The occupation of Wall Street

Wall Street has been occupied.

Thousands of Americans have built a small, self-sustaining shantytown in lower Manhattan where they eat, sleep and continue to protest wealth, corporate greed and Wall Street. Specifically, they have come together claiming that “1 percent of the population … has destroyed this nation and its values through their greed.”

Their message is: We are unions, students, teachers, veterans, first responders, families, the unemployed and underemployed. We are all races, sexes and creeds. We are the majority. We are the 99 percent. And we will no longer be silent.

I say, nonsense!

The leaderless movement continues to gain momentum since the first participants marched on Sept. 17. Even though there have been several incidents with the NYPD, the protesters have not been deterred and the movement is spreading across the nation.

National unions members, including the American Federation of Teachers, the Communication Workers of America, the AFL-CIO and AFSCME, and other liberal movements like MoveOn.org, are playing a significant role in the protest. Equally important is social media in getting the anti-Wall Street message heard.

Could this movement become the Tea Party of the left?

I think the protests are more akin to economic protests in Europe. Take Spain, for example. With 20 percent unemployment, the debt-ridden country has enraged its people, who are frustrated by the inaction of their leaders. In London, college students staged similar protests.

This is much more a protest of frustration than a quasi-Tea Party movement.

What’s unfair in this country is the current state of our economy. When you have over 9 percent unemployment, and that doesn’t even factor in the estimated millions of Americans who are currently underemployed or no longer seeking jobs, people are going to be angry and restless and point fingers at the policies of injustice and blame those who are better off.

Add to that the poor governance and decision-making of the Obama administration, and I predict that Occupy Wall Street will continue to grow.