_It’s been awhile since I’ve wanted to return to New York having left in 1997. Now seems a great time. The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protest makes me kind of proud to have spent 9 years in the Big Apple. The OWS movement isn’t the first of its kind and it is still relatively small. Inspired by the Spanish Indignados and the Arab Spring, itself ignited when a courageous Tunisian man set himself on fire in protest of a system that disenfranchises the poor, OWS has a powerful message that is resonating with the masses. It has emboldened people across the U.S. and around the world and is scaring the hell out of the rich and powerful. How much? Well, the 2nd richest man in the world, Warren Buffet has been begging U.S. politicians to tax him and other super-rich folks more. Months before the occupation of Liberty Plaza, he understood better than most of the super-rich that the anger of the ordinary people had reached a tipping point. The people that are occupying Wall Street are from different walks of life, races, cultures, and even countries. Some have come from recent protests in Egypt and Spain to lend their support and advice. But the movement itself has a singular vision: to restore democracy. It’s hard to say where all this will end up. My hope is that people power will transform society through massive changes to the political, economic and social systems in those societies that have the greatest disparities between the haves and the have nots. I wholeheartedly support the OWS and the Indignados movements. Many are on the sidelines not yet sure what to make of it. Some just don't like what they're doing. Where do you stand? How the Rich Subverted the Legal System, by Glenn Greenwald The death that sparked a revolution www.occupywallstreet.org www.occupytogether.org
14 Comments
Beatric
24/10/2011 01:13:54 am
Demonstrations in 82 Countries but there were clashes only in Rome: fires, destroyed cars, injuries and violence.
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Bunny
25/10/2011 12:07:59 am
I'm not the kind of person who usually talks about society's problem or who takes part in strikes and demostrations but it doesn’t mean that I don’t care about these problems.
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Roberta
26/10/2011 01:12:44 am
Where do I stand? Certainly from the OWS.
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Federica
26/10/2011 05:03:48 pm
The crisis hits always the common people; many persons miss the work and the poors become more poor.
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Bunny
28/10/2011 02:08:03 am
I think that it is obvious that people protect their business, politicians too.
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Stefania
1/11/2011 04:17:47 am
The situation in our country and all around the world, is not favourable for us.
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Bunny, I agree to much of what you are saying. Yet, I believe in a system that allows people to have an equal say regardless of their abilities. I would like to see how a society that counts the opinions of a janitor with the same respect as those of its "intellectuals" functions. It is, I believe, one of the hallmarks of our current systems of governance which puts greater importance to the opinions (and needs) of elites, both financial and intellectual.
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Giuseppe
2/11/2011 08:45:44 pm
The protests around the world in this period, Arab Spring, OWS and Spanish Indignados, are taking place because the gap between the rich and poor and between the haves and the have nots is getting bigger. This situation is caused by the extraordinary power of the financial institutions (i.e. banks, insurances, speculators, etc.) over the politicians. In fact, in the last few years, political decisions have been shaped by the power of the business lobby.
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Giuseppe,
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Roberto
2/11/2011 11:52:23 pm
I think that all the societies of industrialized countries, both European and American, have reached a good level of “formal democracy”; the power, in appearance, belongs to the people.
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Sabina
3/11/2011 10:20:28 pm
I would like to take this opportunity to move the point of this discussion on what I fell closer to me and what happened in my country, Italy, on last 15th October during the worldwide protest day.
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Federica
9/11/2011 06:18:30 pm
I am totally agree with Sabrina.In Italy, every time you organized a peaceful demonstration there are groups of infiltrators who are fighting against the police.They use violence against other people, destroying cars, windows, garbage bins.And so all media, television, newspapers, radio, speak only of destruction, and the pacifist message of the event is never mentioned.
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Eyes of dog
10/11/2011 11:36:13 pm
One provocative thought. An aspect that is not often considered is man itself. We talk about social inequalities, of a society founded on business affairs and that it should be changed. I agree. But we forget to take into consideration the human factor.
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Denise
16/11/2011 02:27:55 am
From where I stand? on the side of those who want to change the world because we can not resign! if you do not want to do for us, we must do for the younger generation, otherwise leave them a terrible inheritance, and be complice of this sistem.
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