What do we want again? Occupy Wall St takes hold of Australia - Polidicks

[img]http://media.news.com.au/cs/newscomau/v2/_shared/base/css/images/icons/homepage-title.png[/img] Source: [url]http://www.news.com.au/world/bank-on-it-occupy-wall-sts-a-global-phenomenon/story-e6frfkz0-1226166436976[/url] Video in source [release] • "Tens of thousands" expected soon • "It's not radicals - just ordinary people" • Australians prepare own occupations IT'S the protest movement that may not exactly know what it's protesting about - and may not have much chance of achieving it. Demontrators enraged by "corporate greed" plan to spread their message in capital cities across Australia tomorrow as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement. As news.com.au tracked down Australians at the original Wall Street protest in New York, organisers of the local offshoots said they planned to set up a permanent campsite outside the Reserve Bank in Sydney to highlight "massive inequalities in Australia". "People are coming will all sorts of reasons to get out on the streets," one said. However, economist Professor Ian Harper, of Deloitte Access Economics, was unsure what the Australian protest was trying to achieve. "If they don't have a clear set of demands, I'm not quite sure what this is going to achieve," he said. "Surely they don't want the destruction of the banks because that's ludicrous. If they're demanding that there be stricter controls placed on banks, well tick, that's happened." Professor Harper highlighted the fact that the global financial system had failed everyone, not just certain sections of society. "People lost money all around the world. Everybody’s superannuation is worth less that it was before. "Yes, there are people who have been victims of things such as Storm Financial – but these matters have been taken through the courts - the law is taking its course. "So what do you want to do? Demand that these people be strung from the nearest tree? Well that's not what we do in a democracy. We prosecute people through the courts and that is happening." The Occupy Wall Street protest started last month and has since become a permanent fixture of lower Manhattan in New York - fuelled by the economic hardships in the US and anger over bailouts for the banks - and has spread to financial business areas of major cities in Greece, the UK, Ireland. News.com.au talked to Australians active in the cause, attending marches and frequenting the "live-in" site. If arrested, they face potential deportation under the strict visa requirements in the US.. Amelia Tovey, a 29-year-old filmmaker from Sydney who lives in Brooklyn, tweets about the cause's developments and says the atmosphere at the site is surreal. “There are young people and professionals down here,” she said. “There’s this new little world that has been created. People have set up camps, there is a library, a kitchen and even a children’s play area. “(Mayor Michael) Bloomberg can’t get rid of them, and the site is only growing.” The grassroots organisers of Occupy Wall Street have been widely criticised for the lack of direction in their cause. However, growing support from labor unions, teachers and students, along with celebrity endorsement from the likes of Kanye West and Susan Sarandon, are building credibility and exposure. A general message is emerging from Zuccotti Park (the public space in lower Manhattan that protesters have reclaimed as "Liberty Park"): change is needed to close the widening gap between rich and poor at the corporate and individual level. “We can no longer afford to let corporate greed and corrupt politics set the policies of our nation,” Adbusters, a key organiser of the demonstrations, said in a statement released in July. [img]http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2011/10/14/1226166/502164-occupy-wall-st.jpg[/img] "Michael Bloomberg can't move us." Picture: Shannon O'Meara General assemblies are held every night at 7pm in the park to shape the movement going forward. No official demands have been submitted to the US government although a "proposed list" of 13 demands have been posted to the Occupy Wall Street website. Improved health care, employment, education, migration and racial and gender equality are just some of the requests listed. Like so many socially driven causes of the last 12 months, social media has played a key role in the pace of the protest’s growth. At time of writing 184,000 people had Liked the protest community on Facebook, and according to data from TechCrunch 82.5% of tweets have been about the protest with 12.5% of personal blogging platforms sharing information on the subject. The movement has its own Tumblr blog, ‘We are the 99 percent’ which has gained traction as a place for supporters to publicly display their dissatisfaction. “I graduated college last year at the top of my class,” one supporter wrote. “I have been looking for work for over a year. I am the lost generation. I am the 99%.” Episodes of violence between protesters and police have been frequent with 700 people arrested on October 2 alone. All were taking part in a protest march over the Brooklyn Bridge. Law enforcement officers have also been condemned for inappropriate usage of pepper spray on multiple occasions. “The people down here are incredibly peaceful,” Ms Tovey said. “The only thing that makes me nervous is the police - they do not look like friendly people who would look after you in a dangerous situation.” Matt Huynh, a 26-year-old illustrator from Sydney who is visiting the New York on an extended working holiday, first visited the site on October 5 out of curiosity and “to understand the atmosphere and to talk to people directly”. [img]http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2011/10/14/1226166/502366-occupy-wall-st.jpg[/img] Matt Huynh and Amelia Tovey - Australians occupying Wall St. Picture: Shannon O'Meara Mr Huynh drew an illustration showing the 57 placards that were originally displayed when he first visited the site. His work has since been included in an exhibition of protest art at 23 Wall Street in a JP Morgan building and his drawings will also be featured in the Occupy Wall Street Journal, a publication geared around the protests. Brooke Goldfinch from Sydney is a graduate student in Manhattan and has taken a concerted interest in the protests despite a demanding study schedule. “When you live in New York the divide between rich and poor is so visible,” explained the 28-year-old. “Young people in America seem much more apathetic. I’ve been studying here for two years and I’ve never seen a protest at school.” “It’s exciting to see ordinary people. It’s not radicals - it’s just average people saying that the system needs to change.” The fact the movement is heading home is being celebrated by the Australian contingency protesting in Manhattan. “The American system has so much influence on our economy. They’re not the only ones affected by the system here – there’s a global impact,” Ms Goldfinch said. “I feel that personally because my father owns a small business (in Sydney) and he’s suffered greatly in the financial crisis. So it’s something I think about a lot.” Ms Tovey also believes that while the protests may have started in New York, it’s not a "US-only" situation. “This feeds into a general feeling of disappointment in our governments being felt all over the Western world," she said. "I think that it's really exciting that Australians are identifying with the American cause, and vice versa.” With no end date in sight and large protests that expect tens of thousands to march in New York in the next few days and around the world over the weekend, the Occupy Wall Street movement is definitely not just about Wall Street anymore.[/release]

