“Occupy Wall Street” demonstrators try to move from spontaneous to organized

Monday, October 10th 2011 - 05:24 UTC

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Hundreds are camped in a NYC park and plan to expand to other open spaces

United States ‘Occupy-Wall Street” demonstrators said they are growing out of their lower Manhattan encampment and are exploring options to expand to other public spaces in New York City.

Protesters complaining about what they view as corporate greed have been camped out near Wall Street in Zuccotti Park for three weeks, staging rallies and marches that have mostly proceeded peacefully but have also resulted in confrontations with police.

On Saturday, several hundred protesters marched north to Washington Square Park -- the site of protests against the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s -- to discuss expanding their encampment to other sites.

The movement has surged in less than three weeks from a ragged group in downtown Manhattan to protesters of all ages demonstrating from Seattle to Tampa.

The protesters object to the Wall Street bailout in 2008, which they say left banks to enjoy huge profits while average Americans suffered under high unemployment and job insecurity.

“We are the 99 percent!” and “This is what democracy looks like!” are some of the slogans repeated by demonstrators. “We are the 99%” is a reference to the fact that one percent of Americans make a quarter of the country's income, chanted one of the participants at the rally.

On Friday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the protests “aren't productive” and bad for tourism, even as he said he was sympathetic to some of their complaints. Wall Street is the pillar of the New York state economy, making up 13% of tax contributions.

The protests have expanded to more than two dozen cities, although outside New York the crowds have been much smaller.

In Santa Fe, New Mexico, about 250 protesters lined the streets outside a Bank of America branch, waving corporate-protest signs at passing vehicles. Participants said they had been summoned via social network Internet sites, labour organizers, liberal website MoveOn.org and members of the local Green Party.

Categories: Politics, United States.

Tags: New York, Occupy Wall Street, United States.

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ElaineB
This is probably why it has been such a slow-burn story with limited coverage, there is no organisation or focused message. Most people are, quiet rightly, expressing their displeasure but they seem to have disparate views on what they are complaining about. I read a report that some were referring to the 99% as 'the 99% without a lobby group working for us in DC'.
Why didn't these people demonstrate when Obama was trying to get the ultra-rich to pay more tax? Or any tax?
Oct 10th, 2011 - 12:03 pm 0
Fido Dido
“Why didn't these people demonstrate when Obama was trying to get the ultra-rich to pay more tax? Or any tax?”

The Majority of the people know it's bogus. The Ultra rich (who wrote the bill) have tools to have their money outside the US and don't pay tax at all. Small businesses owners, also considered rich, because they own a business and are the creators of jobs, do not have those tools and a bill to raise taxes on the rich (include them) will hurt them further. The People who see their living standards disappearing with the day. That is the sad reality here. It is true that this demonstration is infiltrated with people of loser groups like soros and other corporate sponsored organizations that are indirect linked to the DEMS party and George Soros. That's what lame main stream media shows (CNN, FOX, ect.). Why? Simple, they love it to mislead people who watch their show that the demonstrators want socialism/communism. The old trick of left vs right, that bores the youth, but give red meat to people who are ideological and are ready to vote soon for the GOP or DEMS and divide people who simply don't believe in socialism/communism but know what's going on and the ones who don't have a clue what's going on but just blabber somthing out of their mouth (those are mosty the people who prefer to watch dancing with the stars/idols/ Jersey Shore etc. etc). Conclusion, they love to create confusion and they have it now. fow how long is the question, because people are getting fed up with it.

Majority of the demonstrators are low, middle class people and students who are fed up with the corruption in the government, Fed Reserve bank, mega banks who received bailouts, pay them self high bonuses (with bailout money) keep raising fees, foreclose on their homes with fake documentation (been proven by the lame main stream media but not a peep about it anymore), accused of money laundring of drug cartels, devalue the dollar, and none of the bankers went to jail...zero.
Oct 10th, 2011 - 06:07 pm 0
GeoffWard2
My, Fido, i thought that I was an angry man, but you, with your youth, show us old guys a clean pair of heels when it comes to saying it strongly! “I'm as angry as hell, and I'm just not going to take it any more!”
Oct 10th, 2011 - 11:46 pm 0

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