“Occupy Stapleton” Movement Never Gains Momentum

In an effort similar to the one on Wall Street, a handful of Denver protestors made an effort to “occupy Stapleton.” Similar to the Wall Street protests, it is not completely clear what they were looking for. Of the less than a dozen or so protestors turned campers that showed up daily, signs changed every day which included the following slogans:

• Evenly distributed pools in Denver
• Just because you live in Stapleton, doesn’t mean you deserve higher taxes
• All Denver parks should have the worlds thickest grass
• Stapleton:  the rich, the entitled, the foreclosed
• Free concerts and movies everywhere.  Not just Stapleton
• Nuke the whales

Stacy Bukatz had her own reasons. “We are trying to draw attention to the lack of fairness in this world. Why should these people get to be middle class?”  Although Stapleton does have some upper class and upper middle class citizens, it does remain a mostly middle-class neighborhood, which is unfair to some. “Not everyone gets to work for whitey in a cubicle for forty hours a week in a job they hate so they can support their families,” says Bukatz. “I want that American dream.” Some Stapleton residents disagree with this philosophy and stopped just short of saying they would trade places with the protestors. “Hey, I love my life,” says Andy Gustafson. “But, when I was poor and renting a place in Wash Park, my life was a blast. And so damn easy.” The protestors were closely watched by more than a dozen police officers to keep Stapleton residents safe. After four days, no television coverage, and no new protestors, the protestors packed up and left. Their lasting effect only that of kids saying to their parents, “smells like they were burning leaves just like you do at home, mom and dad.”]]>