It looks like the trouble with the police that I feared has already begun.
Occupy Wall Street Arrests; Fox 5 Crew and Protesters Hit by Mace, Batons: MyFoxNY.com
The Guardian covered the march and also the clash with police, with more video.
Mano Singham
Just another Freethought Blogs site
Thus serving the Masters of the Universe who are plotting to destroy your pension is as fine an example of false consciousness as one could hope to find.
Mano,
I drove to NY to join the protest last weekend. My sign was “Obama: stop milking the bull.” It got a lot of laughs and photos. Overall, the police seemed bored and annoyed at having to be there. I had a long friendly talk with one officer who complained about being forced to work overtime at the protest.
At one point we were asked to step back a few steps to provide more space on the sidewalk for people to walk past. We obeyed this reasonable request and there were no issues.
Overall, I was disappointed by the protest. There was a group of libertarians on one corner. I asked them what common ground they thought they had with the group of socialists on the other corner. No coherent answer. Then there were plenty of random silly demands: cancel all consumer debt, cancel my student loans, the government should provide jobs for everyone, send all the bankers to jail, etc.
The Colbert clip you linked to was not accurate: the informed and realistic protesters were few and far between. I can see why it was so easy for Fox News to mock the protesters. Hopefully the movement can coalesce into something with a coherent set of realistic demands.
On Sept. 17, 2011 the 99 percent converged on Wall Street to let the 1 percent know how frustrated they are with living in a world they believe is incompatible with achieving their dreams. And I’m here to invite you, the 99 percent, to consider -- just for a brief moment -- the possibility that you are the creator of your reality and your dreams can be achieved to any degree that you allow yourself to experience JOY.
Steve, why would anyone rely on a pension? That’s like being upset because the pyramid scheme of the social security scam has caused it to dry up… why put your future in a pension plan or any of that which depends on other people?
“Steve, why would anyone rely on a pension?”
The retired ones and those people who sacrificed their lives to uphold the greatness of this country surely need monthly allowances.