The flip side of the Tea Party?: An 'Occupy Wall Street' protester marches

up New York's Broadway, Oct. 5. The demonstrations against the iniquity

of U.S. politics and Wall Street profiteering have spread across the nation.

Where it will all lead is anyone's guess, but unrest at both extremes of

the political spectrum is clear.

 

 

Die Welt, Germany

Wall Street Occupied by Tea Party of 'Generation-Twitter'

 

"What we are witnessing here in New York City is the Tea Party of generation-Twitter. It's a grassroots movement from the left this time around, brought together by an angry discontent with the status quo, and without any of the protesters knowing quite what will come next."

 

By Ansgar Graw

                            

 

Translated By Ulf Behncke

 

October 4, 2011

 

Germany - Die Welt - Original Article (German)

Anger on the left? Or is it more than that?: A woman demonstrates against what she ragards as unfair tax rates in the United States, during a Occupy Wall Street demonstration, Oct. 6.

 

BBC NEWS VIDEO: Protests gather pace in New York, Oct. 6, 00:01:01RealVideo

Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan was named for John Zuccotti, who financed the park's $8 million renovation. And it must be regarded as part of the mood of contemporary history that this prime piece of New York real estate, within sight of Ground Zero and the New York Stock Exchange, now cordoned-off by police barriers, was until 2006 known as Liberty Plaza Park. That sounds like "liberation" in the same way Cairo's Tahrir Square means it in Arabic. In the great tradition of revolution, the demonstrators now in their third week of occupying the plaza they have again named "Liberty Park" - are mostly young people.

 

Their tyrant is not Hosni Mubarak. They have declared war on the adjacent Financial District. Their rallying cry "Occupy Wall Street" has spread across the Internet and is being chanted on the streets. "Freedom for the people - not for the banks" reads one poster. It is about "capitalist greed," about corruption and the corrupting influence of "Big Money" on politics. A young woman activist and student wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh shouts into the microphone: "This system is made only for the rich! We need something new!"

 

 

What we are witnessing here in New York City is the Tea Party of generation-Twitter. It's a grassroots movement from the left this time around, brought together by an angry discontent with the status quo, and without any of the protesters knowing quite what will come next. They have no leader, no common idea and not even an agenda of demands. Under a common banner is united a diverse group of protesters: anarchists, libertarians, the unemployed, old and neo-Marxists, "arm chair indignants," street performers and hangers-on; people who otherwise know uprisings only from watching the fall of the Berlin Wall or those in the Arab World on TV. But should something happen this time around - they want to be there. And they just may get their money's worth.   

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

There were a few arrests of demonstrators for disguising themselves with masks, trying to break through police cordons or entering a branch of Bank of America - despite orders to the contrary. Conversely, activists publicly denounced a policeman who allegedly used pepper spray against peaceful protestors. On Saturday, 700 protestors were briefly arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge as they attempted to cross from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

 

Anger in the left: Not usually as well organized as their right-wing,

counterparts, left-wing activists may be feeling their long-dormant oats.

 

Similar protests are being held in Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, New Orleans, Eugene, Ashland, San Francisco, Chicago, Albuquerque, Tampa, Charlotte, Denver and Portland. Further protests are planned for Washington DC. It all began in New York City on September 17th with between 300 to a 1,000 protestors. This weekend there were about 2,000. They personify the discomfort of liberals (and in the U.S. that means the left) with the consequences of the 2008 Wall Street crash, their concern about a "double-dip recession," and anger. Under Barack Obama, little has changed. The unemployment rate remains high while "business as usual" continues next door on Wall Street. Not quite as usual as before … but still.

 

CLICK HERE FOR GERMAN VERSION

opinions powered by SendLove.to
blog comments powered by Disqus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US, Oct. 7, 3:13pm]

 







Bookmark and Share