The motto of most police departments is to serve and protect. They might tack onto the end of that phrase banks, Wall Street and powerful people. The below photo, by Randy L. Rasmussen, The Oregonian, captures people getting attacked with pepper spray when protesting in front of JPMorgan Chase Bank.
After a weekend of evictions, the Occupiers numbers multiplied. Now, here comes police violence. It's bad enough the police pepper spray 84 year olds, put an Iraq war veteran into intensive car, crack heads, destroy property, pull out nightsticks on women who bare their breasts ...what's even more outrageous is the cops are doing this to protect the banks and wall Street.
Today were protests on Wall Street, against Banks, crumbling bridges and roadways, and a strong demand for jobs. The response is this injured protestor, captured by Esquire.
The protestors are not small groups anymore. In New York, the crowds number 10,000. Just today there were over 300 arrested. The Huffington Post runs an entire real time news section, there are so many events and stories. Many news organizations run live blogs due to the story moving so quickly. Protests are global, in almost every city of significant size. In other words, the occupy movement is simply not going away because police cleared tents and parks.
You'd never know how large this movement is by the media. Never ending complaints about inconvenience, polls say, and business complaints fill the local news coverage. The real reasons for the protests come not from interviews or actual reporting, but from the signs protestors carry which get displayed in the background video.
What we are seeing is more police in riot gear, more use of batons, pepper spray, cracked heads, bulldozers, sound cannons and worse. One thing is clear, the police are being used in an attempt to shut down this movement.
Comments
DHS is not coordinating OWS crackdown
I received in my mailbox a claim DHS is coordinating the crackdown. Not so, says Salon, with sources cited.
This post is an opinion piece. Watching hundreds of videos, hundreds of photos, images over today, I positively found myself disgusted with the police at this point.
How can someone defend corporations, banks, financial institutions and repress what are basically regular people who are trying to say something about it all?
But will it end?
I am a firm supporter of OWS, but even I'm starting to feel a bit weary of it all. I'm wondering whether a promise to make things right would be enough to disperse the crowds at this point. And should it? Politicians have given us little to trust on that score. But then, will OWS stick around until all demands are met? Until one or two big issues are resolved? Until they get bored, or until violence escalates to a new level?
Stability is rapidly deteriorating. As much as I hope OWS effects true reforms, I wish they'd leave their physical occupation behind and channel their numbers and passion into converting bank customers into credit union members or writing mass letters to their representatives. They've already spread their message throughout the world; now it's time to act on their beliefs (IMHO).
demands
if you find any official demands endorsed, please post them to discuss.
I view OWS as a presence, an "in your face" presence of people out there pointing to how millions of Americans are getting financially, economically screwed.
I don't think the "powers that be" even take them seriously, never mind entertain even the least little thing legislatively to actually make policy changes.
What I see here is governments, federal, state, local and media simply view OWS as a "PR" problem and want them to "go away".
I haven't heard of a single thing where any politician, beyond Buddy Roemer, GOP Presidential candidate under 100% media black out as if he does not exist, recognize OWS or try to solidify the issues into solid policy proposals.
I think there are a couple of Congress representatives and then some local, but their names are being swept under the rug! I'm pretty sure one Congress rep. has been arrested, maybe yesterday.
Not officially endorsed, but ...
As I have been visiting family in California, I joined with two other courageous seniors and drove down the mountain to Occupy Sacramento, on Saturday, 19 November 2011. We ranged in age from 70 to 86. We were all favorably impressed with Occupy -- not that we were any of us clamoring for jobs, but that we were all of us disgusted with the globalist Wall Street banksters.
The crowd was most responsive to speakers who emphasized the demand for jobs. But there were speakers who were unafraid to call out against FTAs and even globalism. There was a sign proclaiming that congress critturs who take Norquist's pledge are guilty of 'treason'. (I assume that was a reference to the somewhat sophisticated argument that members of Congress have already taken a more basic oath of office that is effectively contradicted if they take the Norquist pledge.) Also, a few anti-war signs. Oh, and many signs expressing anger at, or disappointment with, SEIU-organized police agencies or departments -- "Occupy seiu.org". (Sacramento police were on their very best behavior that day.)
It seemed to some in the crowd that the ubiquitous demand for jobs was too passive -- after all, creative people understand that the fundamental necessity is to create your own job, or anyway to pull your weight. But at least the demand for jobs indicates a willingness to contribute to fundamental economic enterprises with no guarantees of effortless success -- in contrast to that worst of all entitlement mentalities, that investors are such wonderful beings that they are entitled to something for nothing, that they are entitled to automatic growth of capital even though no risk is involved, that they are entitled to automatic protection from risk by the supposed operation of some law of invisible-hand economics with no necessity for political diligence.
It's time for us all to realize that the greatest risk accompanies any financial-monetary system that fails to meet tests of transparency. We can no longer count on some invisible hand that like Santa Claus rewards us for being good kids. No, all we can count on is the slight of hand, not the invisible hand.
more pepper spray at UC Davis
We have more unprovoked sprays in the face at
Occupy the SEC
Finally, there is a subgroup forming to read the financial reform legislation, just the "Volcker rule" section to navigate through all of the loopholes.
We did some of that here when the bill was passed. This is one useful thing, to form groups to read through legislation.
I've done it and frankly to read through a 1200 page document, first, let me suggest using thomas.gov and your browser search as well as foxit reader search, plus lots of cut and paste.
Sometimes the loopholes are so obscure, you must reference 2, 3 other existing laws and replace the text with the new, "semicolon", "and" and clause subnumeration switcheroos.
It's like putting together a jigsaw puzzle and no matter how well informed, even with a JD you are, navigating through these bills requires a team of researchers.
I'm sure some of our friends have to be involved so I'll try to find out more of this effort. Plenty of people running economics/finance blogs who I am sure can help out.