Dear Mr. President ... we are the 99%

While I can't speak for the entire Occupy Movement ..... this is what I see as the movements strengths, and this is why I participate. The letter is addressed to "Mr. President" but only because this is a poem and "Dear broken & ineffective government and corporations that have destroyed our nation" just did not flow the same.



Dear Mr. President,

We are the 99% of America that you have failed.

We are men and women,
Young and old and middle aged.

We are Democrats, Republicans and Independents,
Socialists, Communists. Tea Party members and Anarchists

We are red states and blue states,

Massachusetts to California and every state in between.

We are the upper class, the middle class and the poverty stricken.

Citizens, immigrants and those seeking a home.

We are the 99% Mr. President, do you hear us?

We are Catholics, Protestants, Baptists and Jews,
Muslims and Atheists and Buddhists.

We are straight and gay, lesbian and transgendered,
Soccer moms and stay at home dads.
We live on $7.25 an hour, and 401Ks and spare change and fixed incomes,
Balance our budgets, live week-to-week and drown in debt.

We are carnivores, omnivores, herbivores and vegans,

The well fed and the starving and the farmers.

We are the 99% Mr. President and we have found our voice.

We are the healthy and sick and uninsured,
The mentally ill and differently abled.

We are the strong, and the weak and the bullied,
The outspoken and the ignored.

We are Black, Hispanic, Native, Arab and Asian,
Legal and illegal and white.

We are optimists, pessimists, and disenfranchised,
College educated, undereducated, college drop outs and illiterate.

We are the 99% Mr. President, we love our country and we want it back.

We are veterans and teachers and doctors and lawyers.

The employed, the unemployed, the underemployed,and the self-employed.

We are on social security, medicaid, welfare and unemployment,
Entrepreneurs, small business owners and volunteers in our communities.
We are homeowners and the foreclosed upon

Families living in suburbia and on the streets.

We are creative and artistic, crunch numbers and cure disease,
We are the people.

We are the 99% Mr. President and we are waiting for you.

To acknowledge our voice and send us the support,

You sent Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

To let the Supreme Court know,

Corporations are not people.

To tell the banks that are too big to fail,

That they are on their own.

To let the Congress know their responsibility is their constituents,

Not getting funding for the next election.

To tell the lobbyists they can no longer purchase our government,

Because it is not for sale.

We are the 99% Mr. President and you have failed us.

We love our country and we want it back.

We want a future of hope for our children.

We want the change you promised us.

We want equity and justice.

We want transparency and accountability.

These are not demands,

They are our Constitutional rights,

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness!

We are the 99% Mr. President,

And if you can't hear us,

We can turn it up!

The Occupation Continues .... the media coverage does not

Occupy Wallstreet ... for What?

Does Anyone Care About Occupy Wall Street?

Well I care - but I can see their point. I have been waiting patiently for the United States to follow the lead of the Arab Spring. In a country where we are allowed to voice our opinions we have been decidedly silent as the communities we live in fall apart around our ears.



https://www.facebook.com/#!/OccupyTogether



But even with all this excitement one of the problems for the Occupy Wall Street movement is that there are so many problems to deal with right now: Unemployment, the purchasing of political seats, tax loopholes for the rich, the environment, women's reproductive rights, lack of education funding, disparity of wealth, healthcare, social security, medicare/medicaid, campaign finance, the electoral college. And these are just the complaints I have seen aired on facebook and blogs during lunch. If you jumble all this together into a series of chants and video clips the essential message of something needs to change gets lost. And all the establishment (which includes mainstream media) hears is blah blah blah .... whine whine whine ..... these people are insignificant because they can't organize. It is time to prove then wrong. I read someone's comment on facebook and they said basically worry about getting people there and the message will come. As more and more groups want to be part of "the movement" it will be harder and harder to create the clear message.

The message will get lost in terms like hippies, anarchy and more focus will be put on the NYPD and less on the protesters themselves ..... if it gets covered at all.  

On the otherhand, you have the article from The Indypendent which states

"An on-the-ground view of Liberty Plaza clearly affirms why many more should actively support this project’s growing significance. Soon after thousands peacefully set up camp in Zucotti Square (since re-named Liberty Plaza) at the corner of Broadway and Liberty on Sept 17, the assembly’s various workgroups coordinated food, clean-up, bedding, student/labor networking, media/online and community outreach, legal support, childcare, arts/culture/festivities, and more. The on-site OccupyWallSt.org broadcasts daily statements that address the square’s purpose, goals, and concerns, which much media coverage chooses to ignore. All group decisions are made in the assemblies, with constant attention to historically under-represented voices, ongoing political education, and yes, good vibes."

