By Mike Buffington
SUNDAY OCT. 30 UPDATE
Came back to Zuccotti Park this afternoon to see what had changed since I was here Wednesday. As a weekend day, tourists were out in force and the area was more crowded than in the week.
And it was a wet, stinky mess. It rained Thursday, then got cold Friday and snowed Saturday. The little park where the Occupy Wall Street protestors are encamped is surrounded by tall buildings, so it doesn't get direct sunlight. The result is a bunch of very damp tents, tarps and sleeping bags... And people.
The local press reports that the park is also being invaded by the homeless, drunks, dope dealers and others who are not really part of the protest movement; to be honest, I couldn't tell a difference. Media reports say that the police department is encouraging the thugs to go to the park, perhaps hoping to spark a confrontation that would give them a reason to clear the area.
I spent around two hours walking into the wet park and listening to conversations. I got the sense that the movement is fraying; perhaps it's success at drawing attention has been it's weakness, too. Too many people, too close together.
Sunday it was a freak show as odd people seemed to have taken over. With Halloween looming, you have to wonder what will happen......
WEDNESDAY
All was quiet Wednesday in Zuccotti Park, the site of the Occupy Wall Street protest. Well, not really quiet; an ad-hoc drum band was banging a steady beat on the west side of the small 2 acre park. But it was calm. A sea of blue tarps covered most of the area, but there are small pathways that wind and flow between the encampments.
There are special areas set up like a very small town. There's a sanitation area with brooms; a first aid tent; a small shrine area for some vague spiritual expressions; an information table and of course, a media area.
Actually, the protestors aren't on Wall Street; it's a couple blocks away. Wall Street itself and several side streets at the heart of Wall Street are now blocked off from traffic; and police, both on foot and horseback, are everywhere. Most look bored and talk among themselves. The sidewalks along Wall Street itself are jammed; many are tourists who are curious about what is happening.
At the top of Wall Street proper, the iconic bronze statue of a bull that is the symbol of the area is surrounded by metal gates to keep people 5 or so feet away. But it looks like the bull had been caged in. The word "rodeo" comes to mind.
At Occupy Wall Street, it's 1968 all over again
But the protestors aren't found in that area. Two blocks north near Liberty Avenue is the protest site, a small park surrounded by banks and buildings. The sidewalks around the park are clear and visitors can walk around it for something of an overall view before venturing into the morass of tarps.
But even after being there, it isn't clear what the OWS protest is all about. There were communists waving a Chinese flag; old hippies who looked like they walked out of 1968, many pounds heavier and grayer; young people who looked tired and holding up signs begging for money to go home with; war vets from the Nam era; union men collecting donations; and others standing along the sidewalk holding up signs with messages that are anti something. It was all infused with 1960s era lingo: "Hey,man!"
It's obvious many of those in OWS take themselves and their mission seriously. But the sense I get is the seeking of lost souls trying to be part of something .... Anything outside of their on lives. They are here because it's the current "it" place to be.
If there is any common theme in the park it's the mantra of "we're the 99 percent," a reference that is critical of the top 1 percent of wage earners, many of whom work on Wall Street.
But for all the anti capitalism undercurrent of the protestors, they were selling buttons that said, "we're the 99." I bought a piece of art from the protestors in return for a "donation." Apparently, if you don't call it capitalism, the exchange of dollars is ok.
It's raining here today and I'm sure the protest is quiet. I'll go back in a few days to see if the movement is changing. Cold weather is coming. In a few weeks, the fatigue will take over. The encampment will be gone and Wall Street will return to normal.
Some things never change.
But even after being there, it isn't clear what the OWS protest is all about. There were communists waving a Chinese flag; old hippies who looked like they walked out of 1968, many pounds heavier and grayer; young people who looked tired and holding up signs begging for money to go home with; war vets from the Nam era; union men collecting donations; and others standing along the sidewalk holding up signs with messages that are anti something. It was all infused with 1960s era lingo: "Hey,man!"
It's obvious many of those in OWS take themselves and their mission seriously. But the sense I get is the seeking of lost souls trying to be part of something .... Anything outside of their on lives. They are here because it's the current "it" place to be.
If there is any common theme in the park it's the mantra of "we're the 99 percent," a reference that is critical of the top 1 percent of wage earners, many of whom work on Wall Street.
But for all the anti capitalism undercurrent of the protestors, they were selling buttons that said, "we're the 99." I bought a piece of art from the protestors in return for a "donation." Apparently, if you don't call it capitalism, the exchange of dollars is ok.
It's raining here today and I'm sure the protest is quiet. I'll go back in a few days to see if the movement is changing. Cold weather is coming. In a few weeks, the fatigue will take over. The encampment will be gone and Wall Street will return to normal.
Some things never change.
I feel they should not take from me to give to companies or the poor.
Heck I am the poor, by American standards at least dont have more then one car, dont have Cable (by my choice)
do not have health insurance once more by my choice, I pay my doctor by what i need in cash, the cost is 30 percent of what the office managers says it is, why because I negotiate with my provider not with his billing and office people, I get the price upfront.
I spend about five grand a year for my family of four, I dont itemize my taxes so thats not why I do it I do it cause I dont believe paying 3500 a year for company insurance plus deductibles when I go for visits is in my interest, or in the interest of my company and coworkers most of all my family.
People want the Goverment out of their life, some want it out of your life also.
Less Govt is more freedom.
Since it is not clear to you what's the OWS movement all about, let me explain:
First, since 1979 average income of the top 1% more than tripled while average income of the rest of us grew by miserable 40%. Second, Bush administration thought that the top 1% are not rich enough so it gives them more tax cuts. Then Wall Street (the top 1%) brings the economy on its knees in 2008. So, first Bush and then Obama administration gives them even more free money. Then they give huge bonuses to themselves while laughing in the face at never ending stupidity of the bottom 99%. Finally, they won't lend our money back to us which is one of the main reasons why the economy is so sluggish. I can't believe how many of you all still think that they (the top 1%) need even more tax cuts. Whether you like it or not, all of the above are easy to check facts. And there is 99% chance that YOU are in the bottom 99%.
It's in your Bible.
Of course so is the regular forgiveness of debts, but modern-day Christians don't follow that part of their Bible either.