"Boston area college students join Wall St. protest" October 10, 2011|Steve LeBlanc, Associated Press
Well, my October 11 printed edition carried a story that I can't find on the web.
In it I was told....
"The march, which paused several times for protesters to sit down and chant "Whose streets? Our streets," drew support from public employee unions and labor advocacy groups, such as the Jewish Labor Committee.... Organizers, including Occupy Boston and MassUniting, a coalition of labor and community organizations, also hoped to use the protest to highlight support for President Obama's jobs bill."
Ah, the Globe's benediction!
And anyone pimping for that half-a-stimuloot exposes themselves as a controlled operative in my mind. We don't need more borrowed stimuloot, we need an end to the Fed and the private banking system holding the country hostage to debt interest payments, and we need an end to the shoveling of taxpayer dollars to agenda-pushing corporations and the war machine.
Now to the AP substitute:
Hundreds of students from 10 area colleges marched through downtown Boston on Monday as part of the national Occupy Wall Street movement, briefly confronting police while attempting to hang a banner on a Boston bridge.
The protesters gathered on Boston Common and marched in front of the Massachusetts Statehouse carrying signs that read “Apathy isn’t working, Raise your voice,’’ and chanting slogans like “Fund education, not corporations’’ and “We got sold out. Rich got bailed out.’’
Protesters later marched to a Charlestown bridge near the city’s North End neighborhood hoping to hang a banner.
Police blocked the bridge, which was closed for about an hour before the protesters dispersed. Two demonstrators appeared to scuffle with officers during the standoff. Police did not immediately report any arrests.
Francis Rick, a sophomore at Framingham State University, said many of her friends are struggling to pay for their education even while holding down part time jobs.
“A lot of us are already in debt and we haven’t graduated yet. A lot of my friends, even though they work 20 hours a week, that is not enough to cover their expenses,’’ said Rick, a 19-year-old psychology major. “A lot of us can’t even afford to get sick.’’
Ah, the very essence of the banking system. You kids are getting schooled!
The protesters met on Boston Common at about 1:30 p.m. A half-hour later they began their march and looped around the Common, passing by the Statehouse before heading toward Dewey Square in downtown Boston, the focal point of the Occupy Wall Street protests in the city.
Student protesters said they’re angry with an education system that they say mimics what they call the “irresponsible, unaccountable, and unethical financial practices’’ of Wall Street.
Yes, one of the saddest revelations for me was the academic higher-ups come from the same greedy class as the rest of the institutional AmeriKa.
They also pointed to what they say is the income disparity of university presidents earning hundreds of thousands of dollars while other university workers struggle to make ends meet.
These kids are pretty smart after all.
The protests have drawn comparisons to those of the Tea Party, a conservative political movement that gained steamed after the election of President Barack Obama.
At times, the protest movements seemed to echo each other, with supporters in both movements targeting what they have described as the excesses of Wall Street. One of the protesters in Monday’s rally also carried the iconic “Don’t Tread on Me’’ flag that has been a prominent feature at Tea Party rallies.
And WHAT HAVE I and OTHER BLOGGERS been TYPING for the LAST MONTH?
Readers!!
But the marchers on Monday said they had little in common with the Tea Party, which they see as supported by Republican and corporate backers.
I'm sure some said that, and it is certainly true some Tea Party ha$ been co-opted.
The Occupy Wall Street protests drew comment from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, speaking to voters in New Hampshire on Monday. Romney appeared to criticize protesters....
That guy is the best(?) personification of a corporation I have ever seen.
The Occupy Wall Street movement, which began with a small knot of protesters in Manhattan’s financial district, has grown steadily, spreading to student groups and labor unions.
Last week, about 300 members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, one of the state’s largest unions, also joined the rally for the first time.
Globe said that gave them legitimacy.
The protesters have described themselves at the “99 percent’’ — referring to what they say are the vast number of Americans struggling to pay their bills while the income gap between the rich and middle class widens.
Some of the protesters in Boston on Monday held signs that simply read “99 percent.’’ Other signs said “End Corporate Political Donations’’ and “Med. Students for Economic Justice.’’
Similar protests have sprung up in other cities.
Yeah, THOUSANDS OF THEM!!!
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And then.... the cops cracked down.
