My wife was disgusted to see all the tents and trash on the Hamilton County Courthouse lawn when she went to renew our vehicle tags yesterday.  She described to me all the tents, dirty blankets, trash and  general filth she saw around our historic courthouse.  So last night as I sat and pondered first why the protesters were protesting, then why they were allowed to pitch tents on county property it dawned on me that I have to pay to use county property. 

My family, along with hundreds of other hard working, taxpaying Hamilton County residents, love to camp and enjoy our beautiful community, especially Chester Frost Park.

  In doing so we pay the following fees to pitch tents and park our RVs on county-owned property.  Surely the county could charge the occupiers similar fees for pitching the same type of tents I used to pitch at Chester Frost and living on county property. 

I propose the following as they apply to tents on county property be charged for the occupiers' residency on the courthouse lawn (borrowed from the Hamilton County Parks website):
 
Chester Frost Park Rules & Fees
CAMPING RATES:
Campground opens April 1st (All camping fees include sales tax)
Smokemont is open all year.
(Rates effective March 26, 2010)
All rates listed are PER DAY.
Water Front - Electricity & Water
Hamilton County Residents (non seniors)$20.00
Hamilton County Seniors$14.00
Non-Hamilton County Residents$25.00
Inland - Electricity & Water
Hamilton County Residents (non seniors)$18.50
Hamilton County Seniors$13.00
Non-Hamilton County Residents$23.50
Tent Area with Water
Hamilton County Residents (non seniors)$16.00
Hamilton County Seniors$10.75
Non-Hamilton County Residents$21.00
Tent Area without Water
Hamilton County Residents (non seniors)$11.00
Hamilton County Seniors$9.50
Non-Hamilton County Residents$16.00

 
I always understood protesting to be a venue where you had a definitive point of view that everyone understood, whether they agreed with your point of view or not they understood. You carried hand-made signs; you marched up and down the street or sidewalk in front of the agencey you had a disagreement with (not slept in their front door); you chanted aloud about what you were against; then you went to your own home when the sun went down and got up before the sun came up the next morning to come back and do it again.  Our courthouse lawn looks like a hippie convention with everyone living  free, free of charge, free to desecrate public property and free to be talked about and poked fun at.
 
Cost of Occupation:
Having an opinion:  Free of charge
Fee for Tent Camping on County Property: $11.00 (if you're a county resident)
Cost to Hamilton County taxpayers to clean up and repair the courthouse lawn:  $Thousands
Value added due to occupation:  I just don't see any in the future
Humor for this whole scenario:  Priceless
 
Greg Tate
Chattanooga

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First amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

People forget about that last part.
 
Mr. Tate didn't see the Occupy group I saw when I visited. I did not see any trash. And when I attend meetings I see plenty of ordinary citizens just like our neighbors. I suggest Mr. Tate and others go down there and visit.. General Assembly is at 7 p.m. during week and 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
 
In their own words: 
"Who are we? We are Occupy Chattanooga. We are your brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, and your sons and daughters.
What do we want? To put forth a simple proposition to our fellow citizens and our government. Whatever issues we are facing as a society - environment and climate, an unresponsive government, growing inequality and a shrinking middle class, or a news media that has replaced news with infotainment and spectacle - all are aggravated and exacerbated by the continued consolidation of corporate power within our society.  We must address the last issue first before can even tackle the rest."

R.W. Young

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I am not responding to disagree with Mr. Young, however I work downtown and have walked by the protesting area many times since the fall when they began their protest, and I am having a hard time understanding how their employers are allowing them to be there for this length of time and continue to hold their jobs?  I work every single day and so do all of my friends that work for various employers in that area, and we have all wondered the same exact thing.  We have all wondered how on earth they sit down there day in and day out and either A) keep their job or B) can go that long without having a job to support themselves and/or their family?
 
The times that I have walked by, the protesters are either not there at all - empty tents, or they are in them as quiet as a mouse. 

What exactly are they protesting at this point?  I like to think that I represent the majority of Americans - I work hard every day, sometimes I have money in the bank, sometimes I live paycheck to paycheck. However, I still can't figure out how those people that lay in those tents day after day after day represent me?  Maybe they do, I don't know.....  I watch the news every single night, and I have seen them on there, however I am still unsure they represent me.
 
Here's what I do know....
The times that I make difference are the times when I volunteer at local agencies - I go in quietly via an arranged appointment, do whatever job I need to in order to help out, and I leave expecting nothing in return.

I wonder what a difference those people could make if they would spend the same amount of time volunteering for a local agency in need as they have camped out in those tents (that really do make that beautiful courthouse look hideous)?

Maybe they do volunteer, if they do, I apologize, if they don't, I'm just sayin'.....think of the difference they could make.

Tamara Fairfax