Or the piece from today's Huffington Post 

" To say that the demonstrators are only hippies and radicals pining for 1968 would be a gross misstatement. Rather, the demonstrators come from diverse backgrounds: environmentalists, feminists, former and current Wall Street bankers, traders and brokers, anarchists, socialists, members of the LGBTQ community, teachers, students, Republicans, Democrats, libertarians, people of color, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, retired NYPD police officers, members of the FDNY, journalists, musicians, photographers...the list could go on and on. Yet, the one thing that this varied group of people has in common is that they are tired of government corruption and the privileging of corporations and the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans by the American government.

And that is a pretty clear and concise message. One that is being adopted by "Occupy" groups all over the country (there is even an "Occupy Facebook" group on Facebook). But I do understand how the media can get confused when there is a jumble of messages such as these: Signs of Wall Street. It is good, however, that Michael Moore set the record straight!

So remember .... stay peaceful, stay focused, stay strong!

Photo Gallery - Occupy Wall Street

Protesters Plan to Occupy Boston

First Boston General Assembly - 9/27/11 - 7:30 pm - Boston Common Gazebo

So, when people ask what is the message? And when people ask why should we care about Occupy Wall Street? Show them this video and the message should be loud and clear!!!!

Occupy Wall Street ..... pass it on .... and on ..... and on!

I know I already posted a blog today but I had to write again because I am appalled at the US media coverage of the protests in New York.

What protests you might ask? That was my question when my step-daughter posted this link on her Facebook page this evening: Livestream: Global Revolution. I shook my head and thought what the heck is this. In case people hadn't noticed, current events and politics are kind of my hobby. I subscribe to several newsfeeds on Facebook, listen to NPR daily on the radio, follow CNN and BBC blogs so the fact that I didn't know anything about this made me think it probably was a hoax. So, like most people who have no idea what is happening, I Googled it.

The first thing that popped up was an article from the Wall Street Journal - Social Media March on Wall Street, which was posted about 3 hours ago and in essence calls the protests an epic fail. But then I searched further.

occupywallst.org

The protests started on September 17th  and according to the Occupy Wall St. webpage consist of the 99% tired of being led by the 1%. I have read that it is being referred to as the nonviolent American Fall. They have protests in New York planned through 2012 everyday from 1-3 and 7-9 at Zuccotti Square (AKA now Liberty Square). It also says they will be planning protests in other places, including the protests planned for October 6, 2011 in Washington D.C.

When I searched news coverage for the events that have taken place I got 4 pages of American mainstream media, with no real coverage until September 23, 2011. I did find this one article from September 6, 2011 at Market Watch. But I really wouldn't call this mainstream. The earliest mainstream American coverage was from September 23rd, 6 days after the protests started.

I have been reading for a couple of hours now and have found some interesting articles that I had missed from the Huffington Post and The Guardian:

Occupy Wall Street Enters Its Fourth Day

"Occupy Wall Street" Protesters Vow to Camp Near Wall Street Indefinitely

Keith Olbermann, Michael Moore Criticize Media for Ignoring "Occupy Wall Street"

Occupy Wall Street Rediscovers the Radical Imagination

Occupy Wall Street: Protesters Speak

The Call to Occupy Wall Street Resonates Around the World

Al Jazeera was covering the protests before ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN - US Protesters Rally to Occupy Wall Street.

This is insane to me! Unlike London, these protests are nonviolent. People are not looting stores or roughing people up. I liked the point in the Keith Olbermann piece about the fact that if this were 100 tea party members supporting Wall Street it would be everywhere. It took a week, but now it is everywhere and people are angrier - not only about the mess this country is in, but about the lack of respect people who want to change things get.

Now the videos are everywhere - a search for news about it has gone from 4 pages to 10 in the past hour! Protesters Broadcast Arrests on Social Media. The number of those arrested have been anywhere from 80 on NPR to as many as 200. Reports of tear gas have been retracted, but the video of a woman being sprayed with pepper spray is all over the Internet.

Someone on the group's Facebook page is suggesting a national "don't go to work" day on October 5th. The idea is for noone to  go to work, or purchases anything for one day. I think it is a great idea if they can get organized and get enough people to do it to make a point! The problem is, all the people who work on Wall Street won't participate in a protest like this ..... but maybe, just maybe you could still get enough people to do it to make it work!!!

http://www.thetechherald.com/

I guess the point of this blog is to spread the word!! If the media isn't going to get the message out than we need to. If the Teaparty can take control of Washington in less than a year ..... we need to let Washington know that there is another voice! If Facebook can be covered with useless rumors about it starting to charge a fee - this should spread like wildfire!!!

As they said in Tienaman Square in 1989 .... take pictures, take video, let the world know what is happening here!!! The 1st Amendment is our strongest weapon ..... it is time it is used!!!!

Good Luck Wall Street ..... I think you are going to need it!