"Protester arrests decried, defended; Demonstrators resolute after city detains 141" October 12, 2011|By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff
As Occupy Boston protesters denounced police yesterday for carrying out a swift overnight raid on their demonstration, city officials defended the crackdown as necessary to preserve public order against a restive grassroots movement.
"The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin...."
Police said the arrest of 141 in the early morning hours was the largest mass detention in recent memory, and it heightened tensions between protesters and city officials trying to walk a narrow line.
Why is the line of freedom so narrow in AmeriKa?
Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has expressed sympathy for the movement’s goals of highlighting economic struggles of the middle-class, flatly stated yesterday that “civil disobedience will not be tolerated.’’
Meaning the AUTHORITIES are NEVER ON YOUR SIDE, kids!
Protesters, including those who spent much of the day in court facing trespassing charges, said the arrests will only galvanize the movement and escalate its presence in Boston.
And it has.
“For every one person arrested, there will be 10 more coming,’’ said Lisa Doherty, a 56-year-old Charlestown resident who lost a job as a mortgage processor three years ago. “We’re growing, even if they don’t want us to.’’
The protesters’ next move remained unclear, but as news broadcasts and Internet traffic put Boston at the center of the scattered national movement, the crowd in Dewey Square yesterday appeared to have swelled and drawn energy from the arrests....
Yesterday, protesters gathered in New York City, where protesters staged a “Millionaire’s March’’ past the homes of some of the nation’s wealthiest executives, jeering “tax the rich,’’ and in Washington, D.C., several demonstrators were arrested as they entered a Senate office building with banners. Demonstrations were also held in Seattle, Chicago, and on the steps of the state capitol in Oregon.
This thing is MUSHROOMING!
But the large number of arrests in Boston put a spotlight on the city yesterday....
Boston in a bad light.
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Better get under the tent:
"In the tent city, the unheard find a voice" October 12, 2011|By Mark Arsenault, Globe Staff
The theme of Occupy Boston, the tent-city protest in Dewey Square, is hard to pin down. It is like a rolling snowball that collects victims of the Great Recession and those who otherwise feel ignored or disenfranchised.
Take your insults somewhere else, Glob.
Some of the protesters want to abolish the Federal Reserve.
What, those lefties?
Others demand more housing for veterans. A few admit to being there because it is fun to be part of something big.
The unifying theme, if there is one, is the sense that the voice of the little guy has gone unheard for too long.
This is all the corporate media's interpretation.
“It’s not just a bunch of pot-smoking hippies here,’’ said Hilary Richard, 21, a café barista from Beverly. “These are people who want to make a difference.’’
To be sure, the pot-smoking hippie contingent is represented. Yet so are middle-aged, Izod-wearing Republicans who long for political conciliation in Washington....
Huh?
Like many of the protesters occupying the square, 25-year-old Mark Joyce-Shore complains about wealth inequity in America and accuses the rich of using their money to influence politics. Two weeks of camping outdoors has given him a bit of a cold, but he declared he will not leave: “We’ll be here until they tase and hog-tie every one of us,’’ he said.
Soon, son, soon.
The protest is receiving wide publicity after a police crackdown early yesterday morning. More than 100 protesters were arrested after the demonstration migrated onto a renovated section of the Greenway that city officials had asked them to avoid.
That's what made the corporate media sit up and take notice?
Many protesters complained yesterday that the police were unnecessarily rough.
I would expect nothing less in AmeriKa these days.
Another major component of Occupy Boston is the homeless, who have joined the encampment not for political expression, but for food and companionship....
Oh, the Globe is delegitimizing the protests by saying they are being swelled by homeless hobos? Then I'll bet there are a lot of people there then. Why aren't the billions-in-bonuses and profits banks taking care of their fellow man? Then those people wouldn't be there, would they?
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Actually, they probably would:
"Students, homeless, veterans find a common ground" October 12, 2011|By Martine Powers, Globe Staff
Their identities are as diverse as their demands: born-and-bred Bostonians, students from elite universities, homeless people, veterans, owners of small businesses. They are people who, in other times, would seldom cross paths or purposes.
Oh, it is a PEOPLE'S REVOLT!
Now, they huddle under the same ideological umbrella: Occupy Boston....
Veterans for Peace have been at Occupy Boston since the first day, said Bob Funke.
