Occupy Small Businesses

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Let’s call this food vendor “Chris,” because although I don’t know his real name, we can be sure that he is a real person, a regular Joe with concerns that we can all relate to. You can count him among the 99%, the workers and professionals who keep the country turning and whose noble interests are represented by the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protesters.

I love the breakfast sandwiches that he and his assistant whip up in the mornings. The variations on bacon egg and cheese sustained me in the mornings my pregnancy with Baby and the first six months after.

But these days, it’s really hard to get to his food truck, because he’s located right on the edge of Zuccotti Park in Manhattan, and his business abuts the Occupy Wall Street encampment.

I can’t get to his truck on my morning commutes, and apparently I’m among the regular customers driven away by the noise, crowding and smell of the protesters within arm’s reach.

So his business is suffering, and he’s losing money because the very people who claim to have his best interests at heart. I want this guy to succeed and live a comfortable life, and I want the protesters to be heard. But surely they should be itching tents some place where their signs, chants and all that are likely to have more impact. How about occupying the Beltway?

 

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