The question was asked recently, if what we saw happen in North Africa and the Middle East last spring could happen here in America? I personally had my doubts about any real protest action taking root in this country other than the one on the right funded and egged on by the richest and most powerful who own the Congress.
Well it’s early yet, but it seem like regular Americans, real Americans, are fed up with wealthy Corporations owning their government, they seem to have had it with listening to empty promises from bought and paid for politicians . It seem that the Arab spring has found its way to America’s shores in the form of the( American Fall). Americans are hurting, many of the people out of work are not used to a hard existence, they have never lived in poverty, even some of their worst stories of survival would be peaches and cream for many people living in other parts of the world.
I remember a colleague of mine telling of how hard his family had it growing up, detailing and extolling the horrors of not having anything but cool-aid in the fridge to drink, I looked at him and simply asked ” you had a fridge?” By the time the laughter subsided he had come to the realization of how good he had it growing up.
Despite all of the aforementioned , hardship is hardship, when one cannot pay the mortgage , or rent, cannot pay on student loans,cannot buy food ? that’s hardship, and we can in no way trivialize those sufferings. Average Americans have watched as their Government bailed out huge corporations deemed too large to fail by the last President and this one now serving, they have seen Wall Street rake in humongous profits , and dole out large bonuses to their executives, while laying off workers,American businesses are sitting on an estimated 2 trillion dollars in cash that could be spent on hiring workers, they claim there is no demand for anything and so they cannot hire any new workers.
On the other hand Republicans have steadfastly refused to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Where is the shared sacrifice? those on the right argue it is un-American to extend a hand to those who are in need and suffering, in their view the free market system gives everyone a fair shake , those who cannot make it are lazy and in some form are un-American.
So let’s look at this concept, are those people out of work lazy , and un-American? Many now out of work , worked two jobs, or extra long hours when they could, just to get by in an economy that was more and more employer friendly, as jobs got shipped overseas . There were fewer jobs here,and as we all know it’s demand that drives supply and not the other way around,older workers were noticing a trend where they were being laid off from jobs they had for decades, some were offered buyouts, in some large companies like IBM, and others, were asked to do more for the same pay, this is nothing new, as the pool of available workers swelled, employers could ask more from employees, as well as get rid of long serving well paid employees, making way for younger workers whom they paid sometimes at less that half the wage they paid older workers.
Peter Harris photo
As I said earlier I did not see a popular people protest in America that would be of any significance, not with the fact that America is now literally a Police State, regular Americans are not allowed to demonstrate against their Government without thousands of jack-booted cops battering and beating them into a pulp, true to form the NYPD did not waste any time beating , tazing, and just plain battering citizens who had done nothing but express their right to free speech.
The website Buzz Feed documented multiple instances of out of control NYPD thugs abusing citizens who were exercising their free speech right. http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/violent-pictures-from-occupy-wall-street-protests.
What’s interesting is that there has been zero instance of police interference with racist fanatical zealots on the right, who make up the so-called tea party movement. After all those people were demonstrating for the right of the richest Americans to have more wealth , not be taxed, and to throw the black man out of the White House. This is a wakeup call for average Americans, this is a defining moment in history you the average person has no right to demonstrate, the fact that your government has been taken over by rich tycoons who pay off those in the congress to do their bidding, it is no longer about you or your children, the die has been cast, have you ever wondered why they lay of teachers, social workers,and any worker that benefits you , but continue to hire cops?
Follow the link provided above and you will get a glimpse into what’s in store for you, you will be not be allowed to demonstrate , and even if a permit is granted , it will be in a designated space that it will have no effect, you will be herded into an area enclosed where there will be more cops than demonstrators, welcome to America , welcome to the NEW WORLD ORDER. Welcome to the world of the big banks and big corporations running the show, they have enough of the semi literate uniformed thugs to keep you in your place.
Democrats would like to own this movement , but they should be real careful , look at the impact the tea party has had on the republican party, House leader Bohner has no control over his own caucus, and cannot negotiate with the President to get anything done. All in all the occupy wall street is a legitimate movement by regular people who are right and have justification on their side, as opposed to the misfits on the right who promulgate racism and hate. I hope this movement catches fire and sweep across America with fervor never imagined,people are fed up and rightly so, given enough people fighting in this moral war their uniformed thugs will not be able to stop the will of the people.
Unfortunately I believe we all know that this will simply fizzle, these movements for the people always do.