I worked as a
legal observer for the majority of the weekend. There was this individual approximately aged 20-23, with a popped collar, shouting out of a brand new Tahoe, "GET A JOB LOSERS," as he passed by.
At the time when this comment was made at around 5:00pm (the Raleigh permit that had ended 26 hours earlier, and about 22 hours after arrests), 70 people were still occupying the sidewalk because there were court orders against all of those that were arrested and threats of arresting more if anyone set foot on the property of the Capitol Building.
Out of those 70 people, quite a few were afraid to be caught on camera by news crews because they have state/federal/corporate jobs The majority of the group was concerned about staying through the second night due to issues of having to go to work the next day. People had donated enough supplies that were being stored nearby to keep people fed and warm. The younger people in the group were not intent on shouting "FUCK THE SYSTEM," even though some of them looked like straight punks from the early 90s. The youngest of that group, 17, still had a job at a sandwich shop, because he knew better than to go to jail (well, juvenile hall) when he could push the limits of the law but not break it. There were no over the top hippies that just wanted to be there to be there and drum their drums while dancing and smoking pot. The hippies there were just happy to be surrounded by people who didn't get to experience the protests years ago in the same city for African American rights, woman's suffrage, Vietnam War protests, etc. They were happy to teach a new generation on how to stand their ground. Everyone there was discussing politics among themselves and even the police. The police were happy to be there because their jobs were secured for those evenings, but they did indirectly sympathize with the group of protesters. They can't protest while on the job but were very lenient and fairly talkative.
I'm sure that the individual in the Tahoe has an open mind. It was a shame he hadn't stopped and joined in to find out that plenty of people earlier that day tried to heckle the group had walked away with new information that they conceded to be true. The first steps to changing things is conversation and awareness. Not talking about it is what caused the issue in the first place.
Ignorance and arrogance go hand in hand. Thy name is Douchey McTahoe.