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Occupy Wall Street – Coming to a City Near You?
Occupy Tampa. Photo credit to Shanna Gillette of Sasha Rae Photo via Flickr under the Creative Commons license.
By Kathryn Knight Randolph
Occupy Wall Street is currently in its fourth week of sit-in protests. Since the inaugural protests on September 17 in New York City, Occupy Wall Street has spread to at least 1,470 cities worldwide, according to occupytogether.org. At the Occupy sites, protestors are camping out and literally occupying that physical zone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Occupy Wall Street activists are working against the “greed and corruption” of the wealthiest 1% of the country and asking for more economic equality for the 99% of the population that is working through student debt, credit card debt and mortgage problems, according to occupywallst.org.
And while the movement initially received criticism for being unorganized and lacking in any real demands, it has now caught the attention of all national and worldwide media outlets, lawmakers and President Obama. In fact, Representative Keith Ellison, who has been serving as a House representative from Minnesota since 2007, noted that as the movement has grown momentum in recent weeks, their demands are being realized loud and clear.
Ellison wrote in an article for The Huffington Post, “The Occupy movement is attracting ordinary Americans through concrete action that conveys a clear message. The message is that working Americans want Wall Street to be accountable. The message is that working Americans want a fair tax system. Americans want the Congress to pass legislation that produces jobs.”
Though Occupy Wall Street began as a peaceful protest, violence has increased recently. There have been instances of alleged police brutality, especially in New York; however, whether or not this brutality was provoked on the part of the protestors is unclear. Additionally, arrests have been made in New York as well as several other cities, like Boston, Des Moines and Portland.
Now, protestors in New York City’s Zuccotti Park, the central hub for Occupy Wall Street, are being told by Mayor Bloomberg that they must temporarily vacate the premises for cleaning purposes by Friday, October 14 at 7 a.m., according to occupywallstreet.org. Though protestors think this as an effort on Mayor Bloomberg’s part to break up the occupation, Bloomberg insists that this is at the request of the park’s owners, Brookfield Properties, according to New York Daily News.
In a letter to the city of New York, as reported by the New York Daily News, Brookfield Properties has openly complained of the Wall Street occupation, stating “that the protesters are breaking numerous laws, including “lewdness, groping, drinking and drug use” and creating “offensive odors.”"
In an interview with the New York Daily News, Deputy Mayor, Cas Halloway, said, “The last three weeks have created unsanitary conditions and considerable wear and tear on the park…The cleaning will be done in stages, and the protesters will be able to return to the areas that have been cleaned.”
As protestors in New York return to Zoccatti Park in the next few days, it can only be assumed that even more Occupy Wall Street sites will crop up both nationally and worldwide.
Do you plan on participating in any Occupy Wall Street protests? Share with us why or why not!
pihugaga
5 months ago
18 comments
If you think William`s story is great..., last pay cheque my sis basically also got paid $9026 grafting eighteen hours a week an their house and the're best friend's sister-in-law`s neighbour did this for three months and easily made over $9026 part time on their computer. the guidelines from this address, http://www.Cloud65.com
arkingIT
12 months ago
14 comments
AHH, and you people who call themselves socialist, yeah let someone come steal what you've worked so hard for while they sit around and smoke pot and drink themselves silly. No &@!*& wonder you are socialist. You don't want to try but then you bicker and complain. The problem is some socialist have to high self esteem. Get your greedy hands out of my hard earned pot pigs! We should ship you all to another planet called selfishness.
arkingIT
12 months ago
14 comments
No dag on wonder so many people are on drugs and are alcoholics. Either they hate their jobs, momma, wives, husbands, and it's all related to a history of mental abuse of family members, poor quality jobs, and bad interpersonal relationship skills. So what if your'e so ignorant that you don't want to learn how to treat people better. You poor losers because you lose in the end. POOR LOSERS!
arkingIT
12 months ago
14 comments
But who really cares but those of us who hate our jobs because our managers like control just for control sake and nothing more. They are arrogant small minded people, such a people.
arkingIT
12 months ago
14 comments
Ok well I don't have bad healthy, but I'm sure not going to work only to have enough money to afford gas money to get to work, and no medical coverage or thank yous for giving them my best. We need better leaders because a lot of managers lack people skills, and they stink at managing money too, so what do we have but a bunch of kids in suites!
arkingIT
12 months ago
14 comments
SMILEANYWAY what do you really know about wall street, or are you like me and so many others angry that we have worked hard making minimum wage jobs and have little to show for it except bad health and a wrecked mental state?
arkingIT
12 months ago
14 comments
These people are crazy acting like animals in the park!
