Occupy Wall St. Goes Global

Violence was reported in Rome, where 150,000 occupied the streets in what protesters call a "global day of action against Wall Street greed."

Occupy Wall Street organizers called for a Global Action Day, Saturday, October 15th.

In response, protesters marched into Times Square,
waving signs and beating drums rhythmically to the bellows of
“Banks got bailed out, we got sold
out.”
The
group garnered an estimated 6,000 protesters and rallied for about 5 hours.

The Times Square invasion followed a flash mob-style bombardment on the Chase Bank located near
Wall Street
by two dozen protesters, where they closed their accounts and passed out fliers urging
clients to follow suit.  The group reportedly gained
momentum and proceeded to a downtown branch of Citibank at LaGuardia Place, which
resulted in 24 arrests for trespassing.

 

A few scuffles ensued, sending two police officers to the hospital for minor injuries. An estimated 92 people were arrested citywide during events speckling New York City.

 

The Occupy Wall Street movement, based downtown
Manhattan in  Zuccotti Park, began
September 17,  protesting what demonstrators call a broken system. 
They call
themselves “The 99%”  , based on a study by
Nobel
Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz’s which reveals one percent of
Americans control 40 percent of wealth in the United States.
The protesters denounce a system that has brought about 14.0
unemployed Americans, home foreclosures,
government cutbacks to health and
education spending
and other social services,  lack of government support for war veterans , class wars, and overall corporate greed.


More than 700 protesters
have been arrested in New York alone since day one of Occupy Wall Street.

 

The movement is rapidly picking up steam as
OCW-inspired protests continue sprouting up throughout the nation and the
worldwide.

Outbreaks have spurred in Washington, D.C.,
Fairbanks, Cincinnati, Chiago, Alaska, Burlington, Vermont, South Dakota, and
Wyoming, to name a few.
  175 people were arrested in Chicago for civil disobedience.  An estimated 100 arrests were reported in Arizona and about 24 in
Denver.

Violence was reported in
Rome, where
150,000 occupied the streets in what protesters call a “global day of action against Wall Street greed.”  Eight arrests were reported in
London. Citizens of Tokyo, Hong Kong and Australia
have also joined the movement.

 

Trade unions, local community groups,
politicians, celebrities, students and environmentalists have thrown their support behind OCW, who have raised an estimated $230,000 online and on site donations.

Critics censure the movement, calling the protesters a mob of anarchists, extremists and “lazy commies.”  Black Star News caught up with artist, Noah Fischer, who has been a Wall Street occupant since day one. Mr. Fischer stated that his discontentment stems from “economic injustices keeping us divided and taking away the power of the people all over the world. People are suffering from all types of economic difficulties while the banks play games with our money.”

 

Questions have been raised
about the minuscule presence of the African American population to Occupy Wall
Street.

It has been speculated that
the low number of African Americans participating in Occupy Wall Street is based
on an economic system that has never offered a level playing field to African Americans. 

Some consider Occupy Wall
Street too little, too late. Others envision the movement the birth of a new
frontier.

What’s your opinion?


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