Occupy Wall Street -- just venting

If anyone is interested, this article from Salon reflects what I have seen fairly well.

Like everyone else who writes about OWS, the author fails to note that this event is taking place in an established neighborhood. I was stunned that the author regards the Yom Kippur observance across the street from Zuccotti Park as a sign of "mainstream acceptance" of OWS being in the neighborhood.

They have this Yom Kippur observance every year. It has nothing to do with accepting OWS -- it has to do with Yom Kippur.

I am, of course, going to email the author about this. But I need a day or two to calm down.

Pam, I appreciate your commentary, too, and completely missed whatever political angle was perceived by some. The thing that I found most disturbing, actually, was when you - I think it was you, maybe someone else - said that these protesters were stealing from the falafel vendors and farmer's market people. That really bugs me.

I thought the zombie thing was stupid, too. I am enjoying reading the signs, though, and some of the editorial cartoons that are coming out of this.

I hope that you and your neighbors can retain/regain some sense of normalcy soon.

Roxy

I think Pam's comments are an interesting view from the street. I would be worried, too, with any large group of people camping out by my home.
I don't think this thread is political at all. I have my opinions, I don't think I'm a particularly uninformed person, and quite frankly, if you are going to judge me by my lack of comments, well, so be it. I know that I am a member of the 1%, or at least close to it. I've worked hard for everything I have and I am not embarrassed. If some have an issue with that, it is not my issue. I'm not a member of the Tea Party, a Republican, or even against the protesters. I know I am lucky. I've spent my whole adult life in jobs that tried to help people lift themselves out of poverty or other negative situations. I guess I hope that in the past 35 years, I've had some positive effect on the world.

Roxy, as far as theft, I think that's just the inevitable result of a large crowd. There are plenty of responsible people trying to keep order.

I'm getting the impression that the DC group is more organized, or at least has more specific goals.

They had a permit for their location for the weekend. Yesterday I read that the National Park Service extended it for 4 months, though they would have to share it at times with groups that already had permits to use the square on certain days. But I just read that the agreement with NPS is not finalized.

Meanwhile, they went to the Capital today and I think several of them were arrested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdeuuzXS_sY

What bothers me is what happened to the woman standing on the sidewalk outside the locked bank, holding her bank statement and saying "I'm a customer! I'm a customer!"

You can see the protestors who tried to cancel their accounts locked inside the bank. Even if she went in with them, she obviously left when asked because she was OUTSIDE.

That's a disturbing video. Can't wrap my brain around it.

The only thing about this thread that bothers me are the references to the non-protestors as "hard-working" - as if to imply that those who are occupying are not. Many who have the time, energy, and desire to occupy due to unemployment aren't unemployed by choice. They'd be happy to be working hard, but instead of working hard at a job they are now working hard for what they believe in.

I consider myself to be a hard worker, and I'll never be part of the 1%. It's a situation my generation has been thrown into and I'm proud that some are trying to find another way to improve things, as misguided or as disorganized as that way may be.

(to add a bit of humor, a friend and I were joking that we should organize an Occupy Vail, since protesting the exorbitant price of lift tickets is no more or less ridiculous than some of the the occupiers demands that have made national news)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdeuuzXS_sY

What bothers me is what happened to the woman standing on the sidewalk outside the locked bank, holding her bank statement and saying "I'm a customer! I'm a customer!"

You can see the protestors who tried to cancel their accounts locked inside the bank. Even if she went in with them, she obviously left when asked because she was OUTSIDE.

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If that's real, yes, that's very upsetting. It might be staged, though; notice it wasn't a police officer -- or at least, didn't appear to be -- who first grabbed her. Also, her reaction seems... strange to me. If some random guy grabbed me as she was grabbed, I would be fighting back and telling him to get his hands off me (perhaps in language that we characterize as "car words" around here :D) and yelling for the cops.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by owlice

If that's real, yes, that's very upsetting. It might be staged, though; notice it wasn't a police officer -- or at least, didn't appear to be -- who first grabbed her. Also, her reaction seems... strange to me. If some random guy grabbed me as she was grabbed, I would be fighting back and telling him to get his hands off me (perhaps in language that we characterize as "car words" around here :D) and yelling for the cops.

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She was surrounded by bank security and uniformed cops and talking to security on the sidewalk. The plainclothes guy was immediately joined by the bank security and uniformed policemen as they slammed her into the wall.

Uniformed police officers don't generally join in when a random guy grabs a woman wielding a threatening bank statement wearing deadly high heels and skirt.

If she had been inside the bank, she had left when the managers asked people to leave to clear out the bank and then locked the customers trying to close their accounts inside. She was outside, on the sidewalk, offering her ID and bank statement to the security guys.

I'm in Rome at the moment. I heard helicopters yesterday and saw the news coverage on tv. 200 anarchists does not make for good press.

Getting wild out there, hope it does not turn into violent protesters vs peaceful protesters and detracts away for the core intent.

There is Occupy Calgary ....here.

I have not read all the protesters' grievances.

However to deal with Wall Street like folks, it might be way more effective for protestors to indicate that there is a fine line that only separates the unemployed / low-income from Wall St. folks.

It is probably a better way to think of how little separates us (TE folks) from the protestors. After all, some of us have been unemployed for an appreciable chunk of time.

Right now, some of this Occupy stuff seems like mob rule.

It makes one wonder if social media has a downside from its powerful speed to communicate worldwide and to mobilize: Down side is that unlike the speed of social media for commmunicating and getting the word out to protest, is that REAL change, for Wall St...actually is demanding for some social change. Which takes a long time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

She was surrounded by bank security and uniformed cops and talking to security on the sidewalk. The plainclothes guy was immediately joined by the bank security and uniformed policemen as they slammed her into the wall.

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How do you know the guy was security? She is first shown talking to three guys, none in uniform. One of them grabs her. She's commandeered into a corner entrance, with what looks like security guards doing some of the shepherding and some officers perhaps intervening. It's unclear what happens after that, except that she is still hollering even as it appears that she walks into what seems to be the bank, with the guy who grabbed her following and an officer looking as though he is about to cuff the guy who grabbed her.

But I might be wrong, of course. I'm from Protest Central, DC-born and bred, so yeah, I'm generally very suspicious of conveniently-shot footage from protesters. Or anyone, for that matter.

I'm sure you're right.

The whole thing must have been faked. This kind of thing just doesn't happen in America.

BTW, she was charged with "resisting arrest." And as you pointed out earlier, she clearly was not resisting.

Thank goodness for British online newspapers, or I wouldn't have known anything about this.