“They Know Precisely What They Want”

“They know precisely what they want. They want to reverse the corporate coup that has taken place in the United States and rendered the citizenry impotent. And they won’t stop until this happens …”
— Chris Hedges, author, journalist, blogger on truthdig.com, on The Lang and O’Leary Exchange, CBC tv

People flooded the streets of the world on Saturday October 15 for a global march of solidarity against economic injustice. San Francisco’s rally was much like the reports I’ve heard and seen of others: upbeat but frustrated masses, joined by a sense of outrage and taking solace with others by taking to the streets. We marched again up the city’s Market Street to City Hall where we sat and verbally amplified back the message of our speakers.

Unity found in ‘We are the 99%’ chants seem unending and it’s clear that whatever happens in San Francisco (which has yet to land in a permanent location and face daily harassment), folks are intending to stay.

I’ve been thinking about Chris Hedges’ interview in The Lang and O’Leary Exchange on October 10 and I encourage you to watch it here (because then you can log comments!). Hedges responds to Kevin O’Leary’s comment that the folks in the street don’t know what they ‘want’:

“They know precisely what they want. They want to reverse the corporate coup that has taken place in the United States and rendered the citizenry impotent. And they won’t stop until this happens and frankly if we don’t break the back of corporations we are all finished anyway since they are rapidly trashing the eco system on which the human species depends for survival. This is literally a fight for life, it’s that grave, it’s that serious … The bottom line is that we don’t have much time left. We are on the cusp of perhaps another major banking crisis in Europe … There have been no restrictions no regulation on Wall Street, they have looted the US Treasury, they’ve played all the games they were playing before, and we are about to pay for it all over again.”

He’s then called a ‘left wing nutbar’ by O’Leary which falls flat after Hedges points out that he’s saying nothing more than what the thousands in the streets, the 99%, are saying.

This ongoing debate of ‘what do they want/what are they saying?’ is losing it’s interest as a media story as mainstream understanding of ‘We are the 99%’ takes hold outside of corporate media and in the streets. O’Leary’s insistence on marginalizing this call garners a comment from Hedges about being treated the way a guest would be on Fox News.

Another point of unity emerging as the 99% continues to greet each other with ‘I love you’ is anti-greed as a community quality. Journalist, author and co-author of the ‘Trouble with Billionaires’ Linda McQuaig, spoke this weekend about the movement’s recognition that the top 1% are too rich and too powerful and that these qualities are being elevated collectively as no longer acceptable in society. She says that changing attitudes about greed could have profound implications on our society. The Sunday Edition interview begins at the 7:00 min mark here.

Jeffrey Sachs also speaks to this idea that the 1% must first regain a sense of collective responsibility and community participation to have any legitimacy in the eyes of the 99% here.

Get active!
Our friends at Yes! Magazine have posted ten local and anywhere/everywhere ways to take action – check them out here.

And think global – support the call for a tax on financial transactions and demand that some of the money going into the profits of few are redistributed back to us, in our society for public works and in our community for a better future. The campaign for a ‘Robin Hood Tax’ is explained here.

Finally, on October 18th, Goldman Sachs reported a quarterly loss – its first since the financial crisis and only its second since going public in 1999. When asked directly about what should be done with Goldman Sachs on The Lang and O’Leary Exchange, Hedges replied, “Prosecuted, they should be prosecuted.”

UPDATE (Oct 14 9:05am pst): The ‘cleaning’ of Zuccotti Park has been postponed! Thanks to everyone who made calls last night!

UPDATE (Oct 13 6:30pm pst): It is now being widely reported that the New York Police Department, under orders from Mayor Bloomberg, will attempt to evict Occupy Wall Street from Zuccotti Park tomorrow for a ‘cleaning’ at 7am est. TAKE ACTION!

1. Sign the MoveOn. org petition here.

2. Call Mayor Bloomberg 1-212-772-1081 ext 12006 and demand that the eviction be stopped. Avaaz.org asks that you post a message about what happened here.

3. If you are in the New York City area, find out about the direct action being planned for tomorrow at 6am est here.

 

Say what?

At noon on Thurs Oct 13, the occupytogether.org website listed 1599 cities with Occupy Wall Street protests from Iceland to New Zealand. This online hub of the movement represents a huge number of the events in solidarity with OWS concentrated in North America, and growing internationally. Other online sources include united for #globalchange and the powerful video rallying us to take action.

This leaderless, politically neutral movement is big, and growing and if you are part of the 99%, it includes you.

This Saturday October 15 join a local occupation – big or small, together we are powerful together as we raise our voices to say Enough is Enough! Enough of the bank bailouts by the taxpayers! Enough of the cuts to social welfare programs, schools and hospitals to sustain the cost of wars! Enough of non-action in Congress to address the climate crisis! Enough of the unlimited election campaign contributions by corporations thanks to Citizens United, enough of the attack on worker rights!

Endorsements and messages of support to the movement surface daily – from major labor unions, celebrities, social justice organizations, activists such as Naomi Klein, and international leaders including Lech Walesa.

Even progressive companies have expressed support. The board of directors at Ben and Jerry’s stated “… we realize that Occupy Wall Street is calling for systemic change. We support this call to action and are honored to join you in this call to take back our nation and democracy.”

Alternative media outlets such as Democracy Now! are producing amazing comprehensive reports of what is happening in this country. Initially ignored by the corporate media, the sheer number of people engaged for change has become the most important domestic story.

Through daily general assemblies, workshops and internet organizing our demands are coalescing. The folks in Freedom Plaza in Washington DC will spend the next week defining a vision on 15 key issues impacting our ‘system’ and encourage everyone to join. Go outside or go online, talk to your friends, family, neighbors and even strangers, we are the 99%.

Start here – check out this photo blog and join the 99%. Then sign the World vs Wall St petition and stand will a million others.

As GX and CodePINK co-founder Medea Benjamin stated on Democracy Now!:

“We are here to stay. We are here just like we were here yesterday and the day before yesterday and the day before that. It really doesn’t matter to us that our permit has run out. We feel like this is a public square, we are the public, and we are occupying this square, so we will stay here” (the Freedom Plaza permit has now been extended for 4 months).

And although New York Mayor Bloomberg stated, “The bottom line is, people want to express themselves, and as long as they obey the laws, we’ll allow them to” plans are under way to remove the encampment at Zuccotti Park, sign this petition now!

Perhaps Reverend Billy says it best:

The change that is in the air, that we all feel. No-one really knows why we are blessed with the common feeling. This same slaughter of the innocents has gone on for so long. This same mystical financing of poisoned farms, of dead oceans, of cancerous children and national false emotions – all this comes at us now as a bad surprise. We have a fresh rage. We have a shout that is honest, thousands of us. We are occupying our civic institutions stolen so long ago by men in suits, and surrounded by confused police. All at once, we want a better life and don’t want to wait. Then this discovery: It is a better life to demand a better life! Revolujah!

At Global Exchange we’ve taken action locally and joined 2 of the Occupy SF marches and look forward to Saturday. Join us here!

In Oakland: MoveOn and its allies stand together, WORKERS and COMMUNITY UNITED for JOBS not CUTS, PROSPERITY not AUSTERITY! Hands Off Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid! End the Wars! Invest in Our Communities!
1:00 PM Assemble at Laney College (1 block from Lake Merritt BART)
1:00 PM Pre-March Program
2:30 PM March Downtown
3:30 PM Rally in Frank Ogawa Plaza (12th Street Oakland BART stop)
http://www.jobs-not-cuts.org

In San Francisco:
1:00 PM Meet at Embarcadero BART

Enough is Enough!