Wall Street protest enters fourth day
Peter Foley / EPA
New York police try to direct protesters marching on Wall Street Tuesday.
The protest began Saturday when several thousand people gathered in front of the New York Stock Exchange holding signs saying "We must end corporate tyranny and corruption" and "Debt is slavery." By Tuesday, the crowd had dwindled to several hundred.
New York police have made a handful of arrests -- two on Saturday when protesters tried to enter a Bank of America office and six more on Monday. At least four on Monday were held for wearing masks, which is illegal for groups of two or more, police said. A video posted on YouTube Monday appears to show police arresting at least one protester.
"The elite corporate power have hijacked democracy," Alexander Penley, an international lawyer from New York, told Reuters. "The economic depression we are experiencing today has something to do with how Wall Street is run."
Demonstrators have displayed other signs including "Commodity inflation causes starvation" and "I can't afford a lobbyist."
The idea for the protest apparently originated with a Vancouver-based magazine called Adbusters, which describes itself as “a not-for-profit, reader-supported, 120,000-circulation magazine concerned about the erosion of our physical and cultural environments by commercial forces.”
In a July 13 blog post, the magazine called on readers to emulate the "Arab Spring" uprisings that began in Tahrir Square in Cairo in January. The magazine called on readers to “flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months.” The purpose of the protest, according to the post, is to end “the influence money has over our representatives in Washington.”
“It's time for DEMOCRACY NOT CORPORATOCRACY,” the post proclaimed. “We're doomed without it.”
On Tuesday, police maintained a heavy presence in the Financial District, partitioning off areas of the sidewalk and slowing pedestrian traffic in a neighborhood that typically attracts heavy tourist traffic.
The demonstrators have vowed to stay for months.
Check out some great photos of the protest here.
Or, as it continues to receive media attention, given the number of people unhappy with Wall Street....it MIGHT get larger.
ReplyDeleteI seem to recall quite a few protess for the Arab Spring that started out small, got smaller, and then surged larger.
You'd like anything that contradicted Laci, just to be contrary.
Whatever happens with the protest, that there is a growing dissatisfaction with the financial industry is evident. Whether this protest, or a later one, this argues more strongly for Laci's position.
dog gone:
ReplyDeleteFolks like mostly unhinged, FatWhiteMan and Shitstained8 indicate, by their indignorance on most matters, that they think they are somehow holding common cause with the NRB*. Maybe it's 'cuz it's only one letter different than NRA, where they get most of their misinformation.
*New Robber Barons
I don't believe I ever said I held common cause with anyone nor did I side with anyone. What I said was that it is a small protest by a bunch of hippies and astroturfed union types that won't go anywhere.
ReplyDeleteI read a couple things today about the suppression of this story in the main stream.
ReplyDelete"What I said was that it is a small protest by a bunch of hippies and astroturfed union types that won't go anywhere.
ReplyDeleteSeptember 21, 2011 3:17 PM"
Based on what? Your own observation of the crowd while you were in NYC? Multiple sources which included videos of the demonstrations? Or, was it that one FuckTheNew'sCorpse piece that was cited in the original post by Laci the other day?
Isn't that latter one of those things that you and a number of other "pro-things that are designed, primarily for killing people" are constantly accusing the Brady Campaign--and other rational organizations who wish to limit the carnage--of doing? Y'know, cookin' the numbers, makin' stuff up, pullin' stats outta their asses?
Bunch of communistic scum. The sign says it all: they're in favor of democracy, or, as it's properly called, the rule of the mob.
ReplyDeleteI was getting ready to delete the troll, Tennesee Budd's post.
ReplyDeleteBut he does a good job of making an asshole of himself.
And showing himself up to be a facist as well.
Yup! I moderated the comment for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteTenn Bud wrote:"Bunch of communistic scum. The sign says it all: they're in favor of democracy, or, as it's properly called, the rule of the mob."
So, apparently TB doesn't support the constitution, the cherished philosophy of the founding fathers, and doesn't want to see any of these people who qualify for gun permits have them because they are a mob?
These people are behaving exactly like the tea party did, in peacefully protesting and making a political criticism...and a more valid one than the low-information bigots of the tea party.
Clearly, Tenn Bud is UN-American! Quick! Someone call Michele Bachmann so she can launch an investigation into his views!!!!!!
Tenn Bud, there is nothing communist about these people, nor is there anything socialist, either, although both are consistent with political freedom in the U.S. The people on Wall street that they are protesting aren't even good capitalists, in the respect that they do not allow capitalism regulation through competition to operate on a level playing field.
They DO have a thoroughly corrupting influence on politics, which hurts all of us - including you. You are just too ideologically blinded by bumper slogan thinking to realize it.
If ever there was
Not to mention the capitalist system is failing pretty badly.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the more state regulated economies are faring much better than the US. Still, I wouldn't want to have an economy like China's or Russia's as they are just oligarchies, which are nearly as bad as the US. At least those economies provide basic services for their citizens.
"These people are behaving exactly like the tea party did, in peacefully protesting and making a political criticism..."
ReplyDeleteThis is NOT true.
Not ONE of those pantywaistoterrorists is packin' heat and I don't see any signs that have a likeness of the chairman of Goldman Sachs or Ben Bernanke as Shylock, eating babies with forks in both hands (whether either of them is jewish being irrealavant in any case) while standing on the necks of good, hardworkin' MurKKKins!
Nope the SKKKrotalMurKKKinPatriotiKKK front has them beat hands down!