A first hand account of the protests outside the New York Stock Exchange:   (photo by Adam Lempel)

For months, every time I passed the New York Stock Exchange, I wondered why people weren’t rioting in the streets.  Do Americans not realize that Wall Street has completely hijacked our government and economy?  Do they not understand that the corporate elites who have trashed the global economy now have more wealth and power than before the financial crisis?  Finally, people are starting to fight back.  The protests rocking the financial district the last couple of days could be a significant spark, and they offer much hope.

On Saturday, a friend of mine was in the Financial District.  He called me because he thought there must have been a terrorist attack or something.  What do you mean, I asked.  He replied that the area was swarming with cops, the Stock Exchange had been barricaded, and nobody was allowed to enter.  A couple of minutes later he told me what was the source of the security crackdown.  There were protestors.

Upon hearing this I immediately headed out to see what was going on.  When I arrived at the Stock Exchange, sure enough the police presence was massive.  Rows and rows of cops were lined up in front of the barricades and across Broadway, as if they were bracing for a war.  But there were no protestors.  I asked a guy selling some food what was happening.  He said he had no idea.  Then I approached a security guard and asked where, if anywhere, the protestors were.  She said they had gone further down Broadway and pointed me in the right direction.

A couple minutes later, I found a big crowd of people, mostly young, in nearby One Liberty Plaza.  There was a lot of excitement and tons of banners bearing messages decrying corporate domination, such as “Capitalism Doesn’t Work” and “We are the 99%.”  Hundreds of people had gathered to discuss their grievances with a system that has abandoned them.  Most young people nowadays have to suffer from crushing debt burdens if they want to pursue an education.  Unemployment among America’s youth is scandalously high.  And these kids understand who is responsible for their lack of a future.  They know it is up to us to reclaim our democracy, because the political system has devolved into pure theatre.

After spending a few hours discussing issues in groups and then in a broader general assembly, we hit the streets.  We approached Wall Street and marched around the barricades, getting as close to the Stock Exchange as possible.  We were extremely enthusiastic.  We made a lot of noise.  We held up our banners for all to see.  And we invited as many onlookers to join us, since we are the voice of a nation that has been hijacked by corporate power.  The police presence though, was extremely intimidating.  When all of us had gathered in front of Cipriani for a few minutes, dozens of cops wielding guns and night sticks surrounded us.  They appeared ready to pounce on us at any minute.  Some protestors with more experience rallied the crowd to keep moving, lest the cops fence us in and start arresting people—a prospect I was bracing for.

So we moved on.  But our fervor and determination has not abated.  We spent the rest of Saturday and much of Sunday continuing general assemblies in One Liberty Plaza and marching through the streets.  Last night hundreds of us rallied, declaring “all day, all week, occupy Wall Street,” and “this is what democracy looks like.”  Most bystanders waved to and smiled at us.  Some joined our ranks.  Not surprisingly, a huge police force followed our every move.  They have arrested a number of people, inflicting a gash on one protestor’s leg, knocking a tooth out of the mouth of another, and potentially murdering a third (see footage).

One of the favored chants is “whose street?  Our street.”  The corporate elite may privately own these streets.  But we are here to reclaim them, along with the rest of America, for the people.  There is much confusion about what our agenda is.  It is actually very simple.  Democracy.  The spirit of democratic governance underlies and permeates all aspects of this burgeoning movement, which is a global campaign that seeks to extend what started in Tahrir Square.  We seek consensus before moving on to another topic at our general assemblies.  We listen to each other, repeating what every speaker has to say, sentence by sentence.  The point is, we are sick and tired of being ruled by a shadowy and exclusive group of oligarchs.  And we will stay all week to get our message out.

Please join us.  If your pension has been wiped out by the subprime mortgage bubble, if you have seen your home foreclosed, if you cannot afford your healthcare bills, if you have lost a loved one in the wars in the Middle East, we speak for you.  Every person counts.  Every act of resistance matters.  If you can’t make it, tell people you know in New York City about the protests.  Follow us online.  Send donations to help us continue.  We are the only line of defense left against a corporate state that will destroy civilization if it is not stopped.

Tagged with:

Support independent/dissident journalism business model: If you like my work please, if you haven’t already, make a $1 (or more) recurring-monthly donation (one-time donations are also welcome, though my business model depends on recurring donations for job security). As many know, journalism is being destroyed by the everything-for-free internet paradigm; it is now almost impossible to earn a living wage. I can continue to tell the truth uncompromisingly, advocate for reform and avoid corporate money only with your help. So long as thousands of people make a recurring monthly donation of just $1 I can make a living, since I own and run Thebloodycrossroads with few expenses, and this is my only source of income. You probably won’t notice $1 missing from your monthly credit card statement, and your $1 will make all the difference. It should take only 30 seconds to a minute to set up the recurring donation through Paypal below and contribute to the fight against corporate propaganda. If you run a Web Site or post on blogs, please link to this article. Nobody may republish the piece in its entirety elsewhere without my permission; those who do so are stealing.

One-time donation $ “

Recurring monthly donation $ ” Donations are not tax-deductible.

Tagged with: all day • all week • corporate domination • defiance • Democracy • global movement • Liberty Square • Middle East • New York City • New York Stock Exchange • Occupy Wall Street • oligarchy • One Liberty Plaza • police brutality • Protest • reform • resistance • Saturday • sick of it • Tahrir Square • United States • Wall Street • we are the 99% • Zuccotit Park

Filed under: Action • Occupy Wall Street • Police State • Protest • Resistance

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!