Occupy Wall St! The American revolution declared.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 21/09/2011 - 5:52pm

Inspired by the Arab Spring, protestors declaring the start of the “American Revolution” held a USA Day of Rage on September 17th. The call to Occupy Wall St had first been made by the group Adbusters in July this year, backed by others such as Anonymous and culminated in a march by 5000 on September 17th. The aims of the movement is to reclaim U.S. democracy from the corporate interests that have captured it and to fight back against the attacks on ordinary people being made in the U.S. as part of the response to the economic crisis. Whilst Wall St was not occupied on the first day as it was sealed off by police, protestors have been occupying a nearby park in the financial district that they have renamed “Liberty Plaza”.
Related: Occupy Wall St Website -- U.S. Day of Rage Website -- Photos on Flickr -- Adbuster blog -- Occupy Wall St on Twitter | NYC Indymedia

Hundreds of people continue to occupy the park despite police harassment and are marching each day to Wall St. On September 20th, police arrested 7 of the demonstrators. The occupation is an indefinite one and calls have been made for financial districts to be targeted with occupations in other U.S. cities and indeed internationally. Daily Communique’s are being published by the group on the www.occupywallst.org website.
FRirst Communique: We Occupy Wall St
Second Communique:
Third Communique
Day four – at least five arrested
Day Five Occupy Wall St message
Day Eight update:Police violence and arrests

The protest movement is explicitly basing itself on similar movements in Egypt and Spain and has adopted both the principals of non-violence and the General Assembly in the form of collective decision making.

The protests are being given a media black out in the U.S. press and not surprising also in the Australian press. Lets hope this protest builds in the “belly of the beast”. Iceland, Spain, Greece, Chile, UK, USA, Portugal, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Israel…..how long before the financial districts of Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane face similar protests. In this country we have a situation where corporate interests are so dominate that a Prime Minister was removed to stop a mining tax, where no effective response to climate change can be generated, the cost of living for ordinary people rising and where increasingly we see cuts of public services and welfare as the financial crisis continues. Its not a matter of if but when…….

Mission statement from Occupy Wall St Website

On the 17th of September, we want to see 20,000 people to flood into lower Manhattan, set up beds, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months.

Like our brothers and sisters in Egypt, Greece, Spain, and Iceland, we plan to use the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic of mass occupation to restore democracy in America. We also encourage the use of nonviolence to achieve our ends and maximize the safety of all participants.

Who is Occupy Wall Street?

Occupy Wall Street is leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%.

The original call for this occupation was published by Adbusters in July; since then, many individuals across the country have stepped up to organize this event, such as the people of the NYC General Assembly and US Day of Rage. There'll also be similar occupations in the near future such as October2011 in Freedom Plaza, Washington D.C.

Explanation of protest from US Day of Rage website

Special influence corrupts our political parties, our elections, and the institutions of government. Bought by hard and soft dollars, disloyal, incompetent, and wasteful special interests have usurped our nation’s civil and military power, spawning a host of threats to liberty and our national security.

We have had enough.

Legitimate government is born of the self-interest and will of the people expressed by its citizens in free and fair elections. It does not spring from a tyranny of special interests, patronage, or a system or ideology that runs counter to the aims of life.

The institutions of government were designed to protect the principles of our democratic republic and to serve the will of citizens.

Corporations, even those owned by foreign shareholders, use money to act as the voices of millions, while individual citizens, the legitimate voters, are silenced and demoralized by the farce.

Free and fair elections inspire good citizenship and public service, because they engage the intelligence and genuine good will of the American people.
Free and fair elections produce the kind of stewardship our nation desperately needs, because they ensure that citizens can influence their destiny, and make genuine contributions to society.

Free and fair elections remedy the myriad ills and abuses of a corrupt and illegitimate government, which preys on the resources and spirits of citizens.

These abuses and ills are listed on the official US Day of Rage twitter hash tag #usdor.
For these reasons, we come together now to organize state and national non-violent protests and assemblies of people to demand that integrity be restored to our elections.

The Framers created a method for escaping from captured government—an Article V Constitutional Convention. If 34 states pass resolutions calling for convention all sides have the op to argue for changes they believe will restore democracy. Any amendment proposed must then be ratified by 38 states to become law.

We demand that Citizens United versus FEC which deems corporations to be people when it come to political contributions be overturned.

We demand state and federal election and campaign finance laws be reformed.
One citizen. One dollar. One vote.

1. Only citizens should make campaign contributions.
2. Campaign contributions by citizens should not exceed $1 to any political candidate or party.