I can see this going down in the history books.

oi mate put another prawn on the grill. What? Oh yea we had to sell that :c

[QUOTE=minilandstan;32781890]I can see this going down in the history books.[/QUOTE] Only if there is an actual outcome from this. If not, it'll just turn out to be the unyielding protest of 2011.

fuckin corporate cunts gimme money

[QUOTE=Marbalo;32783736]People who have no idea what these protests are all about and then hate the people who protest [I]for their own lack of knowledge[/I] piss me off.[/QUOTE] Agreed. We all hate ignorance. Especially those who don't even bother to learn what its really about.

Enlighten me again. What is their manifesto?

It seems as the crowds have gotten bigger the message has been diluted.

[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;32783994]Enlighten me again. What is their manifesto?[/QUOTE] Down with corporate greed.

[QUOTE=Psychokitten;32784072]Down with corporate greed.[/QUOTE] "tweeted from iPhone"

[QUOTE=T2L_Goose;32784117]"tweeted from iPhone"[/QUOTE] Yup, slavery totally shouldn't have ended. The slaves were fed and clothed by the slave owners! Ungrateful black people! Because that's the same argument.

I went to the occupy wall street protest in my state's capitol and the police brought us donuts and coffee. They usually deal with fucktons of crime cause the capitol's a shithole, so they were happy that we were being peaceful. The donuts were delicious by the way.

[QUOTE=WebbyKing;32784169]Yup, slavery totally shouldn't have ended. The slaves were fed and clothed by the slave owners! Ungrateful black people! Because that's the same argument.[/QUOTE] You're equating slavery, which is being taken against your own will and forcing you to work, to owning an iPhone and complaining about corporate greed. yeah, same argument.

But they do know what they want.

[QUOTE=Marbalo;32784916]Why do people keep playing dumb and use this as a retort He isn't comparing the two things, he is comparing the ARGUMENTS behind both things. It really isn't that hard to figure out.[/QUOTE] You have a choice to not buy shit from the "Greedy Corporations". If you buy their shit and then complain that their so greedy, you lose all credibility.

