have in my life.
Many of us on the spectrum have a strong sense of justice and fairness and we want to set the world right. When we are young we don't always think about the consequences. We don't always stop to think that others might be using us, even when the cause is good. Because the nature of activism is to put the cause ahead of the individual. Therefore, someone who is struggling with social skills will not find the help they need in activist circles. It was those who were outside my activist organization, who were actually on the "opposite" side, who said to me that this was not necessarily a good thing for me to get involved in. This was very hard to accept. But as I thought about it, I realized that they were right and that the advice they were giving me was sound. If my activist friends noticed the same things, they did not say anything. They were quite content to let people ruin their lives and futures for the cause. The heroes of the movement were those who had gone to jail. I mean that is really putting it on the line. Nobody ever once said, "you know, this goes on your record, you may have difficulty getting a good job, you may have difficulty in education, you may have difficulty getting credit, and so forth." And yet, if you look around, young people and students, people who are just starting out in life, are the backbone of protest movements. That's because we are idealistic and naive, and we haven't been told the consequences.
So should one never get involved in protest movements? No, but if you do, make sure you understand what it is that you are getting into and that you are not being manipulated.
I am a child of the Sixties and Seventies, so I grew up in a time where there was a lot of social activism. I have spent time on a picket line protesting so I know what it is like to have Brave Passersby yelling obscenities and even throwing things as they speed on by in their cars. I have received hate mail for my views as well. Ironically, because of where I work, I now find myself on the other side of the picket line. That's ok. This is still a free country, and while I might not agree with those who stand outside my company's gates, they do have a right to do so in a peaceful manner. I will say, however, that they are wasting their time. The issue they are protesting is too big and too complex to be solved by holding a sign in front of a building. If they wish to accomplish their goal, they will need to change legislation and the way we as a society view acceptable risks and how to determine if a new drug or treatment is safe and effective without resorting to animal testing. Yes, one hears a lot about FDA recalls of drugs that have proven to be unsafe once introduced into humans, but I can tell you that for every drug the FDA recalls, there are 99 others that you never hear about because they never make it that far. That is no small matter. And that is all I am going to say on that subject.
As I said before, I do have an activist past, which I wish to keep private, not because I am necessarily ashamed of it, but I have learned the wisdom of discretion when it comes to discussing controversial subjects. Back then there was no such thing as the Internet, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, cell phones with cameras, so it was a lot easier in a sense to keep a low profile when out demonstrating. I did not have to worry about it following me the rest of my life and affecting my prospects for future employment. The Occupy protestors do--and that is the difference.
A while back, we were discussing electronic media in a departmental meeting, and to make his point, my boss Googled my name. He chose my name because it is not very common. Let me tell you, it was almost like being stripped naked in front of my co-workers! Everything I ever did on-line under my name, as well as everything that others did who shared my name, was right up there for all to see. The tag line under one of the entries contained some very questionable words of a sexual nature and of course my co-workers seized on that--we know what you've been doing! Never mind that this individual who shared my name lived in another country. I wasn't really worried because I already knew pretty much what my on-line profile would show.
In the closing act of "The Crucible", John Proctor starts to sign a confession that he has acted in league with the devil, but when he learns that this confession will be posted on the church door for all to see, he changes his mind and tears the document up. "It is my name!" he cries. "I will not have another in my life!" I am very careful about what I post on-line under my own name, or allow to be posted. I cannot control someone taking a picture of me unawares and posting it, but I can control the situation under which it may be taken. Because, like John Proctor, it is my name, and the only one I will have in my life.
Many of us on the spectrum have a strong sense of justice and fairness and we want to set the world right. When we are young we don't always think about the consequences. We don't always stop to think that others might be using us, even when the cause is good. Because the nature of activism is to put the cause ahead of the individual. Therefore, someone who is struggling with social skills will not find the help they need in activist circles. It was those who were outside my activist organization, who were actually on the "opposite" side, who said to me that this was not necessarily a good thing for me to get involved in. This was very hard to accept. But as I thought about it, I realized that they were right and that the advice they were giving me was sound. If my activist friends noticed the same things, they did not say anything. They were quite content to let people ruin their lives and futures for the cause. The heroes of the movement were those who had gone to jail. I mean that is really putting it on the line. Nobody ever once said, "you know, this goes on your record, you may have difficulty getting a good job, you may have difficulty in education, you may have difficulty getting credit, and so forth." And yet, if you look around, young people and students, people who are just starting out in life, are the backbone of protest movements. That's because we are idealistic and naive, and we haven't been told the consequences.
So should one never get involved in protest movements? No, but if you do, make sure you understand what it is that you are getting into and that you are not being manipulated.
