“Occupy” Protests
Requested by Castle. They’re in the news, and some of you have seen them up close. What are your thoughts?
Date: October 11, 2011
Categories: Non-Muse news, The Universe
Comments RSS TrackBack 26 comments
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Castle
in October 11th, 2011 @ 12:25Excellent.
Jlynn was in the Boston one for a while yesterday. She and her friend left just before the arrests started, though. I think the police arrested just upwards of 100 people
This is a clip from last night of the police entering one of the camps. It’s the Boston Globe, but feel free to zap as you deem necessary.
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Vendaval
in October 11th, 2011 @ 13:55Is the Boston occupation on public or private land?
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Castle
in October 11th, 2011 @ 15:12Public. Dewey Square is the center of the protest.
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Vendaval
in October 11th, 2011 @ 19:26I ask because Zucotti Park is private land, so people can sleep there. It’s not legal to sleep in public parks, at least in NYC.
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Vendaval
in October 11th, 2011 @ 13:54A major problem I see with the protests is that they are weather dependent, and have begun in the fall. Winter is coming. Hopefully the GAs will agree on a more unified message to protest for (like a specific law for financial reform), so they can go home without feeling defeated. Will it happen? Most likely not, from what I’ve seen at the GAs.
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oxlin
in October 12th, 2011 @ 01:39Eh? I was out protesting last Winter. In Wisconsin.
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Vendaval
in October 12th, 2011 @ 09:27Did you sleep there?
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oxlin
in October 12th, 2011 @ 15:18I didn’t, but some people did both inside and outside of the capitol.
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bookgirl_me
in October 11th, 2011 @ 15:17I have an uncanny feeling that in a few decades, “Describe the events that led up to the OOP and the outcome of the protest.” will be a history exam question.
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Castle
in October 11th, 2011 @ 16:12We’re all living history.
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in October 11th, 2011 @ 17:16And always have been, whether we know it or not. Just like all of our ancestors.
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KaiYves
in October 11th, 2011 @ 19:47History is made every day.
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Bibliophile
in October 11th, 2011 @ 17:23I’m considering going to one sometime. There are some in my area. I agree that they need to be more specific if they really want to accomplish something, though.
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Bibliophile
in October 11th, 2011 @ 17:30…I’d like to note that I do not live in DC or Boston or any place like that, so I’m not in danger of getting arrested or anything like that.
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Cat's Eye
in October 11th, 2011 @ 20:37I went to the one in my town!
It was a lot more peaceful than I’d expected, especially since my city has a bit of a reputation for violence, rioting, and unrest. It was actually really nice. There were people of all ages, from the parents who brought their little kids to the very elderly, and it was incredibly mixed-race– I think just about every race was represented in roughly their actual percentages.
It was pretty cloudy and drizzly, so my family went for a bit and then left early to get Vietnamese food. I was actually there in a journalistic capacity, so I could maybe put a teen activism spin on it for my school paper. I got interviews from some people whose views were, uh, kind of extreme (quote: “I disagree with the policies of the Soviet Union, personally, but…”), but most teens were just tired, and angry, and scared for the future. One girl’s mom had lost her job as a teacher of adults with disabilities because of corporate fire-and-hire-to-keep-salaries-low policy. Another would barely be able to pay for college, and many of her high school teachers had been laid off because there simply wasn’t enough money. One girl was there with her friend. Another’s mom had dragged him.
A man came by with a phone number written on his arm and told us, “This is the legal number. You can call it from jail.” Mom flat-out forbid me to get arrested, but it didn’t come to that; the police stayed back, the protestors stayed peaceful and passed out unreadable revolutionary literature and catchy signs, and everyone went home once the rain really picked up. Basically your typical Bay Area day.
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Vendaval
in October 12th, 2011 @ 00:52Haha, my parents told me to “try to stay out of jail.”
