Occupy This!

Watching, from afar, the recent Occupy Fill-in-the-blank demonstrations, I am reminded of the demonstrations by my generation in the 60's. But there is a difference, and it has nothing to do with intent or the merit of recent protests. It's all about size!

My generation was the baby-boomers, and we were, by headcount, a large generation. It was right after WWII, with vets coming home on the GI bill, and industry still cranked at high gear from the war. Money was fairly plentiful, jobs easy to come by, and kids came by the handful.

Then the 60's hit, and the Vietnam War, and the draft, and all hell broke loose. Of course, what many don't recall is that our prosperity was just starting to cool, and the counter culture wanted to abandon the rich man's life ... sort of. In the end, the baby-boomers of yore are the conservatives of today.

But today's protest generation is both in number and percentage smaller than we were. We had clout that included an impact on the economy. We were numerous and our buying patterns neant something.

Today, however, the Occupy generation is smaller, has less disposable cash, and is therefore less of a threat. This is a shame as what they are asking for is to change the status quo, to better society, to level the playing field.

Will they have an impact? Yes, but it will take longer to be felt. Still, I'll be patient, as all good things are worth waiting for.