They wanted the Mayor to sleep over.<\/p>\n

For one night. In the park. Sleeping bag and all. They wanted the park renamed after Troy Davis, a Georgia man put to death in September. And finally, Occupy Atlanta wanted a promise no one would be arrested. <\/p>\n

No chance on the name change, Mayor Kasim Reed replied. Or the no arrest guarantee. But the Mayor would pray on the sleep-over decision.<\/p>\n

The protesters chalked it up as a victory anyway. Yes, Bank of America still raked in too much money. And sure, many of them still did not have jobs. But, at the very least, they were relevant.<\/p>\n

They had done it. That scruffy gaggle of un- and under- employed but, thanks to sympathetic local delis, over-fed youths had seized the media spotlight. They would be on the evening news after the game. The Mayor\u2019s PR team spent an entire afternoon crafting the pros and cons of a camp slumber party because of them.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Occupy Wall Street marks an inflection point long overdue. The crystallization of a shattered ideal for millions of Millennials. They are a generation coming to grips that America\u2019s best days may truly lie behind it. An America where politicians serve to get elected, not to govern. A generation that will not be more successful than their parents but will move back in with them.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They were told if they studied hard, if they were prudent, life would be grand. They would have jobs. They would have what their parents had and then some. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They now know this was a myth. Served up by rosy cheeked parents and school teachers in rosier times. They now know that this is a privilege, not a gift. And they are very, very upset by this.<\/p>\n

But they also know that they are not alone. They were frustrated before Twitter. But social media helped the rage go viral; Skyping, tweeting, and updating its way across the globe. From Tahrir Square to Madrid\u2019s indignados to Zuccotti Park, Occupy protesters discovered they have a voice. They now must figure out what to say. <\/p>\n

Today the grievances are as motley as the geography. In Tokyo, they picket nuclear power. In Rome, they hurl bricks because of Silvio Berlusconi. In Frankfurt, they bash in BMW\u2019s over pensions they will never see. In New York, they protest because bankers make too much money. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And in Atlanta, they protest because MARTA raised bus fares again. Because shovel ready doesn\u2019t always mean shovel ready. Because President Obama wasn\u2019t the one they were waiting for. <\/p>\n