http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-attias/occupy-wall-street-protesters_b_1015978.htmlNew Yorkers breathed a sigh of relief last Friday at news that the owners of Zuccotti Park, where the Occupy Wall Street movement is based, had delayed a decision to clean it. Protestors had perceived the proposal as a preliminary act towards moving them on, and said they would form a human chain in response. The last-minute change of mind averted potential clashes.
But who are these folk and what do they really want? That's the question many of their critics have been asking. The New York Forum team spoke to some of the people at Zuccotti Park. "This movement represents a lot of frustration and agitation with what goes on in Washington and in Wall Street. I share that frustration," one young guy told us. An 18-year-old man in a pale green shirt said, "The main thing that I think is important is corporate political influence."
The protestors see themselves as part of a change sweeping across the globe, connecting Egypt and Tunisia and London with New York. A number of high profile figures have voiced their support for the movement. Naomi Klein addressed the group on Thursday, telling the crowd that she loved them. Susan Sarandon and Kanye West have visited the site.
We should act quickly, for we ignore the people at our peril and a slow response could lead to longer-term problems, just like those we are seeing with the double recession. Nor can we overlook the demonstrations that took place this weekend all over the world -- in Madrid, Rome, Sydney, Hong Kong, London and Frankfurt.
The occupiers describe themselves as the 99 percent; one of their complaints is that a small minority of Americans control most of the country's wealth. "This is not just about occupying Wall Street. We're becoming a party of people and their concerns," an African American man explained.
According to Hari Bapuji and Suhaib Riaz, writing in the Harvard Business Review, it behooves businesses to pay attention. They cite an "authentic, deep-seated unhappiness with the failings of the U.S. economic system" and urge firms to start a sincere conversation with the movement. "Even if businesses entirely disagree with the demonstrators' viewpoints, they need to approach the protesters as equals in public discourse."
Mayor Bloomberg has said that the protestors may remain where they are indefinitely as long as they abide by the law. He suggested the length of their stay would depend on the weather. Whether that's the case or not, the movement itself may be here for a while. The young man in the green shirt in our video was idealistic. "You come down here and you are a part of something bigger."
One of our aims at the New York Forum is to foster dialog between businesses and individuals and we would be happy to host a conversation on this subject. I propose that one should happen soon.
Lisa Sharon Harper: #OccupyWallStreet: What They Want (VIDEO)
Dr. David Liepert: Should Muslims Occupy Wall Street Too?
NO!!!
There could be no co-optation of the revolutionary movement of Occupy, simply because the disguised corporate/financial/militarist EMPIRE that has captured our former country, by hiding behind its bough and owned TWO-Party "Vichy" sham of faux democratic government and faux media shills, could never, never, NEVER claim to be in agreement with, or pose as similar to Occupy ---- because all these co-opter clowns ARE THE EMPIRE.
The deceivers, co-opters, and similar phonies trying to hang onto Occupy's coat tails can not ever, ever, dare to even imply that they are in solidarity with an Occupy goal, demand, agenda which is overtly "Against Empire" --- because they DARE not even whisper the word 'empire' since they ARE IT!!!
Alan MacDonald
Liberty & democracy
over
violent/Vichy
empire
I told someone, if you wanna understand what they're angry about, watch Capitalism: a love story. It's all there.
Who allowed deregulation. Who is insisting on more deregulation. Who is insisting on more tax breaks?
A. The President
B. Congress
C. Wall Street
D. None of the above
If you answered B you got it correct, now what are you going to do about it? Start by looking up who is running against your incumbent in your district and support that candidate, work for their campaign and make a change that can bring change about. Try to remember we are AMERICANS first and party puppets last.
Get the $oney out of politics. Campaign contributions are the nexus of corruption in the capitol. Reduce the amount of money involved in re-election, which really is the name of the game, by promulgating free air time during elections. Keep the current system for primaries.
http://napoleonlive.info/what-i-think/occupy-wall-street-get-the-money-out-of-politics/
NeilSalemMA Why does all this remind me of France in the 1780s and 1790s?
1) 1780s - The economy of France is in crisis. The civil population is poor and becoming poorer and they are starving.
2) 1789 - The storming of the Bastille - the revolution begins
3) 1791 - The King and Queen flee for their safety.
4) 1792 - The King and Queen are arrested.
5) 1793 - The guillotine - King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette are beheaded.
6) 1793 - 1794 - the Reign of Terror. Over 16,000 people are beheaded.
Our system of free enterprise is a corrupt oligarchy of the wealthy that drives more and more middle class Americans into poverty
Other people's money.
Wealth re-distribution has happened, and continues to happen. It's flowing upward out of the hands of the middle class. And yes, I'm in favor of policies that would cause re-distribution to happen in reverse. If this sounds like class warfare, that's o.k. by me, cuz it's been going on all these years, and the middle class has been losing badly.
And, no, in case you're wondering, I'm not living off the government. I'm a worker and have been my whole life. I don't free load off anyone.