'Festive, Righteous Anger': Occupy Makes May-Day Comeback With Massive Demonstrations
Samantha
2012/05/02 18:16:01
I participated in yesterday's May Day protests; it was an amazing experience of solidarity.
All over the world, May 1 is celebrated as International Workers' Day. Yesterday, May Day also marked the reemergence of the Occupy movement, with events in cities all over America. AlterNet's reporters were in the field -- here are their dispatches from New York and the Bay Area.
Midtown NYC, morning
Midtown is a great place for chanting; your voice echoes off the tall buildings and you can hear it blocks away. Even better for marching bands, bells and whistles. There may not actually be 99 pickets, but midtown Manhattan is clogged with them in the morning, and they're inside the heads of the people on the street--I walk past a couple discussing our "cruel," unequal society as I hurry from picket to picket.
I made it to Bryant Park a few minutes after eight in a haze of rain, and found a crowd of around 100 huddled under their umbrellas or the ones at tables in the park. The Rude Mechanical Orchestra were clustered around their instruments but not playing, and Occupiers chatted with one another.
My first picket stop was at the New York Times building, where the United Auto Workers (UAW) were picketing under a lovely awning in support of the National Organization of Legal Services Workers (UAW Local 2320). The lawyers and legal support staff of Legal Services NYC provide free legal aid to New York's low-income folks who need support--they help fight evictions, support the unemployed, work on benefits for the disabled, and more. They're facing cutbacks from their board, who want them to give back part of their healthcare benefits--not to mention cuts to the services they provide.
All over the world, May 1 is celebrated as International Workers' Day. Yesterday, May Day also marked the reemergence of the Occupy movement, with events in cities all over America. AlterNet's reporters were in the field -- here are their dispatches from New York and the Bay Area.
Midtown NYC, morning
Midtown is a great place for chanting; your voice echoes off the tall buildings and you can hear it blocks away. Even better for marching bands, bells and whistles. There may not actually be 99 pickets, but midtown Manhattan is clogged with them in the morning, and they're inside the heads of the people on the street--I walk past a couple discussing our "cruel," unequal society as I hurry from picket to picket.
I made it to Bryant Park a few minutes after eight in a haze of rain, and found a crowd of around 100 huddled under their umbrellas or the ones at tables in the park. The Rude Mechanical Orchestra were clustered around their instruments but not playing, and Occupiers chatted with one another.
My first picket stop was at the New York Times building, where the United Auto Workers (UAW) were picketing under a lovely awning in support of the National Organization of Legal Services Workers (UAW Local 2320). The lawyers and legal support staff of Legal Services NYC provide free legal aid to New York's low-income folks who need support--they help fight evictions, support the unemployed, work on benefits for the disabled, and more. They're facing cutbacks from their board, who want them to give back part of their healthcare benefits--not to mention cuts to the services they provide.
Read More: http://www.alternet.org/story/155240/'festive%2C_r...
Let's talk about responsibility? When will you demand corporations take responsibility for their actions and wrongdoing? A perfect opportunity for you is to demand an investigation into the bribing allegations against Walmart. When will you demand the U.S. military adequately investigate the high incidences of rape in the U.S. military? Considering the high incidence of teenage pregnancies in red states that have enacted abstinence-only sex education programs, when will you demand GOP legislators be serious about comprehensive sex education that studies indicate are much more effective in lowering teenage pregnancy rates?
Due to the horrific practices of large Wall Street banks, millions of Americans have lost their homes. Of course, you don't have any compassion for them but tons of compassion for the wealthy bankers who destroyed the lives of so many Americans.
yeah, lets talk about responsibility...what are corporations doing wrong? are they in business to make a profit or not? when will you demand fiscal responsibilty from the obama admistration? maybe a little transparency like he lied when promised would be refreshing too.
and of the sound housing market and fannie and freddie, you should give the horable bawney fwank and his boyfwend a ring to ask them how sound these gubmint agencies are now. its just like a whimsical girl to get her facts twisted by the liberal media, and then herself distort the truth from the dopes she leaned it. you may just be in the running for soda heads new village idiot. keep up the good work of being a lost soul and you are a shoein.
You exhibited an inability to discuss; instead, you chose to insult me. I have no use for people like you.
However, you do prove why President Obama will win re-election in 2012.
my job consists of discussing, making a decision, and executing immediately that decision.....i must say the discussion part is my least favorite. if your grammer and spelling is so perfect toots, there is a definate issue with your logic....it doesn't exist.
try again.