Storming the Machine

Can you feel it? It's just over the horizon and seems to be growing by the day. The outbreaks are developing from city to city with a note of discontent and air of dissatisfaction that fueling the buzz while slowly whipping into a gathering uprising. What's happening you ask? Its the will of the people ebbing and flowing into our own version of an "Arab spring," resulting in a occupation of Wall Street in New York with other cities to develop including Little Rock.  In many past COP 24/7 post and most likely many to come, this forum has always been in a "call to action" mode on issues ranging from social justice matters, economic conditions and health disparities that are reverberating throughout the LGBTQ community and into the greater public square. So what does "Occupying Together" want to address and why is basically simple although complex at its core. There's a "no justice- no peace" atmosphere among those protesting noting that Wall Street represents the "face" or possible epicentre of much greed, graft and gorging of nation's financial systems from the 1% at the top. It was scandalous elitist fraud that ran rampant with no reprecussions or just plain old accountability for their dastardly cash grabs that sent the economy to the brink of destruction. Meanwhile leaving the average tax payer standing empty handed with egg on our faces.  However, its our opinion that there's much finger pointing to go around including laying blame at the door steps of lobbyist, congressional leaders, corporate CEO's both on shore and off shore and those embracing positions that are not in the best interest of the populist. Believe it or not all of this does matter to Arkansas' LGBTQ communites especially with looming budget slashes, funding shifts and other policy inequities that will be far reaching into our lives. COP 24/7 has banged the drum slowly for the past 5 years in search of discovering any topic or issue that will not resonate but motivate folks in this city. What will it take to get many of you off your couches, from out in front of your screens, pulling your heads out of sands or coercing you into a sense of taking stock of not only what's going on around you but also igniting a uptick of urgency to the matters at hand. The complacency as well as an attitude that "someone else will take care it" can not and will not do. No matter where you stand in the issues or the level of your passion, ladies and gents plus all those who haven't decided, the time has come that your voices are needed, demanded and required to make the will of the people known to policy and decision makers. Previously I've stated that perhaps we should bring out the "pitch forks and torches while storming the Bastille," and it seems that finally there's an appetite to do just that. Note to this city's LGBTQ community, "what you gonna do???"