It’s getting tougher to figure out who is more clueless: Obscenely compensated CEOs of publicly traded companies or the Occupy Movement.

After two months of “occupations” that have hurt small businesses and financially challenged city governments across the nation, the Occupy folks are now hell-bent on making sure the working man and independent truckers pay the price too.

Plans to shut down western ports today in a supposed bid to get back at the corporations the Occupy folks somehow blame for the crackdown by police on their illegal seizure and destruction of public parks and plazs is just another sign of crash arrogance.

There are plenty of folks out there who - if they lose a day’s pay - will be pushed closer to the edge. As for independent truckers, if they don’t move loads they can’t pay for their rigs or feed their families.

None of this is of concern to the selfish brats who have the audacity to compare their “suffering” at the hands of police trying to enforce the law to the risk those took in the Arab Spring uprisings. They have decided in true Animal Farm style that their right to free speech usurps everyone else’s rights.

Even if they defend their acts as symbolic they are making the wrong people pay the price.

If the Occupy Movement shut down every Walmart for a day it would barely make a dent in the billions of dollars the company clears each year. It would, though, place financial hardship on the workers who wouldn’t get paid.

Shutting down the ports for one day is even worse. They will simply delay the supply chain of goods by a day doing little - if anything - to hurt a corporation’s bottom line. But it will hurt the little guy. Take away 1/250th of their annual income and it will be felt. The port strategy hammers the little guy who is part of the 99 percent that the Occupy folks supposedly care about while it will be nothing more than a mere gnat irritant to the mega-corporations for a day.

It is true that a lot of people agree in varying degrees to the endless repertoire of points the various Occupy fractions are making.

The Occupy tactics, though, are only punishing those who aren’t in the much vilified 1 percent.

Perhaps they should try occupying West Palm Beach instead of Fresno or shut down a Lamborghini dealership for a day instead of a seaport.

At least that way they’d be closer to their intended targets, unless taking out part of the 99 percent is acceptable collateral damage as part of their strategy.



This column is the opinion of managing editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Bulletin or Morris Newspaper Corp. of CA. He can be contacted at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com or 209-249-3519.