Joyce L. Arnold, Liberally Independent, Queer Talk, equality activist, writer
No one knows if or when NYC might decide to try to use cleaning Zuccotti Park, or as OWS has renamed it, Liberty Plaza, as a way to end, or at least curtail and contain, the Occupy movement. After celebrating last night’s win, OWS turned back to getting ready for tomorrow, and their participation in the international 15th October “UNITED FOR #GLOBALCHANGE” events. At last look, 15th October reported 951 participating cities in 82 countries. And by the way, Occupy Together, as of 6 PM EST, listed 1561 Occupy cities with meetups.
From OWS:
Over 3,000 people gathered at Liberty Plaza in the pre-dawn hours this morning to defend the peaceful Occupation near Wall Street. The crowd cheered at the news that multinational real estate firm Brookfield Properties will postpone its so-called ‘cleanup’ of the park and that Mayor Bloomberg has told the NYPD to stand down on orders to remove protesters. On the eve of the October 15 global day of action against Wall Street greed, this development has emboldened the movement and sent a clear message that the power of the people has prevailed against Wall Street. …
On October 15th, Occupy Wall Street will demonstrate in concert over 951 cities in 82 countries and counting as people around the globe protest in an international day of solidarity against the greed and corruption of the 1%.
One happening tonight in NYC, via OWS:
Parents bring Children to #ows tonight
Families are joining the movement to reclaim our future from Wall Street tonight by joining a child-friendly camp out at Liberty Square. The presence of children and youth in the occupation highlights the threat Wall Street’s greed poses to future generations. …
Family Sleep Over @ Occupy Wall Street Press Conference When: Friday, Oct. 14, 8 p.m. Where: 60 Wall Street (public atrium)
Those darn radical, left-wing, socialist, dirty hippies – what will they think of next, bringing the innocent children to such a place? Of course, quite a few innocent children are living in poverty, so a sleep-over in the park might sound like a step up.
Via TruthOut, If a Republican Were President:
If a Republican were president, there would be millions of properly coiffed middle-class Democrats and independents at those Occupy Wall Street marches, and no questions asked as to what they really want. With 25 million Americans unable to find full-time work, 50 million whose homeownership dream has turned into the nightmare of foreclosure, and an all-time high of 46.2 million — including 22 percent of our children — living in poverty, the call to throw the bums out would be compelling. …
No doubt many reasonable Americans will view Obama as the lesser evil come election time, and for some, that will prove compelling. But I take the dreary choices to be one akin to a form of slow torture. Better to support the Occupy Wall Street protests as an inspiring alternative.
And what might the Obama administration be thinking about all of this? Tim Geithner was on CNBC today, and here’s an excerpt from a piece by David Dayen at FDR, Geithner on Wall Street Prosecutions: Just You Wait!:
Asked on CNBC about the Occupy Wall Street movement’s frustrations over the lack of criminal charges related to the financial crisis, Geithner said action is on the way.
‘You’ve seen very, very dramatic enforcement actions already by the enforcement authorities across the U.S. government, and I’m sure you’re going to see more to come. You should stay tuned for that,’ he said. …
And also, in response to the concerns of Occupy Wall Street protesters:‘What you see is a general sense across the country of concern that the U.S. economy is not growing faster, you’re not seeing incomes rise more rapidly, and people want to make sure that the government, Washington, is acting to make things better now. As part of that, they want to see us deliver much stronger protections for consumers and investors as an economy as a whole,’ Geithner said … .
‘What we’re focused on is trying to make sure that we are doing everything to encourage Congress. … to take some steps now that can make growth stronger in the United States, and tie that to reforms to bring down our long-term deficits,’ he said. …
To the extent that there’s a disconnect between the protesters and liberal elites, I think Geithner just exemplified it.
Finally, I’ll close again with some tweets from the OWS site, simply because I think they provide a very important perspective.
zpro RT @BorowitzReport: Finally they’re arresting people on Wall Street, but it’s the wrong people. #OWS
PrivonG 1:40 RT @reason: Vid: #NYPD decks #OWS protester http://t.co/lwnSCbAU #Occupy #OccupyWallStreet #tlot #libertarian
EdNDeb4858 RT @RasMarcus: #occupysd video of Police Chief gone viral ‘in the 60’s we’d-a-gone wadeing into that with sticks and clubs’ #ows http://t.co/q30DYMuT
mcmillan9 Thank you San Antonio Park Police 4 allowing #occupysanantonio 2 peaceably assemble! Ur communication w/us is greatly appreciated. #ows
AJOKERONJACK RT @WATMAB: #OccupyTampa has been given two hours to CLEAR OUT of PUBLIC SPACE or face ARREST. Please Contact Mayor Buckhorn (813) 274-8251 #OWS
(Photo via 15th October)
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