(Note: Tucson Weekly reader Blaze Mason e-mailed to ask us why we have not been covering the protests on Wall Street. I explained that we cover local stuff; she responded that we reference national stuff all the time. I then invited her to write something for The Range. Here’s what she sent. —JB)
Thousands of people are protesting on Wall Street right now. They have gone to the financial capital of the United States to say that they are tired of the growing inequality in this country, and they are tired of working people and middle-class people being drained of their resources and their futures while the very rich and corporations sit on piles of cash. There already has been a “redistribution” of wealth, and it has gone into the hands of a tiny minority while the rest of us struggle to pay our bills, while our homes are foreclosed, while our children don’t have enough to eat, and while many hard-working people can’t afford to go to a doctor. The Wall Street protestors are saying “Enough!”
This all began on Sept. 17, one week ago, when thousands of folks from all over the country went to New York to raise awareness, and since then hundreds of people have been camping out in Zuccotti Park (with the owner’s permission), often in the rain. This is the beginning of a grassroots uprising against the direction this country is going. The demonstrators are pledged to peaceful protest, nonviolent education, and a fair and open decision-making process. But they have been met with great hostility by the NYPD, and they have been met with silence or ridicule by the mainstream media.
American citizens have been arrested for writing in chalk on the sidewalk, for wearing bandanas, and for photographing the police. The police have torn down the tarps protecting them from the rain, have confiscated bullhorns to restrict people’s speech, and some people have been beaten with billy clubs.
Here’s the link for the livestream coverage of what’s happening now. Go to YouTube and search on “occupy wall street” to see lots of on-the-ground videos. Here’s just one. And here’s the Facebook page.
This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2011.
Way to go, Blaze Mason – and thanks for giving her a forum, Tucson Weekly.
Petro in Portland.
Right on, thanks Blaze. check out adbusters.org to see how you can help and what we can do here in tucson to augment this movement.
WAY TO GO! @ Tuscon Weekly for keeping free speech and the dissemination of it alive! Maybe you should give this story some attention. it might put you guys on the national map.
UPDATE: Somewhere between 60 and 100 people were arrested earlier today in NYC for nonviolent protest. Since this is a leaderless movement, the NYPD seems to be targeting the media team, though luckily many others stepped up when those folks were arrested. Then, the police told the folks camped out in the park that they can’t use umbrellas against the rain “because they’re a hazard.” And something seems to be going down right now. See the livestream link I provided above and spread the word! Free speech and peaceable assembly are constitutionally protected rights — or they used to be. Peace to all.
They’re now “netting” Liberty Park for more mass arrests. Liveblog here:
http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2011/09/2…
Thanks again, Blaze.
so they are camping in the middle New York City and the expectations is they won’t be arrested. Silly silly silly
@moyla75: They have permission from the owner of the park to be there, and it is not illegal to walk in NYC, nor to speak in public, nor to use an umbrella. Look at this YouTube video and tell us that this is OK with you in the United States. Those women are just standing there, netted by the police, and then they are maced. This is NOT OK with me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moD2JnGTToA…
As much as a certain segment of society chooses to combat what they perceive to be the gaming of society by entrenched power interests perhaps we ought to ask the uncomfortable question- does anyone then really care anymore? And if they did, how is it that the movement that started off with 5000 members last weekend has dwindled to less than 200 come this weekend? After all the concerns of the ‘occupy wall street’ group are legitimate ones with deep consequences.
http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2011/09/oc…
Inside trading…
“From Contracts to Cupcakes: A Wall Street Career Change”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1266956405…
“It’s surprisingly a cutthroat environment for cupcakes,” Arrick said. “But my negotiation, corporate and LLC compliance, and accounting skills have served me well. Plus, I can draft complex agreements and contracts.”
Thanks Tucson Weekly for covering this story (sort of).
Imagine if the Tea Party held a rally against government and the police tackled them, pushed them to the ground, handcuffed them so tightly the numbed their hands, hit them and threw them hard enough to make them bleed, maced them in the eyes, declared their bullhorns and umbrellas and costumes to be illegal, and arrested them for protesting.
This is what is happening in NYC right now, but it is regular, normal citizens tired of Wall Street banksters defrauding the American people.
Yes, last Saturday’s kick off event had thousands, several hundred have been holding down the park during the week and today there are THOUSANDS of people protesting.
Again, imagine the mainstream media completely ignoring a Tea Party rally of that size. The corporate owned media pushes the Tea Party on us whenever one them farts.
Get the news: #occupywallst , https://occupywallst.org/
Blaze,
Get a clue.
Your commitment to your idealism is admirable,
However, expect to be ridiculed.
Sooner or later, you will recognize that
This kind of activity gets you nothing
But negative attention.
Sad but true.
40 yrs ago, I felt just like you.
It’s an exercise in frustration or just another
Opportunity to break stuff.
What a maroon – the “POOR” in this country are better off than just about everybody around the world – there are no hungry people in this country unless they choose to be. Last time I checked the flow of Mexicans into this country was about 12 million to zero. These people would walk thru a burning desert with women and babies to get what the “poor” of this country have. So far – people heading the other way is about zero.
46% of AAAAALLLLLL asian kids are malnourished. Just 2% of the POOREST American kids are malnourished. These cry baby rants about the state of the poor in this country is a blatant attempt by the left to bleed from the “haves” and give to the “haves”. Of course, taking a little stipend along the way in votes, stipends or taxes never hurt either. 97% of “rich” people in this country have a color TV – 96% of the “poor” have a color tv – and yet only 47% of americans pay taxes. So obviously when Im in line at the best buy to get a tv, im paying for the guy behind me too. So don’t give me your foolishness about “poor in america” – cause it is BS. Every “poor” person and non-tax payer owes ME a thank you. I’m waiting.