What he wants is a job, for the wealthiest Americans to pay for higher taxes, and an end to American-funded wars overseas....
Yeah, the ANTIWAR PUBLIC is a HUGE PART of the PROTESTS!
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And who better to advise the movement?
"Finding a place for protest" October 12, 2011
Minimally, the protesters need to do a better job of monitoring their own encampment if they hope to draw more supporters to their cause.
They growing you f***ing.... sigh.
There is a lot of latent sympathy within the middle class and religious groups for young people whose job prospects are dim.
They act as if the protesters are only the young after reporting.... SIGH!
And there is much residual anger over the shady mortgage company practices that drove down home values in recent years.
Translation: People are outraged at the illegal seizure of homes and the mortgage-backed securities swindle that destroyed the world economy and made Wall Street rich.
Mayor Menino is among the sympathizers. He has vowed to meet with protesters to determine if they could help the city in its efforts to stem foreclosures.
Judging from what he said above and what his cops did he's a false friend.
If the protesters are smart, they will recommit to peaceful assembly and avoid disruptive activities - such as tying up traffic - that make the lives of hard-working Boston families even harder.
And all the policies advocated by the Globe have made your life easier?
If such a peaceful movement were to grow beyond the current 1,000 protesters, the Menino administration should consider finding them an even larger area on which to gather. But should the encampment descend into chaos and disrupt the city, the protesters will quickly be seen as just another part of the problem.
As the elites work diligently to push that impression.
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And about those supporters:
"Donations pour in for protesters" by Mark Arsenault and Brian R. Ballou Globe Staff / October 13, 2011
As activists hunker down for the long haul they are preparing for coming cold weather and say they have no intention of ending their camp-in.
The Arab Spring has migrated into the AmeriKan Fall.
“We’ve been growing daily, and now the focus is on continuing to grow,’’ Phil Anderson, a spokesman for Occupy Boston, said yesterday outside the encampment’s makeshift media station.
But the Globe editorial said.... sigh.
Inside the tent, volunteers sat at two work stations, monitoring the day’s news and other business. “We are planning on being here for as long as it takes,’’ Anderson said.
Reaching their goals could take a long time: The loose themes of the protest include reducing corporate influence in government and ending wealth inequality, though many of the protesters are there for personal causes.
The camp was busy yesterday afternoon, as curious onlookers toured the tent city and protesters formed discussion circles to talk about everything from capitalism to composting....
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"Kennedys would approve of protests" by Joan Vennochi, Globe Columnist / October 13, 2011
HOW STRANGE that the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway could be deemed inappropriate for protest.
Has Boston already forgotten Rose Kennedy’s three famous sons and their eloquent advocacy for civil disobedience?
“The Constitution does not just protect those whose views we share; it also protects those with whose views we disagree,’’ said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who leveraged formidable political power to get the Greenway named after his mother.
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope,’’ declared Robert F. Kennedy, in an address at the University of Cape Town, in June 1966.
Related: RFK in the Land of Apartheid: A Ripple of Hope
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable,’’ proclaimed President John F. Kennedy, in a 1962 speech at the White House.
Oh, I've posted that quote quite often here!!
Today, those words spoken by the Kennedy brothers sound terribly old-fashioned.
Not to these ears!
A country founded in the blood of brave revolutionaries can be inspired by dramatic efforts to overthrow brutal regimes. But, depending on political ideology, Americans are sometimes uncomfortable with protests at home, including the modern-day Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements.
But they are those protests, Globe!
Boston, the birthplace of the American Revolution, has seen its share of demonstrations - from the original Tea Party and organized colonial protest to more recent anti-war and anti-busing protests. With that history comes a challenge to modern political leaders to strike a balance between public safety and public outrage....
People with a cause other than a pleasurable stroll are problems, especially if their cause challenges the economic status quo.
That probably wouldn’t surprise Robert F. Kennedy, who back in 1965 observed, “In many ways, Wall Street is closer to London than it is to Harlem, a few miles uptown.’’
Today, Wall Street is worlds removed not only from poor black neighborhoods but from neighborhoods that used to be launching pads for an upwardly mobile middle class. Now, Wall Street and its political brokers are trying to contain their anger. In Boston, they are trying to contain it to one strip of downtown grass....
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Also see:
You can decide for yourself if the Globe coverage has been fair or worthy.
