Occupy Wall Street - Ignoring the Villain

By Derek Forgie

From a media standpoint, the occupy story is unavoidable.  It’s widespread, passionate, justified and timely.  The manner in which it’s been covered however, is another matter entirely.  I’m getting increasingly frustrated with the media overturning the wrong stones, banging on the wrong doors and asking the wrong questions.  The majority of the focus has been on the camps.  The tone has largely been along the lines of: “How do we get them to leave?” “They don’t have a focus.” “Are they allowed to have campfires?” “Are they a burden on local businesses?”  “Is the public support dwindling?” On and on. The coverage sound less like journalism and more like a curmudgeon landlord.  

The occupy movement should be triggering these questions:  “Who are the top 10 greediest CEO’s?”  “Who’s sent the most jobs overseas?” “Who are the biggest failures that received huge golden parachutes?” “Why has the wealth of top 1% tripled inside 30 years?” “How do we stop banks from becoming: ‘too big to fail’?”  “Why are companies allowed to gamble with people’s nest eggs?”  “Why is the middle class disappearing?”  “If we continue on this path, in what financial state will we be in 10 years from now?” “Why is the general public so disenchanted with the current state of capitalism?” “How much work does the average CEO need to do to earn your yearly salary?”

Maybe it’s just me, but I find these questions far more important and interesting than; “Where are the protesters going to the bathroom?”  Why aren’t these questions being asked?  Some speculate that it’s a nefarious plot to maintain the status-quo  and protect corporations with deep pockets.  To some extent, that explanation does hold water but I work in TV and I think there’s a bigger influence: lethargy.  Pure and simple laziness. It’s easy to stroll down to your local occupy site, shoot some b-roll of a drum circle, set up a live feed and do a story.  Why?  Because the protesters have nothing to hide.  They are willing to talk and they hold fast to freedom of speech.  Yes, one of the protesters dumped urine on a city worker but as unsavoury as that is, it’s hardly responsible for Greece collapsing. 

Here’s the problem. Talking to the CEO of Goldman Sachs actually takes effort.  Getting an interview with an executive who just laid off 80 workers to make his stocks rise, takes finesse.  You have to jump through hoops, obey protocol, get your questions approved, or even stage an ambush when they get out of their BMW.  Those approaches might require picking up a telephone or working past 5:00 so, they seem to fall by the wayside.    

It’s unfortunate because the media is missing out on the best underdog story in recent history. Thousands of disenfranchised, cash-strapped, activists giving up their time, comforts and very material possessions to literally and metaphorically turn their backs on the current state of capitalism and demanding sweeping change.  The “villain”, humanities biggest weakness; greed.  And wow, what a villain.  It makes Ursela the Sea Witch look like Mary Poppins.    

Far too often the media has been justly accused of being too “Hollywood.”  This time however, I wish they would spend more time grilling the obvious “bad guys.”   

I’m Derek, and this has been a Skwirl’s Eye View.     

Derek Forgie: Activist, Comedian, Speaker.        

When he’s not entertaining the daily in-studio audiences at MTV Canada he somehow manages to balance a hardy diet of stand-up comedy, activism and public speaking.  Some of Derek’s memorable activism efforts have been acknowledged by:  Reddit.com, The David Suzuki Foundation, and The World Wildlife Fund. 

You can see more of his eclectic work at: www.DerekForgie.com