Now that I have your attention, let me give you my side of what Zuccotti Park really is, vs. the all too familiar headlines we are being spoon fed daily in our hometown newspapers. Like the one on today’s NY Post: “Occupy Wall Street Animals Go Wild, Zoo-Cotti!”
Day after day, The NY Post publishes articles/photos of drug addicts, derelicts, disgruntled business owners, angry neighbors, crazies and criminals as the face of the Occupy Movement.
They highlight the public urination, garbage, public brawls, etc. that are a small part of the big story with little to no mention of the young, intelligent, motivated, thoughtful, peaceful, idealistic, selfless heroes who I see and support every day at Zuccotti.
I understand why the NY Post and others are focusing on the negative. Clearly, it’s because they are threatened and need to sell newspapers. Scared to death in fact of a growing movement that is gaining steam every day, spreading virally and globally and promising to bring significant change to our world.
People tend to resist change, especially when their comfort zones are being disrupted. And in this country, and others around the world, our politicians have gotten way too comfortable working for special interest groups, instead of for the people who voted them in.
So, is it really surprising that there will be corporations and big businesses who push back when faced with the the idea that legal bribery of our system will be a thing of the past once our demands at Occupy are met? Of course not.
The people of Occupy that I visit with daily are fighting for all of our rights and sleeping in the cold with whispers that the police are countering their movement with sabotage.
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GlobalGrind has recorded many firsthand accounts of Occupiers, who have said that cops have been directing recently released prisoners/drug addicts/homeless people/aggressive and mentally challenged individuals down to Zuccotti Park with promises of free food, clothing, shelter and company.
While the Occupiers are doing what they can to feed and clothe these people, often victims themselves of unfortunate personal circumstance, they are often challenged by the influx of people who aren’t there to protest on behalf of financial/social inequality and often create disturbances on site.
If ever there was a way to disrupt a movement and sabotage an occupation, this is it. If what we are hearing is true, and we have no reason to doubt it, I am very concerned for the safety of these incredible people and urge the NYPD to understand that they are also part of the 99% #OWS are fighting for, as well as a vital part of the 100% that we are ALL a part of.
Of course, while the Occupy movement is just getting its sea legs (at the tender age of just 49 days) as it spreads globally, with recent protests from the U.K. to Australia, from Israel to Norway among other venues, it has already won in my eyes. Actions inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement took place recently in more than 900 cities in some 82 countries.
Occupy is fighting back LOUDLY against the consuming power of banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process. It is standing up against the role of Wall Street in setting up the devastating economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations, leaving people without the basic necessities they need to survive.
It has put the concept of fair democracy on the cover of newspapers worldwide, on the front page of all our social networks as trending topics, on the radar of school teachers who are talking about these issues to the next generation of activists, on the minds of elected politicians and on the lips of millions of people around the world.
The shift towards real change has happened and #OWS is ushering in a new time, a new day. Hope has been restored to the people. That is that the NY Post should be reporting.
Heroes, revolutionaries and angels among us…right outside our window, just down the street. Now THAT is what I call newsworthy.
