From Denny: The American middle class is angry, angry at the greed of Wall Street that has imploded this once thriving economy, dirtied the air and find themselves now deprived of a living wage or any kind of job.
Protesters began this movement in New York City, rallying against many issues all tied to the financial district's direction it has moved the country. They protest against excessive corporate greed, global warming and social inequality - and that's just the appetizer course in this new American Revolution.
Wall Street greed that is out of control for decades - and fueled by the Republicans - has created many social issues in America. The protesters marched against the alarming growth of poverty. Others marched against being forced to purchase modified food in our grocery stores when we clearly do not want it.
One protester, Moira Laughlin from Ohio, traveled to New York to join the protest because she has been out of work for two-and-a-half years now. She says, "We have two teenage kids. We still have to pay the mortgage and hopefully send them to college. And it's not easy."
Wall Street and politicians are clearly nervous about the growing number of protesters in the financial district. NYC Mayor Bloomberg tried to warn other politicians this was coming. He had fear in his eyes.
Celebrities like Michael Moore have joined the protesters who appear to be leaderless and without focus, according to some critics. Who are their critics but the very people they are protesting against? Come on.
When millions of people nationwide share the same woes like getting kicked out of their houses, losing jobs to those shipped overseas, when employed they can't make a living wage, and politicians who do absolutely nothing about these social and economic issues, frankly, folks, you don't need a central leadership.
This is a grass roots anger. It's an anger that is well-focused and quite clearly directed at those who created it. After all, it's Wall Street that drove the demand onto the corporate world to keep increasing their profits and stock value at all costs. The threat was to downgrade their stocks and break their companies. This is greed out of control.
Check out this from the 99 Percent site: "We are the 99 percent. We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to choose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are suffering from environmental pollution. We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we're working at all. We are getting nothing while the other 1 percent is getting everything. We are the 99 percent."
From Michael Moore when he attended the Occupy Wall Street protest: "The richest of the rich and Wall Street have tried to take our democracy and turn it into a 'kleptocracy.'"
"These people on Wall Street ripped off the future of many of these young people here and their not-yet-born children. It was the greatest heist, certainly of my lifetime. This protest has to start somewhere, and it might as well have started here (in New York City)."
While this new American Revolution is said to not have one central argument, that clearly is not true. As Jed Brandt of Brooklyn stated, "... the basic issue is our democratic structures are broken in this country."
I believe that is what is called "Bought Government." Wall Street puts pressure on corporations to meet their greedy demands. So, in turn, corporations buy politicians to get them to feed the corporations. And then the government breaks down because a few at the top of business and government institutions are raping and pillaging the wallets, destroying the lives of the mass population.
If our national leaders don't get serious soon and restore jobs in this country, these protests will grow to millions instead of thousands. Throwing 700 protesters in jail in New York City because they shut down the Brooklyn Bridge for a few hours was just plain stupid. All they did was validate to the protesters just how bought our government truly is.
People are protesting elsewhere in America:
* Los Angeles where they marched on City Hall
* Albuquerque, New Mexico
* Chicago where they gathered at the Federal Reserve Bank
Now the unions plan to join the protesters in Manhattan this week. I'd like to see that stupid NYC cop that pepper-sprayed women involved in a peaceful protest do the same thing to a bunch of tough union guys. Let's see how brave he is then.
Check out these two sites to learn more and follow the timeline of the protests:
* occupywallst.org
* 99 Percent Project
This is that crass pepper spray incident where the women were penned in and at the mercy of this cruel cop:
Photo Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images of Brooklyn Bridge 1 October protest.
Quotes from the protesters:
From Max Richmond of New York City: "Corporations are not people. They don't deserve the same rights people do."
NY Rep. Charles Rangel showed up to agree with the protesters by saying, "We have to take our country back."
The protesters were clearly not happy to hear from him, clearly stating that government is not working. They screamed back, "You, sir, have no business being here. You're part of the problem."
Now does that sound like a revolution without a focus to you?
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