Friday, September 16, 2011

Occupy Wall Street - Begins Tomorrow, Sept. 17th

Are you ready to see democracy in action? Tomorrow is the beginning of something big. If you can make it to NYC and OCCUPY WALL STREET, go now. Get there with your tent.

If you can't go, then tweet about it. Use these hashtags #OccupyWallSt, #Sept17, #usdor, and follow them on Twitter (@OccupyWallSt). Spread the word. Get involved. We're gonna change things, and it begins tomorrow.

Hope still exists. It's there. We just need to readjust our vision in order to see it.

I see it. Do you?

Hope (Permission for use was granted by the artist, Rachel Baum)

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is the point of this "occupation"?

Is it a protest against investment banks?

And in what sense will such an "occupation" illustrate "democracy in action"? What is the objective of the rally?

The markets will be closed so few of those employed on Wall Street will even be around, much less inconvenienced. Folks are obviously free to gather but it's not obvious to me that such a gathering will accomplish anything. But good luck to all who attend.

Cryn Johannsen said...

@Anonymous 9:54 PM - thanks for your questions. I am sure you are familiar with what happened in Tahrir Square in Egypt. That is one model. It is the same model that October2011 (which AEM is affiliated with, i.e., my non-profit has endorsed the cause) is aiming for in DC (see: http://october2011.org/).

Here's one recent report about the movement's efforts - http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-16/wall-street-protesters-vow-to-occupy-lower-manhattan-for-months.html

It's a peaceful, non-violent protest, and we think it's going to work. The time is ripe, and we don't need violence to push against this repressive, corporatized regime. Such action will allow the authoritarian, police state to crush protesters, and the aim is to restore democratic ideals. Instead, we will use other tactics. When protests are peaceful, they always reveals the hypocrisy of such systems.

I am exhausted and tired of living in an oligarchic state. Aren't you too? That's why these things matter, and that's why I support them.

Chances are, I'll end up in lower Manhattan or DC in full support.

One Who Survived said...

Are many of the organisers aware that Sept 17 is the birthdate of the US Constitution? That might be a useful symbol.

But personally I don't fetishise any Constitution. They're fungible. The bibliolatrous American inclination to regard the Constitution as Divinely inspired kind of falls flat when you consider it's been amended so many times, not to mention reasonable differences in interpretation causing the so-called Civil War.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the link to Business Week's article on this. Now I understand that the goal of the protest is to get President Barack Obama to establish a commission to end “the influence money has over our representatives in Washington”.

What a great idea.

I can't believe no one ever thought of that before.

All we have to do is end the influence of money in politics.

Thank goodness these protesters have come along to show us the way.

After all, you've got to start somewhere.

Anonymous said...

CBS News is reporting on the occupation of Wall Street.

They estimate the crowd at "about 1,000".

See the story:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/17/national/main20107772.shtml

Anonymous said...

IRS statistics show that for 2008, the top 1% of tax returns paid 38.0 percent of all federal individual income taxes.

So why do I see protest signs asking why the top 1% does not pay taxes?

Anyway, the occupation is off to some start.

Anonymous said...

The so-called "occupation" of Wall Street was a complete bust. A few hundred penniless derelicts straggling about without a coherent message. It wasn't/isn't even significant enough to describe as a fiasco; more like a non-event. Better luck with "October2011" as there is no chance that it will be worse.

Anonymous said...

Not exactly like Cairo, Egypt after all...

Cryn Johannsen said...

I don't think so. There's plenty of evidence to show that this is already a success.

For instance, the hashtag #TakeWallStreet was trending yesterday WORLDWIDE. People from all over the world were supporting the efforts in NYC. They were also turning out for the same thing in Berlin, Madrid, France, etc. (There were arrests in France).

And take a look at how much money they were able to raise for folks in NYC! http://bit.ly/qkZ7hk

That says something as well.

Plus, did you know that the owner of a park - Zuccotti Park - let protesters sleep there last night?

Just remember, the protests in Madrid began with just 20 people.

Yesterday more than 1,000 folks showed up.

We want it to keep growing.

Anonymous said...

Cryn, you need to be a little mroe discerning about what causes you support and what bandwagons you jump on. This whole occupy wall street thing was dumb and hardly even close to the middle east protests for so many obvious reasons. Stick to what you know best whcih is student debt.

Cryn Johannsen said...

@Anonymous 2:26 uh, I don't just "jump on bandwagons" to support issues. I politely disagree with your assessment. I understand what they're doing, and I am in full support. As someone from Madrid told us recently, "don't give up. We started with 20 people, and look at how big it got." I am sorry that you do not see how the student lending crisis fits into the occupation of Wall Street. There is a DIRECT tie, and that's why I support this movement. Plus, many of my friends who are debtors are there, and that makes me proud.

But thanks for sharing.

Cryn Johannsen said...

http://ticas.org/files/pub/High_Hopes_Big_Debts_2008.pdf

I also think this average - 23k - which comes out of the College Board is meaningless. (Also, the College Board used to be a lender, and I am sure they have debt on the books).

That skews how bad the crisis has become.

Cryn Johannsen said...

@OneWhoSurvived - yes, were aware that it was Constitution Day. That's the reason for why they chose the 17th.