[photo by Hubert Lau]
By Hubert Lau
Amid the bustling streets of downtown Manhattan lies Zuccotti Park, which has been transformed over the past two weeks into the hub and staging area for the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Organized with a designated medical center, an area for food distribution and even a media center to handle press, it is clear that the protesters of Occupy Wall Street are in it for the long haul. The hundreds that have descended upon this 33,000 square foot park call themselves “The 99 percent.” Drawing inspiration from Arab Spring style protests, although lacking uniformity in their goals, they are united in a common thirst for social change.
“The 99 percent,” which encompasses people of broad backgrounds, seek to challenge the power of the corporate businesses, banks, mortgage and insurance industries that make up the fraction of one percent of the nation who have a strong foothold in the Wall Street area.
“I will do anything in my power to change the system because it is corrupt and too many people in the world have suffered because of it,” said 82-year-old socialist and Brooklyn College graduate, Paul Gershowitz.
The sidewalks surrounding the park are lined with innovative and colorful signs constructed out of cardboard, messages such as “The American dream is a pyramid scheme” and “Maybe I should move to the third world for free health care.”.
“There is a massive amount of speculative finanical capital that is moved around the world every day that greatly exceeds actual production, meaning that basically our future is being hedged on and embedded on in a way that is extremely dangerous and has led to the current recession… And the current political system is set up in a way that it is so closely funded by Wall Street there can’t be any independent action. Even if Barak Obama wants progressive change to happen, he is not in a position where that can actually happen unless there is popular pressure and that is why people are here,” says 31-year-old New York native Chaz Mchale.
“It’s not just here but internationally that suffering and poverty is being caused by the actions on Wall Street so that is why I’m here,” explains 33-year-old Wiljago Cook, who seeks to raise awareness through her participation in Occupy Wall Street.
Zuccotti Park is abuzz with activity as the hundreds within engage in their day-to-day operations that include daily assemblies to discuss the day’s happenings and future plans. For 20-year -old student Michelle Okma of Long Island, the sense of community that resonates within Zuccotti Park is one that many observers might not realize.
“Last night was my first night here and the community of it was so amazing to me. Like it started raining and I didn’t have anything and someone came over and gave me a sleeping bag, gave me a tarp. The sense of community is something crazy, like it’s not something I thought would be here,” says Okma.
The current economic crisis, the ever widening gap between rich and poor, the disparity of the middle class and corporatization are just some of the issues that have drawn the hundreds to be a part of Occupy Wall Street. The movement found its roots in social networks where it was orchestrated on mediums like Facebook and Twitter. Beginning on September 17, activists of Occupy Wall Street have staged numerous peaceful protests in the finical district of lower Manhattan.
“It is amazing, the best experience of my life. There is so much going on I find it hard to sleep, I’m always excited to do something,” says 24-year-old Michael Rodriguez of the Bronx.
Despite the peaceful intention, there have been numerous reports and video footage showing conflicts between NYPD officers and the protesters of Occupy Wall Street. Among them, perhaps the most infamous, is a video showing a group of women being pepper sprayed by Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna in a seemingly unprovoked assault. This type of aggressive combined with the consistently strong presence of NYPD officers in the financial district has some on edge.
“This morning I went on a march and I would probably say there were six cops for every protester…There were 20 cops in front of us and 20 cops in the back of us and a whole line of cops along the whole route. So it’s kind of like you’re getting two, three, four cops per protester and it makes you feel like your freedom of speech is a little bit controlled,” said 32-year-old Nina Bednarski who arrived to Occupy Wall Street on September 28 after spending time in Madison Wisconsin in a similar occupation.
Attempts to reach out to NYPD officers and officials for comment were unsuccessful. However NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly has announced that investigations will be conducted into the Bologna pepper spraying incident.
Furthermore the Occupy Wall Street movement has been gaining support, not just locally but nationally as well. Similar occupations have sprung up in Los Angeles and Chicago. Within the area, local pizzerias and other food sources have allowed the protesters residing in Zuccotti Park to use their facilities as well as donating food to them. Additionally celebrities like Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon and the underground political rapper Immortal Technique have voiced their support for the movement.
Despite the significance of such a gathering, the mainstream media has allowed the coverage of Occupy Wall Street to take the back seat. The most predominant coverage of the protests in downtown Manhattan mostly focused on the police aggression towards protestors rather than the protests themselves.
“It’s like they had to wait until someone did get hurt before they made it a news story. And this impacts everyone in America so why isn’t it a news story? Why do you have to wait until there is a huge major crisis or a major clash between the police and the occupiers before it is a news story? Why do we have to see blood and violence before we take notice? It’s kind of sad and I don’t know if it’s a sad statement on the media or a sad statement to the society because their only going to run what is going to get them the numbers,” said 47-year-old New Hampshire native Catherine Derby who is also taking personal vacation days off work to be at Occupy Wall Street.
“Well, mainstream media is corporate. Ultimately something that is anti-corporate is not going to be in their favor, they are not going to want to give it a ton of light. That being said I don’t know if we want a ton of attention from main stream media because they have biases and very clear ones. I’ve already seen a few spots online where they are coloring us in bad light, like we are just a bunch of jobless bums and that’s not the case,” says 22-year-old New Jersey native and student, Michael Graziano.
Currently Occupy Wall Street shows no signs of letting up and most devoted followers are determined to see the occupation through to the end.
“That is why we are here. We don’t want people to get bits and pieces from mainstream media. We want them to come here and talk and learn for themselves,” said Graziano.
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