Failed Occupy Austin Movement

Reading the "Occupy Austin's eviction from City Hall was timely" Editorial Board's section in the Austin American Statesman was interesting indeed.  The author's opinion seems very clear he feels glad Occupy Austin was evicted off City Hall property and he intends to let the citizens of Austin know why.  He expresses himself by writing about the way the protesters took it upon themselves to trash City Hall; slowly recruiting mostly homeless and being nothing but a campsite on the property.  He states how Occupiers turned the movement into a mission with no real clear purpose as to what they were there for, especially as the four months went by. He writes how not only were the protesters trashing, but also costing the City and its' residents money.  He mentions how we spent about $800,000 with constant cleaning, maintenance, and police patrol at City Hall.  The author definitely shows his emotions by the way he write negatively about the movement.


I agree somewhat with the author.  The movement that originally started with Occupy Wall Street in New York back in September 2011 was a protest to target social and economic inequality and corruption among other issues with our government.  While very loyal protesters for Occupy Austin here stayed until the date of the eviction, others were arrested during the four months and issued trespassing citations.  I agree with the author that Occupiers did trash City Hall which belongs to all the citizens of Austin and I also agree with him in the the sense that too much money was spent during the movement, but I actually had a chance to stop and chat with some of the individuals participating in the protest and many had interesting ideas for the movement.  Unfortunately, when most of the protesters were arrested, it was as if the their ideas were too.  Occupier's denied access back onto City Hall property caused homeless citizens to move into the Occupy Austin campsite and that's really when it started going downhill and no real purpose came out of the movement from then on.  Had the movement had a better initial plan, maybe something productive might have came from the protest.  I too; however, am glad that the movement is over and City Hall is once again looking beautiful.

The Cons of a Coal Mine

I never knew how much a problem coal mining could be to some communities until I read the Article, "Texas Border Battle Over Mexican Company's Coal Mine" on the Texas Tribune by Julian Aguilar.  I would think that bringing in a new company to a town that has a high number of unemployment would benefit the community, but there are always several factors to take into consideration.  It's interesting to read this article that mentions some of those negative factors. Not only would this effect the community air quality, but also their main water supply.  Also, another factor to look on is, will a local company take the task opening coal mining or will it be companies based out of town, as well as having foreigners work the mines instead of locals.  The pay offer for coal miners is a very well paid hourly wage job.  Some residents would rather move than to deal with the new coal mining business in the future.

I would rather take into consideration the quality of air and water my family will be breathing and drinking instead of the rate of pay offered.  I for certain would hate to see my child suffer from respiratory or lung disease problems.  Although, this would offer a great deal of employment for the community, you also have to think about whether or not the residents of this community are qualified or experienced enough to operate certain machines required for coal mining.  And if they aren’t qualified, then who WILL get these jobs?  Having foreigners come in to take over these jobs will boost revenue to local businesses; however, these will be new strangers coming into a small community that the local residents have worked hard to build.  Too many negative factors should reflect on the decision why NOT to bring this business to a small border town. 

Moving from a town you have practically either grew up in or made your home just because a new company is trying to take over should NOT be the only solution.