Occupy Wall Street and Occupons Montreal: So much different

As much as I consider “Occupy Wall Street” an amazing and inspiring movement, I always thought that “Occupons Montreal” was a total waste of time! Don’t get me wrong, I totally admire the fact that so many protesters could stay there for so long without breaking something, in a city known for rioting when their hockey team wins a game.

Last night, the NYPD literally ran through the OWS camp and cleared out the protestors, using riot gear and tear gas, while barring the press from entering the park and blocking the air space over the park to ensure no news chopper would film. This, not unlike the Arab Spring movements, looks like a reaction of panic by Wall Street and the American establishment, who seem scared of OWS, and want to make sure that any opposition is silenced.

Meanwhile, at Victoria Park in downtown Montreal, protestors are setting up camp, expending, while cops just stand there and watch, and the mayor insists that they’ll be able to stay there for a while.

And why do they let them do that? Because they are not threatened. The “Occupons Montreal” movement is not changing anything. The economy is not the same here. Unlike what people might think, we still have a middle class, here! I have friends, who don’t even have a GED, who have steady jobs, kids and a house, and live decently enough.

Lemme give you an example. Go to any shopping mall here in the Greater Montreal Area. At least. 75% of the store workers are students, part timers. People usually under 30. Now go to the states! Especially in the south, like Florida, where the last recession hit particularly hard. Do the same exercise. You’ll find that 75% of the workers are full-time workers. Adults. People with families. People whose monthly bills and rent depend solely on the hours they get working at Old Navy or the Disney Store.
If that’s not a clear indication that we in Montreal, and in the rest of the country, have it better than the US, and that “Occupons Montreal” is a pointless, albeit painfree movement, I don’t know what is!