Boston Mayor Thomas Menino was right on the money this week when he observed that the national Occupy movement is "aiming their fire at the wrong place."
Menino's attempts to deal with the two-month-long Occupy Boston protest comes with some recognition that the movement has caught the attention of the struggling middle and lower classes. A recent poll showed that Bay Staters are evenly split regarding the movement, with part-time employees and the unemployed displaying a fairly strong favorability toward it.
But as Menino points out, the battles with city officials are misguided.
"Mayors can't do much about what they're talking about. It's the Congress and the Senate," Menino told reporters after speaking at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast Tuesday. "Mayors can't make decisions on banks' regulations. Mayors can't make decisions on scholarships. Mayors can't make decisions on housing. It's all down in Washington. They're aiming their fire at the wrong place."
The Occupy Boston site in Dewey Square — across from the target of its protest, the Federal Reserve Bank — consists of 100 or so tents in orderly rows. There are food and supply tents, administrative tents, a posted daily agenda of events, and a central gathering place.
But the movement's dire weakness is also abundantly clear. Posted to the exterior of some of the administrative tents are long manifestos and a blur of statements, opinions and fliers. It's hard to figure out what the focus is, or if there is one.
Menino correctly notes that some of the issues the Occupy movement has articulated resonate with the middle class, but "until you focus on one ... you're not going to have many wins."
The Occupy movement has captured the public's attention and spread nationwide. But so far it has failed where other populist movements like those of the civil rights and Vietnam eras succeeded: It can't seem to figure out what it wants or how to get it.
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