Occupy Wall Street!

Something is happening out there; I just heard about it an hour ago as I was ready to sign off.

Apparently a few hundred or a few thousand (not clear how many) joined together yesterday, Sunday, September 18th, 2011, to "Occupy Wall Street".  I wrote something about this many months ago; that people won't know that the unemployed, the struggling, the just plain fed up, are serious until/unless they see thousands of people marching down Wall Street ... .and up the Mall in Washington, D.C.

(Correction:  The first "Occupy" event occurred Saturday, September 17th, 2011, not Sunday, as I wrote above.)

*********************************

You may also wish to read: 

The Unemployed: Lazy? Irresponsible? Spongers or slackers? The New Poor in America

Who Should Advocate for the Poor and the Elderly in the Debt Mess?

Chinese Slave Workers Add To Steve Jobs' Coffers

The Assault on the Homeless: No Soup For You!

 Crushing the Human Spirit Indeed!

********************************

I'm excited and concerned about this protest movement, labeled #occupywallstreet on Twitter.  I'm not sure who started this; it seems pretty amateurish to me, but that's probably a good thing.

But a word of caution:  The protests of the late 60's brought us the election of Nixon.  

I don't want to see protests now that will bring us one of these Tea Party Repubs in the White House along with a Republican House and Senate.  That would be devastating to all but those at the extremes.  

So, the question must be: How do you entice people vs. repel them?  This was the problem of the late 60's.  People saw the protesters; despite their anti-Vietnam war stance (which an increasing number of people agreed with), as "socialists and communists and radicals" and turned against them and whatever it was they supported.  And a tremendous backlash developed which swept the Republicans into power.

I'm old;  I've been around a long time; I remember a lot.  I worked on the financial district of Chicago during the late 70's and 80's.  Don't assume that everybody working on Wall Street is a Republican.  I was working in the financial district during the 1980 election, and I don't think any of my coworkers voted for Reagan.  So #occupyWallStreet people, you may have more support than you think.  Don't antagonize anybody.  

We need everybody to understand that the future of our country is at stake.   

Remember that when you are in the middle of a big crowd such as the one occupying Wall Street, it is easy to forget that you are a minority.

I'm very, very excited to see some movement.  We need people in the streets!  It's about time!  I've had it, and I'm not the only one! 

Will anything happen tomorrow morning?  Will any of the national media cover it? 

Here are some links:  

Live feed from the Wall Street protesters

A YouTube clip from the Sunday march with people attending some kind of party watching them.

Police block "Occupy Wall Street"