Occupy Wall Street is now a worldwide
protest that started in New York City on September 17th,
2011. I've kept my opinions in reserve as I watched this all develop,
but there are too many things going on that too many people are
missing to remain quiet.
Below I've pulled some of the most
watched videos about some of the events that have happened since
Occupy Wall Street started. I'll give a description as an intro and
give my opinion at the end while trying to remain as neutral as I
can.
The first video is one of the first
clips I saw. Protestors are netted off and a white shirt police
officer (Tony Balogna) approaches them and pepper sprays the crowd,
leaving two women on their knees screaming.
This particular video is slowed down
and highlights key points. I like it better because you can see what
is going on, in reality it all happens very quickly. The unedited
video is available on youtube.
The second video is of a marine
shouting down several police officers. It's long and repetitive yet
if you stick around and watch the whole thing you'll notice that
there are dozens of officers that look ready to approach the crowd
and then do not.
The third video is of a group of people
getting arrested at a local (New York) Citibank. They were attempting
to close their bank accounts at Citibank. The bank locked them in the
store until police arrived and everyone was arrested. About half way
through the video you'll notice a woman outside is dragged back
indoors and arrested.
*Okay, bias coming, but I want to put
it out there before you watch the video. Notice the woman who is
picked up and dragged inside is being lifted by a man in plain
clothes. He is wearing a black sweatshirt with some white writing on
it and a black hat. This is an undercover police officer. Numerous eyewitness accounts say that this man was the loudest protestor
inside the bank, attempting to rile the crowd up, then-when everyone
was arrested and taken to the police station- he laughed in their
faces.
Personal Opinion
These videos are all shocking and have
had me on edge for the last few weeks. My general feeling on Occupy
Wall Street is that it's too incoherent to fully understand. Talk to
one person and they want to audit the Federal Reserve. Talk to
another and they want to end the stock market, or legalize
prostitution, or it's just a great party.
There's no leadership or structure.
It's a hodgepodge of random people, probably started by college-aged
adults, but certainly no longer limited to that segment of the
population.
At this point the movement, at least to
me, seems to be a collection of people who feel as if something is
wrong with the way this country operates. And I wholeheartedly agree.
The Federal Reserve was recently partially audited and it was revealed that $16 trillion (Yes,
with a "t") had been given out to US banks, corporations,
and foreign banks between 2007-2010. That's more than our debt, more
than our GDP, more than any budget being debated by congress. And you
didn't have the slightest idea it was happening. Nobody did. Too many
people still don't know.
The Worst Part
Occupy Wall Street is being attacked by
the wrong people. Cops are not the enemy, at least most of them are
not. Most police officers are hardworking individuals trying to do
their jobs. However, when a bank, JP Morgan, donates $4.6 million to the NYPD- some higher-ups in the PD may start giving directions a
little one-sided. This isn't a mystery either. There was no Woodward
and Bernstein who found some secret accountant with all the dirty
details. During the Occupy Wall Street protests, JP Morgan publicly
announced they were giving the NYPD $4.6 million dollars. The next day 700+ people were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge.
If this was Batman, Falcone just bought
the Gotham Police. (Sorry, playing a lot of Arkham City lately).
The Best Part
Nothing like this has ever happened
before. The internet makes it possible for any person to see a
situation from multiple perspectives. So when the New York Times
changes the front page article on the arrest of 700+ protestors, you
can find out why.
A few google searches and youtube
videos will lead you to an interesting couple of stories about how
most protestors (including reporters on the ground) felt they were
being lead by police officers onto the Brooklyn Bridge. Then the cops
stopped, turned around, and arrested 700 people. The act is called
kettling. You may better know it has herding or corralling.
Everyone can see the differences in
people's stories. You can see where things are inconsistent and make
up your own mind. There are thousands of videos that provide
first-hand accounts as to what is actually happening.
I honestly don't know how I feel about
everything. The main thing I feel is nervous. This is exactly how
revolutions start. I'm not afraid- that would come much later and in
a much worse situation. I'm on-edge though. I feel like something big
could happen. Something monumental.
I don't know if I, or anyone, is ready
for that.