"Economic protest gains steam in Hub; Aims to highlight plight of struggling Americans" by Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff / October 3, 2011
Protesters have descended on Boston’s Financial District, setting up a tent village and decrying what they see as the economic hardships of ordinary Americans - one of several such demonstrations erupting across the country.
Today’s round of protests could snarl traffic during the morning rush hour....
That's what the Globe is concerned about?
The group, called Occupy Boston, is inspired by Occupy Wall Street, a demonstration entering its third week in Manhattan’s Financial District that led to the arrest of 700 people Saturday on charges of blocking the Brooklyn Bridge. The effort has spread to several communities nationwide, with tens of thousands of people participating....
Also see: Sunday Globe Special: A Bridge Too Far
It looks like Americans are finally crossing it.
The demonstration, largely fueled by social media, has generally been a peaceful attempt to call attention to what protesters call the “bottom 99 percent’’ of Americans....
The demonstrators are a loosely organized group drawn together by e-mails, phone calls, and a personal fear that the country is heading in the wrong direction. They do not yet have demands, but they are holding daily general meetings, often broadcast on the Internet, to air concerns and discuss possible solutions....
The protesters said they have no plans to leave anytime soon - a message that was echoed by demonstrators in New York, who said they plan to stay as long as they can.
Yesterday, the Boston campsite had become a high-tech micro-village filled with mostly young people running a sophisticated operation on a sodden expanse of grass in the shadow of the Financial District’s gleaming skyscrapers.
Tents sought to provide some of the services they say many ordinary Americans are lacking - including medical care, food, and shelter. They fed homeless people and offered them a berth in the community tent. They had recycling, garbage collection, and group meditation.
One young woman offered to do people’s laundry. Signs read “human need, not corporate greed,’’ and “fight the rich, not their wars.’’ Some protesters stayed for a few hours; others have slept there since Friday through winds and rain.
According to some media reports, the national movement began over the summer when a liberal Canadian organization called Adbusters called for an occupation of Wall Street. The plan germinated online and with activists until a real occupation began in mid-September in Manhattan.
Corrie Garnet, a licensed practical nurse in Gill, traveled more than two hours to reach the protest. She said she doesn’t have health care because it would cost $600 a month, almost as much as her rent.
“I have been really frustrated with the situation in this country,’’ she said, working in the medical tent, wearing a scarf adorned with peace symbols. “I know people who are graduating as nurses now who cannot find a job. That’s really sad.’’
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Susan Chivvis, 61, an accountant from Concord, said she jumped in her minivan with a sleeping bag and a rubber mat and rushed to the protest Friday, after she read about it on the Internet. The self-described former hippie is a long way from her days at Wellesley College, when she was tear-gassed at a march on Washington to protest the invasion of Cambodia.
Now, decades later, she has an MBA and a sincere appreciation for corporations that create jobs. But she is troubled that so many families slip into poverty, and the nation does not pull them out.
“I like to be a citizen in an orderly democracy and I like the government to handle certain social issues,’’ she said. Actually
“We are sick of the growing disparities and the contempt for people’s needs.’’
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According to some media reports, the national movement began over the summer when a liberal Canadian organization called Adbusters called for an occupation of Wall Street. The plan germinated online and with activists until a real occupation began in mid-September in Manhattan.
Corrie Garnet, a licensed practical nurse in Gill, traveled more than two hours to reach the protest. She said she doesn’t have health care because it would cost $600 a month, almost as much as her rent.
“I have been really frustrated with the situation in this country,’’ she said, working in the medical tent, wearing a scarf adorned with peace symbols. “I know people who are graduating as nurses now who cannot find a job. That’s really sad.’’
********************************
Susan Chivvis, 61, an accountant from Concord, said she jumped in her minivan with a sleeping bag and a rubber mat and rushed to the protest Friday, after she read about it on the Internet. The self-described former hippie is a long way from her days at Wellesley College, when she was tear-gassed at a march on Washington to protest the invasion of Cambodia.
Now, decades later, she has an MBA and a sincere appreciation for corporations that create jobs. But she is troubled that so many families slip into poverty, and the nation does not pull them out.
“I like to be a citizen in an orderly democracy and I like the government to handle certain social issues,’’ she said. Actually
“We are sick of the growing disparities and the contempt for people’s needs.’’
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Related: PROPAGANDA ALERT ! Occupy Wall Street Protesters Call For Totalitarian Government, Re-Election Of Obama
Given the way the mouthpiece media has ignored them until now I find it hard to believe the elites are behind some sort of controlled opposition here. I'm not ruling out an attempted co-option, but I do not believe they ignited the conflagration. Not here.
"Wall Street protesters show no sign of quitting; N.Y. event grows in number, gets more organized" by Verena Dobnik Associated Press / October 3, 2011
NEW YORK - The protesters who have been camping out in Manhattan’s Financial District for more than two weeks eat donated food and keep their laptops running with a portable gas-powered generator. They have a newspaper - the Occupied Wall Street Journal - and a makeshift hospital.
They lack a clear objective, though they speak against corporate greed, social inequality, global climate change, and other concerns. But they are growing in numbers, getting more organized, and showing no sign of quitting.
Actually, they ARE CLEAR about the OBJECTIVES! END the WARS and EMPIRE; DISSOLVE the PRIVATE BANKING SYSTEM and its DEBT SLAVERY THEFT SCHEME; and END CORPORATE WELFARE! We WANT a GOOD, DECENT, SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH SYSTEM and the RETIREMENT SECURITY we have ALREADY PAID FOR!
City officials “thought we were going to leave and we haven’t left,’’ said protester Kira Moyer-Sims, 19. “We’re going to stay as long as we can.’’
Saturday’s arrests of more than 700 protesters who tried to cross the Brooklyn Bridge appeared to do little to dampen enthusiasm yesterday.
The Occupy Wall Street demonstration started last month with less than a dozen college students spending days and nights in Zuccotti Park, a private plaza off Broadway. It has grown sizably, however, both in New York City and elsewhere as people across the country, from Boston to Los Angeles, display solidarity in similar protests....
We shall see how long the Globe sticks with the coverage.
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For protest updates and other information go HERE
