I knew there was some reason I still read Newsweek. The latest issue has a little nugget: “Faces of Outrage: Two days and 18 protesters around New York’s Zuccotti Park, the heart of Occupy Wall Street.” The article has pictures, names, and occupations for 18 Occupy Wall Street protesters.
If the aim is to “normalize” the protests, Newsweek failed. If it’s to show them as a cross-section of weirdos and hippies, the news magazine was successful. Uproariously so.
The most interesting part is occupiers’ occupations. These include “unemployed,” “cancer survivor,” “scholar/magician,” “student,” “fair-trade activist,” and “philosopher-writer.”
Surviving cancer is laudable, but it makes for a lousy occupation. Ditto fair-trade activist and philosopher-writer, at least if you want to pay the bills. (Obviously, many OWS protesters aren’t into that sort of thing, at least not by the sweat of their own brows.) Being a scholar-magician sounds more interesting — seems to be Paul Krugman’s life calling. He’s good at conjuring up numbers and fooling the masses.
Thank you, Newsweek, for reaffirming my faith in your publication.