Writing a lawyer’s number on your arm is a good idea. I recommend it, if you intend to protest or march, as opposed to visit. In NY free cellphones were given out to organizers who didn’t have them, with numbers for Security and Lawyer taped to the back.
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Trojan Tiger
in October 11th, 2011 @ 21:15Sooo…. What, exactly, are they trying to do? I get some of the main ideas, but they just seem to be saying they don’t like the way things are now. What do they change it to? Do they have any plans? What led to those arrests anyway?
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Vendaval
in October 12th, 2011 @ 01:10The protests lack significant hierarchy, which makes it difficult to agree upon or issue demands. Basically they want the government to limit the affect money has upon politics. More specifically, there are calls for a presidential commission on lobbying, ending the trading of derivatives, more investigation into banking fraud, greater economic equality, outlawing shadow banking, student debt forgiveness, ending how the federal reserve operates, or closing it altogether, etc. – many plans with varying degrees of economic feasibility and chances of success.
Arrests depend upon the city you’re talking about. The Brooklyn Bridge arrests occurred after people tried to walk on the roadway of the bridge, while police appeared to lead them on.
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oobatooba
in October 15th, 2011 @ 07:19We’re (Myself and a number of friends from my school) going to visit the one in our city today as part of our history class. My city has a pretty big movement, so I’m really interested. I haven’t been participating in it yet but I’m going on a march tomorrow.
I really support this movement’s principles, and I don’t really have a problem with the fact that they don’t have specific demands. At announcements yesterday, this friend of mine, Mar, got up told this beautiful story about how it’s important to stand up for what you believe when the world’s screwed up, even if you don’t know what you’re going to do about it. That’s why it bothers me when people say “These people don’t know what they want”. Maybe they don’t know exactly how to fix the problems, but at least they are saying that something is wrong, and that’s really important to recognize. It’s better than letting the situation go without anyone saying anything just because you haven’t worked out the exact demands.
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Castle
in October 15th, 2011 @ 10:21This is true.
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Optimatum
in October 17th, 2011 @ 11:17On a trip to New York this weekend I went by the area where the main protests were going on, and there were not that many people there. One of the next places we went was Times Square…
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Cat's Eye
in October 27th, 2011 @ 01:19Tear gas a few miles from my house. Helicopters everywhere. A Marine was critically injured today while protesting. His head was struck by a gas canister a policeman threw at him. He’s in the hospital with brain swelling. The police are arresting everyone, dragging them away, shooting rubber bullets. They say they’re not, but I’ve seen pictures of the bullets and pictures and videos of the damage they’ve done.
I’m really scared. I’m really scared, and I don’t know what to do. The protestors aren’t hurting anyone. They’re not violent. In San Francisco they’re singing and dancing. The police are just hurting them for being there.
All they’re doing is staying somewhere without a permit and they’re bruised and cut and tear gassed and a Marine’s in the hospital with a swelling brain. A Marine, who fought twice in Iraq and wasn’t hurt once, and all it took to get him in the hospital was someone who was supposed to be protecting him.
I’m so scared. I don’t know why the police are reacting this strongly. I don’t know what’s going to happen.
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agrrrfishi
in October 27th, 2011 @ 17:17I’m very uninformed about these protests. I mean, I know that they stand against “Wall Street corruption”, and that’s all well and good, but what are their goals? What do they actually want?
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Selenium the Quafflebird
in October 27th, 2011 @ 19:45I agree; the protests would be more effective if they actually had specific objectives. I think most people protesting don’t even know exactly what’s wrong with the economy and all that.
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small but fierce
in November 9th, 2011 @ 22:56Backstage during one of my performances, I looked out the window and saw that all the Occupy Wall Street protesters had gathered outside the theater. We thought about serenading them, but decided against it.
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Axa
in November 30th, 2011 @ 03:23occupy LA is being dispersed as we speak (type?)
watching it streaming online is a weird experience. hm.aggie and selenium — vendaval’s post on 6.1 is a good explanation!
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