Media should shine light on the protests

The Occupy Wall Street folk are getting their fair share of attention - though most Americans must be confused with just exactly what these people are protesting.

Despite their laundry list of grievances, the protesters are basically attempting to call attention to the "greedy" Wall Street bankers and other faceless corporate rascals.

But sprinkled among them are the usual gang of green advocates, union-paid protesters and an assortment of fringe groups seeking their spot in the media glare.

I had to laugh the other day when a reporter attempted to interview a group of Hispanic protesters who were clearly paid to promote the greedy banker mantra. The hired protesters were unable to read their English signs for the reporter. That's just how spontaneous this uprising truly is.

The left seeks to portray these gatherings as a counter to the Tea Party movement. But there seems a difference between a true political movement and a staged protest backed largely with union funds. Here's another irony - some of those union funds used to pay the spontaneous protesters surely came from the Obama stimulus package.

I firmly believe that the major media - including the conservative-leaning media - should pay much closer attention to the Occupy crowd. I believe that especially the conservative media should shine as bright a light as possible on these protesters and give them ample opportunity to explain why they are gathered and what they hope to accomplish.

If given the chance to explain their positions on wealth distribution, corporate greed and their soak-the-producers philosophy, most Americans will rapidly see that these gatherings do not represent the America most of us want.

MSNBC - as fully expected - is trying to portray these crowds as a true representation of the thoughts and goals of the American public. They are not. If given the opportunity to explain their position, most Americans will reject their brand of ultra-liberalism, social unrest and wealth distribution.

Protests are about as American as apple pie and iPhones. But there is a stark distinction between sincere protests for a shared cause and a media-created event that is paid for by those who would benefit from the outcome.

I suspect that come a year from now there will be yet another Occupy movement. This time it will be organized by those who see the fractured direction this country has undertaken over the past four years. That movement will be Occupy the Voting Booth. No one will pay the participants.

And it won't be organized by the left!