Wall Street Protests

[Hahvoc The Decepticon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLEIVMki0D8

So I'm linking this video because I know the protests are going to spread across the country - Especially to Boston.

What appalls me is the police conduct. I know some officers would never let that happen, but some of the accounts I've read make me wonder what the hell is going on. Are they under orders from their sergeants and captains to do things they normally wouldn't? Some people were unnecessarily maced/arrested and it's starting to make me wonder just where exactly the government stepped in on this.

The officers I glanced at looked like they hated themselves for what they were doing and some looked downright pissed. It was insane to watch this and several other videos. Apparently, the cancer in this country has spread.

Thoughts?

Also:

http://manhattan.ny1.com/content/top_stories/147824/wall-street-protests-continue-as-nypd-remains-mum-on-pepper-spray-use

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/19/national/main20108397.shtml

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/sep/25/occupywallstreet-occupy-wall-street-protests

 

[Hahvoc The Decepticon]

Now there are peaceful protests in Boston involving the banks and the bailouts. That spread quicker than I thought.

 

[As Day Fades]

I agree with their message but not how they're going about delivering it. The protesting is fine, but blocking streets? That's a huge, huge issue, especially in a place as congested as NYC.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44742659/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

It's gone beyond just blocking, say, Wall Street, to others now. Today they blocked a bridge. How is that sticking it to the big companies? It's getting them attention, sure, but it's also having a huge affect on the little guy. And it's dangerous. Any situation where you block roads, where rescue workers cannot get to, or through an area is a huge deal, and that's doubly so in a place as congested as NYC. For those who've never been, it's an area that already deals with an immense amount of traffic at all hours of the day, and when you block off one road you're affecting more than that - that traffic has to then run off to other nearby roads, which makes it hard for the whole surrounding area to get around. It's believable that this is all part of their intention, to drum up attention to their cause, but as much as I want to support that cause I just can't get behind the way they're going about it.

It kills me because I could be there, where this is all going on, on a day off like it's nothing. I could get there for a ten-spot, in the time it takes me to write two RP posts. But if I'm going to support something I need to support it wholly, or at least the vast majority of it. I can't really get behind this, in the form that it's in right now, and developing into. But I wish them the best.

Here's what gets me though: Why now? All the bailouts and the corporate bullshit peaked several years ago. Where were the protests then?

 

[Mr Master]

Oh, man, I've said that about SO MANY THINGS the past 12 years. "I saw this coming months ago, where were you?" "Why are you objecting now, when the time to have done so was two years ago?" Etc. etc.

 

[Hahvoc The Decepticon]

I'm guessing that's because -from what I know - bank of america adding a fuckton of fees because they are broke, the stock market fell a shit ton two weeks ago, and also the execution of troy davis on top of other things. (Though, the davis thing is pretty moot at this point and the case was revisited about 5 times).

But yeah, it's against the law to obstruct traffic and their march actually would have been allowed if they had gone to get a permit for it since the slut walks are allowed and everything because of scheduled permits to protest. However, not everyone is gonna think like that. -shrugs-

 

[The Forger]

The goal was not to obstruct traffic.

First hand account (coffeeshakes on tumblr):

I figured I should write down what happened today, before I forget or before too many stories get muddled together.

My friend, my partner, and I arrived at Zucotti Park around 3 for the march, which began quickly, after everyone shared various rules. (No violence, write the phone number for legal council on yr arm, etc, etc)

We marched through lower Manhattan, and no route was specified, but we were told to not pass the head of the crowd, which was carrying a banner. Cops stood by and kept us on the sidewalk.

Then I noticed we were approaching the Brooklyn Bridge.

Cops were ushering people onto the bridge, but as I noticed we were walking into the roadway, I started to get scared. We climbed over the fence onto the pedestrian bridge. The first half of the crowd continued on the road, while the second half continued on the pedestrian bridge. Cops were flanking both sides of the entrance to the bridge and there was no way to turn back. As we walked up the elevated pedestrian bridge, we heard cops call for backup and they drove 2 police vans backwards up the bridge to where the protesters were. They stopped traffic and then brought vans in from the other side as well and trapped the protesters.

We watched from above as people began climbing the cords and metal of the bridge to escape the cops. People on the pedestrian bridge were trying to pull people up out of the roadway.

We continued forward into Brooklyn as the cops brought a net onto the bridge from the Manhattan side.

By the time we gathered into the park in Brooklyn, only a few hundred of us were left.

Cops began surrounding the park, and we all disbanded.

One of my friends was in the area where cops had people corralled. According to her Facebook updates and tweets, and other updates from trapped protesters, a child was arrested, and busses were brought in to arrest every single person. All of the men were taken first, and then all of the women.

They were told they were being arrested for disorderly conduct.

The police led them there and trapped them.

 

[Hahvoc The Decepticon]

Dude, I know that wasn't the "intention" but it happened. Every. Single. Day.

 

[As Day Fades]

I don't buy into that for a second Forger. I do believe that this person, who was just a participant, didn't know anything to that affect ahead of time. I believe s/he did not set out that morning with something like that as the intent, but it's a hard sell to believe that the people leading the event do not have some sort of gameplan in mind. I don't think they suddenly blinked and it was like, oh, wow, we have more people here than are going to fit on the sidewalk. I don't believe this was all an unintentional chaos on their way to a Point B - a group meeting together like this, they meet at that point, unless they're trying to make a statement by marching there. Yeah, no. Whoever's leading this thing knew exactly what they were doing.

As for this specific person, coffeeshakes, it sounds like s/he set out that morning with the best of intentions in mind. But, it also sounds like s/he ignored some very blatant signs that something was amiss. Also, the end of that post comes off as if s/he feels like a victim, like the group was tricked, trapped, and otherwise treated unfairly. Are you serious? The police needed to mitigate the issue and then disperse it. It sounds to me like it was done in the best way possible. If you don't want to be corralled like an animal, don't act like a sheep.

Again, I support the idea being purported for this, but the way they're going about it (some of the time) is both wrong and awkward. And again, why now? I don't think any of the things Hahvoc mentioned are enough to set off something like this, not if the events of the last few years all had people bending over and taking it - the recent things are a pittance in comparison. And I don't buy into the idea of any of them being the final straw, the drop that tipped the bucket, etc, either, before that one is tossed out there. And where was all this fervor when Bush abused his station to deregulate deregulate deregulate, placing things in obvious motion for this all to come about? It's all curiously suspect.