Occupy Wall Street Comes to Salt Lake City

I live and work in Utah and often there are things about this place I just can't defend. But every now and again there's something around here I can be proud of.

We have draconian liquor laws, we have gerrymandering Republicans, and we have every bit of ridiculous conservative shenanigans you can imagine. But, as of October 6, 2011, the most populous city in the state of Utah joined the Occupy Wall Street movement.

I was there, in the freezing rain as the protest began officially. Protesters gathered at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City and marched through the financial districts downtown, ending their march at a Pioneer Park, where they will be protesting indefinitely in solidarity with the other Occupy Wall Street protesters across the country.

I took some film footage of the event and wanted to share it with you. For 11:00 am on a workday in the freezing rain, the turnout was phenomenal.

Let's hope the rest of the mainstream media catches on.

 

 

 

 

 

Follow Bryan Young on Twitter: www.twitter.com/swankmotron

Comments

[John Steinsvold]

08:53 PM on 10/13/2011

An Alternative to Capitalism (if the people knew about it, they would demand it)

Several decades ago, Margaret Thatcher claimed: "There is no alternative". She was referring to capitalism. Today, this negative attitude still persists.

I would like to offer an alternative to capitalism for the American people to consider. Please click on the following link. It will take you to an essay titled: "Home of the Brave?" which was published by the Athenaeum Library of Philosophy:

http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/steinsvold.htm

John Steinsvold

Perhaps in time the so-called dark ages will be thought of as including our own.
--Georg C. Lichtenberg

[Alec Volkman]

02:29 AM on 10/11/2011

Absolutely no surprise to me. Salt Lake City is one of the most liberal/ progressive cities in US. We're consistently rated as one of the gay-friendliest cities. I don't understand why people outside of Utah are not privy to this.

[carolina919]

04:24 PM on 10/09/2011

For 11:00 am on a workday in the freezing rain, the turnout was phenomenal.

/////

"Phenomenal?" For 11am, on a workday, in the freezing rain, IN UTAH, I'd say it is pret near miraculous.

[mtaysic]

02:37 PM on 10/09/2011

Occupy Wall St needs to be on the front page.. come on HP!

[StokeyBob]

02:36 PM on 10/09/2011

The root reason for the, “Occupy er’s” and the “99% er’s”. Gaze upon it if you dare. Maybe this will help make the danger of fiat money clear. Imagine you and me are setting across from each other. We create enough money to represent all of the world's wealth. Each one of us has one SUPER Dollar in front of him. You own half of everything and so do I. I'm the government though. I get bribed into creating a Central Bank. You're not doing what I want you to be doing so I print up myself eight more SUPER Dollars to manipulate you with. All of a sudden your SUPER Dollar only represents one tenth of the wealth of the world! That isn't the only thing though. You need to get busy and get to work because YOU'VE BEEN STIFFED with the bill for the money I PRINTED UP to get YOU TO DO what I WANTED.

That to me represents what has been happening to the economy, and us, and why so many of our occupations just can't keep up with the fake money presses.

P.S. No matter how much real money people can put together to build their countries the way they want, there are those that can print up what ever it takes to dictate their way.

[carolina919]

04:26 PM on 10/09/2011

Thomas Jefferson predicted as much:

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."

[VicKjoss]

02:02 PM on 10/09/2011

If Utah is getting behind this protest you know what the protest as some merit

[camelias and sweet tea]

04:01 PM on 10/09/2011

Times must have sure changed since I lived there..Guess a lot more religions have moved in at least now there may be some diversity. In the late 60's if you were not Mormon you were all alone.

[Inkeesgirl]

04:19 PM on 10/09/2011

Agreed, I imagine polite, energetic, conservatively dressed protestors, occupying a carefully laid out tent city, with the streets all having letters and numbers. Gelatin desserts will frequently be on the menu.

[SkyeinColorado]

08:02 AM on 10/10/2011

...and funeral potaotes!

LOL!

[Bryan Young]

09:51 AM on 10/10/2011

Actually, the tents are laid out on a grid and there's a food tent and medical tent, and they're feeding the homeless around the park, too.