I'm embarrassed to admit that I really never gave this "Occupy Wallstreet" movement more than a passing glance in my newspaper. I read about it, filed the information in my brain and continued on about my day. It was always there, but in the back of my clogged up mind. I knew it was a politically charged protest that had to do with corporate greed and economic inequality and that was just about all I needed to know.
Then yesterday and this morning, I began reading numerous stories about the power of the people participating in this movement and their plight to make change. I read about
Rose Gudiel, a California woman who lost her home to eviction last month. She had been fighting a loosing battle and facing foreclosure for two years against Fannie Mae. When the family tried to pay the money they owed, the bank repeatedly told Rose there was nothing she could do, that her case was closed, and that she was to be evicted on Sept 28. The family notified the bank that they would not go peacefully.
So with the power of Occupy behind them, Rose and her family camped outside their home to protest. They had decided that they were going to fight for what they believed was rightfully theirs and what happened next was nothing short of amazing.
Fannie Mae cancelled the eviction notice and offered Rose and her family a loan modification so that they could afford to keep their home.
Why?
Because maybe this movement is onto something.
Maybe not, but for people like Rose and her family this ia a major victory.
And maybe this is exactly what our country needs right now, a series of small victoires that will add up to major change.
And maybe, just maybe, this movement will Occupy more than a small part of this country's clogged up brain.
