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What does Occupy Wall Street look like? This is what Occupy Wall Street looks like!

Mon, 10/24/2011 - 8:24pm — Coffee Party Nation

Occupy Wall Street[1]

by John Park

On October 5th, when the Steering Committee of Korean Americans for Political Advancement (KAPA), which includes two Coffee Party members, joined the 20,000+ people supporting the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) march, a KAPA member was interviewed by a New York Times reporter and later had her photograph uploaded online under the title: ?What to Wear to a Protest?? This does not reflect what Occupy Wall Street looks like, but it does reflect the problem of why people don?t know.

Beholden to revenue-generating forces, even well-respected news establishments aren?t above commercializing resistance or viewing current events through green-tinted lenses. With banks annoying people into becoming their customers with a deluge of well-funded advertisements about what is ?priceless? or ?what?s in your wallet,? and media outlets unafraid of losing their financial support from OWS because, frankly, there isn?t any, it?s easy to see why most people aren?t getting a fair portrayal of who the Occupiers and supporters really are.

And the banks aren?t just purchasing the influence of politicians?they are purchasing influence among law enforcement. Large donations were made to NYPD, including the recent donation from J.P. Morgan of $4.6 million, have no doubt exacerbated the already aggressive posture of NYPD towards the protesters. During an interview with Keith Olbermann on October 18th, Sgt. Shamar Thomas mentioned being in a riot where Iraqis were throwing stones at them: ?Afterwards we didn?t go beating up people and arresting people.... I saw a cop [in New York City] punch a woman in the face?to see that in my own country, my family fought for this country.? He added that the protesters are peaceful and he has ?yet to see any protesters try to hurt a cop.? Protesters are getting beaten for nothing more than walking down a street, standing on a sidewalk, or staying in a park after midnight. In essence, American protesters are being treated worse than many Iraqi protesters. For people following the coverage of OWS, which was actively ignored by mainstream press until it was un-ignorable, the news spin is enough to make your head spin. Conservative corners in particular are mashing the panic button and trying to brand OWS a national pariah. On the extreme end, radio host Glenn Beck, formerly of conservative leaning Fox News, said on October 10 that the Occupiers ?will come for you, drag you into the streets, and kill you.?

Even Republican representatives and presidential candidates have been testing different drumbeats against OWS. Eric Cantor, House majority leader, has been trying to characterize OWS as a ?mob??a loaded word that?s historically been applied to irrational groups willing to incite violence, usually against a ruling class. Republican presidential candidate Hermann Cain has even labeled OWS supporters as ?anti-American.? And many Tea Party supporters, realizing that a large portion of the ?voice of real Americans? narrative used to bolster their group can also be applied to OWS, are working hard to create disparaging distinctions.

In a now infamous interchange, a Fox News reporter representing the Greta van Susteren show visited Liberty Park and interviewed OWS supporter Jesse LaGreca, who outsmarted the reporter?s leading questions and articulately blasted News Corp. for unfair and unbalanced news coverage. The reporter challenged Jesse that ?he wouldn?t be able to get his message out without us.? LaGreca didn?t take up that challenge, but the public did. Fox News never aired the interview, but the clip went viral and as of this writing, logged approximately one million views on YouTube?a far larger viewership than if it had actually been aired on Fox News. Social movements are no longer dependent on mainstream news. This turning point cannot be emphasized enough. OWS isn?t growing because of mainstream media coverage, but in spite of it.

When I first visited Zucotti Park in late September, referred to by OWS supporters as ?Liberty Park,? I meandered shyly around the perimeter a few minutes and even smiled at a few police officers. It felt like I was walking the barrier that separated the curious spectators from the Occupiers, and when I came to about the middle of the park, I decided to cross the line.

Areas of the park are lined with plastic tarps protecting the belongings of those staying overnight. There is a large space on the ground reserved for political messages mostly written on the backs of pizza boxes, an art station for people to make signs, a library, media center, medical center, a food station with a tip jar, and volunteers providing free meals. I asked a young couple diligently washing dishes where the food was coming from; they said it was donated from people all over the country; people were cooking food, sending money, and even ordering them pizzas?lots of pizzas. One favorite pizza establishment that supports OWS is Liberatos Pizza, which I later learned named a pizza in honor of the Occupiers called OccuPie pizza.

What struck me when I first visited the park was how the place felt different. I?ve participated in many protests and understand the electric and ineffable energy of ?the people.? But this wasn?t so much a protest as it was a community of people, each with individual experiences of being negatively impacted, and sometimes tragically, just for being part of the 99%. When my friends arrived half an hour later they helped identify who some of the people at Liberty Plaza were, including their old classmates, organizers from various nonprofit organizations, and even law school professors.

Because loud horns and amplifiers are prohibited, the OWS General Assembly employs an ingenious human microphone system. When a person wishes to speak, she says ?mic check,? which is repeated to get people?s attention. The crowd then repeats each statement made so everyone knows exactly what is said. If the crowd is larger, the inner ring repeats it outwards, and the outer rings repeat it again in progression so nobody is left out. In situations where there are tens of thousands of people, like the demonstration at Times Square on October 15, it?s a marvel. This same format is used for collective decision-making. It reminded me that communication isn?t just a method or a process, but a feeling that can connect people in indescribable ways; and it made me think this, perhaps, really is what Democracy looks like.

Within a week of my first visit to Liberty Park, support and endorsements flooded OWS from all over including teachers, religious leaders, unions, pilots, war veterans, bus drivers, and even a comely woman showing her support with the sign, ?You know it?s messed up when librarians start marching.? There were people from all walks of life and from every community. As it turns out, OWS is a reflection of not only New York, but regular, everyday Americans.

So what does Occupy Wall Street look like? It looks like the 99% standing up and saying enough is enough. But don?t take my word for it, because they speak for themselves. This is what Occupy Wall Street looks like: http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com [2].

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Source URL: http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/occupy-wall-street-looks Links: [1] http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/category/categories/occupy-wall-street [2] http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com