Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Monday Memory

"Occupy Boston marks 1st anniversary" by Travis Andersen  |  Globe Staff, September 30, 2012

About 60 demonstrators gathered in front of the State House Sunday afternoon to mark the one-year anniversary of Occupy Boston, reuniting as a small but spirited contingent whose anticorporate fervor has apparently not diminished over the past year.

Amid a backdrop that included a tent with the phrase “U R being cheated” scrawled across it and a large sign that read in part, “We’re Still Here!” protesters sang, ate snacks, and gave fiery speeches espousing the economic populism that became a hallmark of the movement last fall.

Many speakers blamed politicians and corporations for what they said was the country’s widening economic inequality and corrupt system of government, focusing much of their ire on Wall Street bailouts and tax and defense policies.

“We are telling . . . Mitt Romney, and we are telling . . . [President] Obama, that we the people of this nation are tired of the same game, the same political game,” said Jose Briceno, 30, of Cambridge. “We want change, we want a real change.”

One year ago on Sunday, Occupy Boston demonstrators converged on Dewey Square in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement to protest what organizers viewed as corporate greed and an economic system tilted in favor of the super-rich. The encampment swelled to hundreds of tents with a constant presence in the square before police cleared the protesters from the park in December.

Demonstrators said Sunday that they have been working over the past year in smaller groups on a variety of initiatives, including efforts to reduce corporate influence on political campaigns and to build support for more federal spending on social programs with corresponding cuts to defense appropriations....

Gee, that strange. I was told they were short on specifics.   

I fervently hope you can understand my rage and unwillingness to further read any of this never-ending shit-spin I call a morning newspaper, folks.  

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Related: Janitors’ strike threat looms as contract expires

Over the years I've always wondered at the selective coverage regarding unions in the Globe, and one thing has become clear to me: the self-serving elitist mouthpiece of money comes out for hotel workers and janitors because these are the people servicing them. At the same time it allows them to appear pro-labor and liberal. When it comes to cops, firefighters, and teachers, of course, the tone changes because those come at a far greater cost to their wallets. 

Also seeNew England janitors, contractors reach deal