Immigration from third word countries and taxpayer education of illegals is an initiative by big business to drive down the cost of both unskilled and skilled labor in the US to third world levels.
Yes, business has been crying out for lower skilled illterate workers to keep costs down, and in order to keep costs down they pay to educate the workers making costs go higher. Doesnt make much sense does it? Instead unions have driven the cost of labor so high jobs shift overseas, and public school unions ensure that while their pockets are full, the students in the us fall farther behind ensuring that the generation of skiled workerswill come from india. Out of work? Thank a union member. Illiterate? Thank a public school teacher union member.
@Rod: I do have a clue. I have been working for peace and justice for more than 40 years. Unfortunately, I have too many financial obligations to be there with the protestors, but I will continue to fully support them. I’m sorry that you’ve given up.
@Isiah Tadeo: There are no hungry people in this country unless they want to be? Are you friggin kidding me? Just here in southern AZ, the Community Food Bank serves 178,000 different people every year, more than 33,000 a week. And 83 percent of those people fall below the federal poverty line, and a huge number of those people are children. This is a national disgrace, and no, I’m not going to thank you for it. There’s lots more info here, if you want to educate yourself. http://www.communityfoodbank.com/pdf/hunge…. Consider yourself lucky if you don’t need their services.
Unless you’re in the top 1 percent, unless you’re a multi-millionaire or more, then you are one of the “have-nots,” Isiah, and if you’re not desperate now, your time will come, unless you realize that we are on the same side. The protestors are fighting for me AND for you. The extremely wealthy are pitting us against each other, and you are falling for it, I’m sorry to say. And please stop repeating that BS about people not paying taxes. It’s not true. Poor people pay a higher percentage of their meager incomes in taxes (of all kinds) than do rich people.
@AmyC, Petro, Kat, Juan Carlos, John: Thanks for being out there and for responding here. It always feels good to hear from allies.
There are no hungry people in this country unless they want to be. You just proved my point. Lunerals get so wrapped around the axle of their own ideas they cant think straight anymore. The federal poverty guidelines are a sham designed to create a cacophony of the needy so the luberals can run to their defense. 96 % of “poor people” have tvs, 94% have refridgerators, 80% have air conditioning. 30% have multiple vehicles. The average “poor ” american has 20% more living space than the AVEREAGE European. 47 per cent of americans pay no income taxes. The top 5% of american earning househlds pay 70% of the income tax in this country. At least according to the irs, whoever they are. The protestors dont represent me. The only thing they want is a free ride off the backs of those that do pay for everything. It all plays well down at union hall or the birkenstock convention, but the pathethic drone of he hard of thinking is getting old. And that guy behind me in line at best buy still hasnt said thank you to me for his tv. Come to think of it nobody on public assitance has ever said thanks to me. Ungrateful bazterds.
So I read your study Blaze – more perpetuation of the falsehoods that people aren’t eating well in this country. First off – 30% of the users are illegal immigants. Takes a big bite out of the efficacy of the program right of the top doesn’t it? 50% of the users live in a household with “One OR MORE” incomes. Even amongst the flawed methodology study, the users admit their incomes are AT LEAST 70% of what the gov’t defines as poverty.
So what we have is a poorly designed food distribution program handing out resources to illegal immigrants and those who are working, but choose to spend their money on more interesting things (wink, wink, nudge nudge). When asked what is the biggest barrier to the success of these programs the operators (well, 75% of them anyways) said they needed – wait for it “MORE MONEY!”. The solution for any solial based policy is always more money. I think I can make an 80% improvement in the program overnight – by not giving food to those that are here illegally unless a bus ticket is taped to the can, or to those that won’t agree to having a credit check run. Current on your car loan or mortgage? You can find a way to feed yourself. We aren’t buyin it anymore.
Nobody “wants” to work two jobs and still be paid so badly that they qualify to get food boxes at the Community Food Bank. But that’s not what this thread is about.
The real criminals are the bankers and the brokers who begged for government bailouts, got billions of taxpayer dollars (I certainly didn’t agree to that), and then gave themselves $10 million bonuses with our money (I didn’t agree to that either). If you added up every single penny that you think immigrants take from you and the government, it still wouldn’t be a fraction of what the financial sector has stolen from us, and continues to steal from us, American taxpayers, every year.
The real criminals are the oil companies and agribusiness and other so-called “free market” corporations that can’t survive without incentives, and tax breaks, and other giveaways, always at taxpayer expense, at my expense and yours, while they sit on piles of cash and offshore our jobs and refuse to pay compensation to workers hurt on the job, or their families when they are killed on the job. When are the leaders of those corporations going to be held accountable?
Add up all the money that you think is taken by immigrants, working people, all those who are sick and injured, every child who needs a decent education, every can of beans at the Food Bank — add all of that up and it’s still nowhere near what we spend on maintaining hundreds of military bases around the world, and five or six active wars. There is plenty of money in the world and especially in this country; it’s just been “redistributed” to the very richest people, and the rest of us are suffering needlessly. That’s why we’re peacefully occupying Wall St.
The wealthiest 400 people in the US have 95%, while the rest of us fight over the tiny, last shriveled piece of pie. While some of us are doing OK–employed, making house payments, car payments, phone payments…we are very worried for our kids and grandkids. I think there’s actually something being planned here in Tucson this Sat. Oct 1st. There’s info at occupytogether.org
Get a JOB you bums!