Wall Street Occupied

“There is a sweet spirit in this place” Cornel West, remarks to Occupy Wall Street  (listen)

Occupy Wall Street (10/7/11)

[Updates and photos below]

The true American patriots remained encamped just off Wall Street, in a place they renamed Liberty Plaza. They remain gathered to protest the greed, power, and abuses of wealthy elites and powerful corporations (the 1%), who have betrayed the the rest of us (i.e. the 99%).

Through peaceful dissent, they seek to change the political climate, priorities, and direction of this country to promote social and economic justice. They seek the same “revolution in values” that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called for, in denouncing the materialism, militarism, and racism that still haunts this country.

They are a diverse group of brave and committed people. The media ignores them, or falsely claims they have no message. Nonsense. Here are some images that carry the messages of the powerfully inspiring activism I saw going on there.

[Update #3 – 10/22/11 – I just came across this beautiful 10/11 essay by Chris Floyd – it expresses my feeling and thoughts so well, it is exactly what I would write if I were a writer. I just sent it to my kids – a must read: Changing of the Guard – the New Road of the Occupation Movement

Update #2 – My old friend Tom Moran at the Star Ledger hits a home run with this editorial, “Occupy Wall Street protesters asking the right questions“,  which expresses the right outrage about:

the grotesque economic injustice that has grown so stark in the last few decades.

But I had to send him a note to remind him that he was once a dirty hippie too!

Update: 10/9/11 – Paul Krugman at his best: Panic of the Plutocrats]