Occupy Las Vegas protesters find change takes time, work

Occupy Las Vegas folks are jobless and homeless, right? Some are. But two of those protesting Wednesday outside NV Energy have jobs and places to live.

Kristal Glass is a 41-year-old mortgage loan officer who saw the excesses and the downswing "because I am in the mortgage industry and have at least some kind of any idea what went on behind the scenes and how foreclosures are handled." When times were good, she was making in the six figures. Now, even with a job, she is facing foreclosure on her own home.

Glass estimates she is putting 40 hours a week into the Occupy Las Vegas effort and 25 to 30 hours in her paying job. She is not living on the site on Paradise Road across from the Thomas & Mack Center.

Brett Jungblut, 32, is a professional poker player and freelance poker writer. He grew up in the environment of the 1 percenters, and when he went to college at 18, his eyes were opened about how the other 99 percenters live. He has an apartment but usually sleeps at the tent at the Occupy Las Vegas site.

He has worked with homeless kids in other cities, including San Diego and Los Angeles. "I got political because I realize these kids have no representation, they’re constantly neglected, and how can we be a great country when we allow that."

The two have a lot they want to say, and they speak articulately, rapidly and with passion.

They were among the crowd outside NV Energy, protesting the pass through rate increases, hoping that issue might generate the public’s support and interest among people who might become active with Occupy Las Vegas.

I met Glass and Jungblut for the first time Saturday, when I dropped by the site to get a feel for the protest.

Remember (my dad wishes he could forget), I was a protester in the late 1960s. I marched against the Vietnam War, and I dropped out of my university to protest institutionalized racism at Washington State University.

At Saturday’s Occupy Las Vegas’ General Assembly meeting there were about 50 people discussing bylaws, giving reports and approving motions, including one requiring a 90 percent approval vote to pass motions. They argued over who decides the truth if they challenge misinformation about Occupy Las Vegas on their website.

Occupy Las Vegas listed six points it wants. "If we remove money from politics, all the other problems will then subside," Jungblut said.

I agree that corporate money has too much influence in politics. I would like truly effective campaign finance reform. I would like greater legal accountability for public officials and corporate officials, and if they commit crimes, they should pay for those crimes in full.

Protesters want our justice system to treat everyone equally. They want an end to the continual attack on our social safety net and protection of workers’ rights to organize and strike.

Finally, they write, "we want secure and sustainable investments and improvements in our social infrastructure, like schools and libraries, and to create an America where everyone may actually live in a decent and dignified matter, an America where everyone’s rights count and are respected by all."

This is not a crowd in perfect harmony.

Glass, who said there’s a core group of only about 25, admitted she’s feeling protest burnout after a month. She complained the small turnout to do the work is "making me more than a little upset. I’m pissed."

"Eventually there will be change," Jungblut predicted, comparing the Occupy movement to the movements for civil rights and women’s rights. "We have to change something that is fundamentally wrong."

Without a doubt, these two are true believers, but it takes more than sincerity to bring about change. Take it from an old protester from the ’60s, who wishes them well.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call her at (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Morrison