And an in-progress shot of my self portrait. I worked a lot on the hair and subtle facial elements. I apologize for the glare at the bottom right, my camera is difficult.
My porch in the rain. Goodbye drought!
The police brutality against Occupy Wall Street protests makes me sick as does the mindless, regurgitated opinions swirling around me from my media and my peers. Berkley students were beaten by police on November 9th 2011.
Sound grenades were almost used on Zuccotti Park protestors on November 15th, but the weaponry malfunctioned. The police violence is all around us suppressing our amendment right to gather peacefully in a public space. The protests are everywhere One of the main regurgitated critiques I've heard from people is that Occupy is unorganized. This is confusing for me. What part of all this don't you understand? What part of "corporate money does not belong in politics," don't you understand? What part of "people over profit," don't you understand? People are sick of being ripped off; they have dealt with abuse after abuse for years and decades, and it's recently gotten worse with our healthcare skyrocketing, social programs dwindling, never ending wars, and then to find out that Wall Street executives have been illegally, secretively, siphoning trillions of our tax dollars away, while congress looks the other way.
In day to day life these dynamics affect me in many ways, like when I need health care, I go either to ER or a homeless shelter. I have no hope of ever affording my own doctor, and guess what? I have student health insurance. If I can't cover the cost of what insurance doesn't, I have no other choice. There are funds for the homeless, there is insurance for the rich, but the non-existent middle class slip through the cracks. My friends who are slightly more well off then me, but by no means wealthy, are really screwed. Most of their employee insurances cover laughable amounts of medical bills, medication, and dental, if they cover teeth at all. I have seen prescription receipts for 1,000's of dollars when I know they don't cost that much to produce. I had a friend of mine get a credit card just to get dental work. Ha! Awful. I must owe at least thirty thousand dollars in health care bills, not to mention student loans. Our situation here in America makes me suspect the last ten years have been a plot to get us all into debtors prison where we can farm GMOs and make license plates for the rest of our lives or the fulfillment of our debts. Is it time to leave the country? Is it time to get a gun in case the secret police come to haul me off to debtors prison? Is it time to learn transcendental meditation so none of it matters too much? Is it time to get angry or passive? Is it time for both? My point is, I guess, that if you don't agree with Occupy, it's probably because your rich parents pay for your health insurance, or you've never had to really struggle financially, and I DON'T mean having to pawn your X-box for party money on the weekend.