[QUOTE=T2L_Goose;32785490]You have a choice to not buy shit from the "Greedy Corporations". If you buy their shit and then complain that their so greedy, you lose all credibility.[/QUOTE] not really "if you browse facepunch and complain about what's wrong with it, you lose all credibility"

[QUOTE=Marbalo;32785701]So people should protest completely naked and not use any form of technology ever because most of it is made by corporations? This is what you are saying.[/QUOTE] It'd certainly be more effective than this nonsensical protesting in a place where the corporations don't care about. Regardless, this protest is going to end up falling on its face.

It's funny cause' all these protestors wouldn't say no to being in the 1%.

[quote]“Young people in America seem much more apathetic.”[/quote] Are you [I]sure[/I] you're Australian?

[QUOTE=Second-gear-of-mgear;32786450]It's funny cause' all these protestors wouldn't say no to being in the 1%.[/QUOTE] It isn't about earning enough money to be in the 1%. Occupy protesters want a separation of corporation and state.

[QUOTE=T2L_Goose;32785490]You have a choice to not buy shit from the "Greedy Corporations". If you buy their shit and then complain that their so greedy, you lose all credibility.[/QUOTE] If you go to a new restaurant and the food is shit, and then you complain its shit, you lose all credibility Basically this is what you're saying, see what's wrong with it?

Silly Australians. Your country is fine. High minimum wage, low population, free healthcare. Americans have it worse in most areas (except the price of video games.)

[QUOTE=BobIsCrappy;32788242]Silly Australians. Your country is fine. High minimum wage, low population, free healthcare. Americans have it worse in most areas (except the price of video games.)[/QUOTE] carbon tax

[QUOTE=Lick;32787548]It isn't about earning enough money to be in the 1%. Occupy protesters want a separation of corporation and state.[/QUOTE] And about closing the gap between the rich and the poor.

[QUOTE=BobIsCrappy;32788242]Silly Australians. Your country is fine. High minimum wage, low population, free healthcare. Americans have it worse in most areas (except the price of video games.)[/QUOTE] Higher minimum wage to match a much higher cost of living, though the gap between the low and high classes here is nothing like America. But all imports to Australia end up being incredibly costly. Low population admittedly - but also we are not able to sustain the population we have now considering a good majority of our inland is pretty uninhabitable so people gravitate towards the coast, making a huge population density issue on the East Coast of Australia. Admittedly, population density isn't as much of an issue here as say Asia or America, but then you guys have consolidated upwards, whereas poor planning (by corporations among other parties) has led to places like Sydney becoming an urban sprawl that isn't utilising half it's capacity to support the population that we have. Also, we have carbon tax, and our government is heavily heavily influenced by mining corporations as mining is a huge source of income and pretty much the foundation of our economy so mining magnates, ie corporations, are heavily influential in Australian politics which is not cool So yeah corporations have stuff to answer to in Australia too, just different stuff

[QUOTE=barttool;32788520]And about closing the gap between the rich and the poor.[/QUOTE] Theres meant to be a huge gap because those words are the exact opposite of each other.

[QUOTE=Lick;32787548]It isn't about earning enough money to be in the 1%. Occupy protesters want a separation of corporation and state.[/QUOTE] Then why are all the signs mentioning the 1% of people with that profit?

[QUOTE=Second-gear-of-mgear;32788736]Then why are all the signs mentioning the 1% of people with that profit?[/QUOTE] Because they shouldn't have it. But that doesn't mean the protestors think that they should have it instead.

[QUOTE=Second-gear-of-mgear;32788736]Then why are all the signs mentioning the 1% of people with that profit?[/QUOTE] Because they got yet more money through financial dickery, which lead to the current shit-storm that's been blowing since 2008. And on top of THAT the banks partially responsible for the recession begged for hand-outs from the gub'ment, who of course forked it over.

[QUOTE=Marbalo;32783736]People who have no idea what these protests are all about and then hate the people who protest [I]for their own lack of knowledge[/I] piss me off.[/QUOTE] All the conservatives think it's lazy bums asking for free money, totally ignoring the fact that large corporations have more power than most elected officials. [editline]14th October 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Lick;32787548]It isn't about earning enough money to be in the 1%. Occupy protesters want a separation of corporation and state.[/QUOTE] Why can't conservatards gets this into their damn heads? It's so simple, yet they claim it's bums asking for free money.