SMILEANYWAY
over 1 year ago
8 comments
that's what these greedy mongrels get for stealing and concealing our money.
jvfran2
over 1 year ago
2 comments
I fail to see how a collectivist/socialist/communist group which bemoans the greatness of capitalism belongs on a site which provides entrance into such a system. Monster.com, wtf?
garyray32
over 1 year ago
2 comments
Time to move on. They made their statement so its time to move onto more important areas, like poverty, homelessness
nrsangie66
over 1 year ago
2 comments
This is ridiculous. This "movement" needs to MOVE. They are so concerned about costs, money, and corruption so I would like to know why they have all these "movements" around the country, yet NOTHING is pointed to the government. WHY??? The government is the one who backs Fannie and Freddie, the two government backed mortgage companies gave mortgages to people who couldn't afford them then sold them off to other banks through misrepresentation and then the banks crashed. The federal government deregulated the mortgage industry and told people they were 'entitled' to own a house (no your not). The government operated SEC was supposed to be monitoring the financial industry, but instead they issued certificates of businesses that were nothing but scams (heard of Madoff ) and just sat around the office downloading porn, some of them had to add external drives because they needed more room.
These protesters are anarchists, they have no central message, they want to completely destroy our economical system, but offer no ideas and are COSTING taxpayers thousands of dollars a day as well as private business owners.
Tea Party Members conducted peaceful, organized and lawful demonstrations. At times in certain areas were actually DENIED permits and therefore could not have their rally. Tea party members where called terrorists, racists and other filthy names by citizens and politicians including the president and vice president and senate/house democrats. NOW, Owebummer and his croonies are calling the occupiers (funny they use a term associated with communism/socialist) are 'not unlike' the tea party protesters.. so is he saying that the occupiers are racists (Yes) and terrorists(Yes).. OR... is he saying that the tea party members are NOW just upset and concerned about the economic situation in the US??
made
over 1 year ago
2 comments
The totalt "protesters" nationwide number less than 20000. In a community of 100K, this would be significant. However, the U.S. is a community of 195,000,000 adults. Do the math for yourself.
These socialist fund-raisers only represent what happens when all of the village idiots in a large city gather in one place.
Thaliacs
over 1 year ago
2 comments
its time someone said something, you put in an application and they basically want you to go back to slavery, that is the response that I get.
Unaccredited Cate
over 1 year ago
I will be deleting my profile now. I dont to be apart of somthing that supports such inappropriate behavior
jeff33912
over 1 year ago
2 comments
First:
Organization needs to come in the form of Change, Real Change in the entire system. Term limits for Congress and the House, just as our President must hold to. Lobbyist and lobbying period needs to be illegal.
Second:
Our President, Congress and the House is made up of primarily lawyers, is that representative of the people? A large majority of all of them are multi-millionaires, is that representative of the people? But that is the thing, We the People of the United States must institute change with our votes, Congress or the House doesn't vote the way we want them to, the constituents they are supposed to be representing, we vote them out of office and allow them to return to their fortunes chasing ambulances.
Technologies need to be used to reduce reliance on oil, foreign or domestic. It amazes me that people don't ask more questions, that more people don't come forward about why we still use oil in such vast quantities, the simple answer is there is no residual for big business/Wall St. (not just big oil) OR the government and the sad thing is is that new industries would emerge and of course new taxes OR the government would have to downsize.
In only a short amount of research it is disgusting to find some of the things that are available both up the corporate and government ladder. You ask if I am going to participate? In every city that is feasible and I hope that more see this and do the same; the time for real change is here and it We the People that will make it happen, not government and most certainly no Wall Street.
Join the Revolution!