"Wall Street Under Siege," by Alpha Unit

If you know about the protests staged in New York City by Occupy Wall Street, you might have heard of the numerous arrests and the allegations of police brutality – what you always hear about during large demonstrations. You might know that famous activists have shown up during the protests – Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, and Cornel West, for example. You probably haven’t heard anything about who’s leading these protests. The one thing media outlets are able to agree on about Occupy Wall Street is that there are no leaders. What they do have now is a powerful icon throwing his support behind them. Noam Chomsky released this statement:

Anyone with eyes open knows the gangsterism of Wall Street – financial institutions generally – has caused severe damage to the people of the United States (and the world). And should know also know that it has been doing so increasingly for over 30 years, as their power in the economy has radically increased, and with it their political power. That has set in motion a vicious cycle that has concentrated immense wealth, and with it political power, in a tiny sector of the population, a fraction of

So there are the financial oligarchs (“banksters”) and then there are all the rest of us – the 99 percent. Occupy Wall Street is supposed to represent the rest of us. As for leaders, the group calls itself “a leaderless resistance movement.”

Leaders are the everyday people participating in the occupation. We use a tool called the “General Assembly” to facilitate open, participatory, and horizontal organizing between members of the public.

That means anybody can be a leader of Occupy Wall Street. If you want to learn about organizing protests in your city, you can go to Occupy Together, a hub for “all the events springing up across the country in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street.” But what is all this really about? A website has been set up to inform you. “Allow us to introduce ourselves,” it says.

Who are we? Well, who are you? If you’re reading this, there’s a 99 percent chance that you’re one of us. You’re someone who doesn’t know whether there’s going to be enough money to make this month’s rent. You’re someone who gets sick and toughs it out because you’ll never afford the hospital bills. You’re someone who’s trying to move a mountain of debt that never seems to get any smaller no matter how hard you try.

You do all the things you’re supposed to do – take classes, get a second job, buy store brands. But it’s never enough. Why? Because you’re lazy and undisciplined, according to the banksters.

They say it’s because you make poor choices. They say it’s because you’re spoiled. If you’d only apply yourself a little more, worked a little harder, planned a little better, things would go well for you… They are the 1 percent. They are the banks, the mortgage industry, the insurance industry. They are the important ones. They need help and get bailed out and are praised as job creators. We need help and get nothing and are called entitled. We live in a society made for them, not us.

Sounds pretty familiar. They say they are converging on Wall Street – and on other financial districts throughout the country – to let the 1 percent know just how frustrated they are with living in a world made for someone else. I wonder if anyone on Wall Street is listening. I read that Occupy Wall Street was inspired, in part, by events in Tahrir Square in Cairo earlier this year.

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0 thoughts on “"Wall Street Under Siege," by Alpha Unit”

  1. The protesters were harassing normal people who work in the stock exchange. Most of the people they harassed weren’t even rich. The bankers’ offices are spread out in large cities all over the country.
    Ecocide. That is a new one courtesy of Naomi Klein. She believes ecocide should be an international crime and those accused should have to stand trial at the Hague.

    1. She believes ecocide should be an international crime and those accused should have to stand trial at the Hague.
      Lol!
      International Criminal Court at the Hague was created by billionaire Rothschild agent George Soros as a public show trial to convict Serbs of alleged crimes during the Balkans wars which is so corrupt they couldn’t even convict Milosevic of any of the phoney charges against him so they have to resort to killing him as they did other defendants in the Hague who was about to be acquitted.

      1. I can’t be classified. I’m not a communist or even a socialist per se. I think we need to go back to the capitalism we had in the 1950s where a CEO might make only 4x more than his worker as opposed to 1000x more. And where an average person could find a job that could support a family, and were health care was affordable.
        I plan to be at some of the Occupy LA protests when it comes here.

  2. No this is just a bunch of kids acting rowdy. They’re just harassing ordinary people who work at the stock exchange. Unlike the ordinary middle class people, the bankers can all hire body guards if they need them.
    The movement can do without the likes of Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon, though I wouldn’t turn down donations from them as long as they are pretty anonymous about it.

  3. This is Patriotism reborn. It is about time!
    Did you read Bank of America is charging $5.00 per month for using debit cards????

  4. Labor unions are now expressing support for Occupy Wall Street. Some local unions are planning marches of their own.

  5. Hmm.
    http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/10/why_did_the_new_1.php
    “Why Did the New York Times Change Their Brooklyn Bridge Arrests Story?
    [A] photo of juxtaposed screenshots from the New York Times website has been making the rounds on Facebook, and it shows two very different takes for the same story on yesterday’s Brooklyn Bridge arrests. The screenshot on the left, from 6:59 p.m., appears to reflect what many protesters are saying: The police tricked them into marching on the bridge. At 7:19 p.m., any mention of the police allowing demonstrators onto the bridge was removed from the lede. Why did they make this change?”

    1. I hear there is a lot of dissatisfaction with the way the mainstream media have been reporting (or not reporting) these protests.

      1. I’m not seeing a lot of coverage, but I’m not following the news as closely as usual (because sometimes you have to ease off for the sake of your own mental health).
        The site Agonist.org has been covering this quite a bit. There are also dozens of videos at YouTube–here’s one of the newer ones:
        “NYPD beats #OccupyWallStreet Protesters with Baton”
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFCjsPuu7lI&feature=colike

        1. The President’s talking about Occupy Wall Street now, saying it reflects how frustrated Americans are with the way the financial system in this country works. And trying to portray himself as part of the solution, of course.

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