Occupy Wall Street in Floyd
~The following appeared in The Floyd Press on October 20, 2011
A group of citizens gathered in the Warren Lineberry Park Saturday to show their support for Occupy Wall Street (OWS), the ongoing protest of corporate greed and influence that began in New York City four weeks ago. Rallies in solidarity of the OWS protesters also took place in Blacksburg and Roanoke and in localities around the country and globe.
Attendee Micheal Kovick addressed the group, saying, “There is no leader here. I’m here to support the Occupy Wall Street protestors. I don’t want to participate in a gripe session. I don’t know what the answer is. There are a lot of things wrong.”
Kovick suggested that OWS supporters engage individuals in conversation. “What can we do locally? How can we make a presence and invite more people into the process?” he asked.
A young man commented that many young people can’t get jobs or afford college. A woman who attended the Washington DC OWS said communication, planned actions and visibility were all important components of being heard.
“The Supreme Court ruling that corporations can make unlimited donations to political campaigns is a big problem. That’s where we lose our voice,” said one attendee. Another added, “We need publicly funded elections so that lobbyists can’t buy politicians.” Other suggestions to address the concerns of OWS included returning the top 1% tax bracket to 1950-1980 levels and holding Wall Street bankers who committed fraud accountable.
Toni Lamberti, who spent a recent day at the New York OWS, said the issue was “the rich against the poor.” Holding a brightly painted red sign that read ‘We Are the 99%,’ she commented that she was impressed with how the New York demonstrators conducted themselves. “They had lunch tables and even libraries set up.”
Lamberti said protestors are building on the momentum of what’s been happening around the world. She suggested citizens google “Wall Street Occupation” or follow democracynow.org to get a different take on OWS from what the mainstream media is reporting. Colleen Redman
October 21st, 2011 10:57 am
Colleen,
You are such a community treasure. It’s wonderful to have local community news!!
October 21st, 2011 1:56 pm
Nice job on this article, Colleen. Your growth continues!
October 21st, 2011 4:01 pm
I attended the Occupy Milwaukee event last Saturday and posted about it. I was happy that I went, more out of curiosity than anything I guess, though I ended up agreeing wholeheartedly with those who toted signs reading “money out of politics”, and “bye bye American pie”, and others too. but I saw at least two people carrying signs that read “forgive student loans” and took issue with both people. when I asked them why they thought they were owed something for nothing, neither one could give me an answer. they didn’t even know themselves. I took out taxpayer-guaranteed student loans to pay for my college education and never ever expected nor did I ask for the taxpayers to look the other way and give me something for nothing. I have a real problem with that. I also agree with Tea Partiers regarding deficit spending. that’s puts me squarely in the middle, with no political home. both protests are relevant, and it saddens me that either side demonizes the opposing side. even in protest we’re divided. sometimes I want to just walk away and find a home in a different country, where there aren’t such divisions. does that place exist? perhaps only in my mind. I’m truly sick of partisan politics and talking points. the country is headed in the wrong direction but turning around the ship when there isn’t anyone to steer it who hasn’t been bought, well, that’s an overwhelming proposition. I appreciate your coverage of the event. happy weekend to you Colleen.
October 21st, 2011 5:56 pm
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October 21st, 2011 9:02 pm
I agree with you Becky on student loans but I also think we should stop making it harder and harder and more expensive for people to get higher educaiton. I thought the tea partiers would be more welcoming to the OWSers because they are saying some of the same stuff. I support the OWS movement as long as the demonstrators stay non-viloent, and I say ‘it’s about time.’
October 24th, 2011 9:09 am
Thank you Colleen for this post. I am out of town and was wondering what was happening. Way to go Floyd
October 24th, 2011 11:02 am
There were about 20 people when I was there at the start of the demonstration. More may have come.
November 11th, 2011 12:35 pm
[…] Read about the Floyd support for the Occupation HERE. […]