The Revolution is not being Televised: Occupy Wall Street Underway

Bunchs Lunchbox  |  09/19/2011 7:00 am

Do you recall the government over-throws of the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya just a few months back? Chances are, you do because each incurred a remarkable amount of media coverage. It was a top story on CNN, FOX, The Daily Show and all the political go-to outlets. The media couldn't stop discussing it. We were told as Americans that these poor, unemployed, and oppressed people were finally standing up to their government, exercising their democratic right, and taking back what was rightfully theirs. We were told we should fully support them for standing peacefully in solidarity over the virtues of truth and freedom.

That was all well and good, except now, it seems some Americans have taken a cue from our friends from afar, and are right now, as we speak, exercising their same rights right here at home. The Occupy Wall Street movement began on Saturday, September 17. The goal is to amass 20,000 people onto Wall Street in lower Manhattan through the end of the year to make a statement that Americans will no longer stand for tolerance of those who've manipulated the markets, broken the laws, stolen our money and sent America careening into the so-called economic crisis. The guilty in all this have been well documented and publicized, and all traces lead back to the center of American commerce - Wall Street.

Over the three days since the protests began, roughly 5,000 people have gathered in NYC's Zuccotti Park, renaming it Liberty Park, to voice their support. Rappers Lupe Fiasco and Immortal Technique, and comedian Rosanne Barr are among a few celebrities who've shown up to voice their support. The crowds seem to ebb and flow, growing to more than 1,000 and shrinking to a few hundred as day and night set in. The plan is to gather a mass and move on to occupy Wall Street - which seems to fall under the right of the people to assemble peaceably. In fact, the protests have been peaceful and promoted political discourse within the group. Authorities already seem unwilling to participate, however, and don't seem to be supportive of the group's intent. Though the group has yet to move on to Wall Street as planned, the street has already been barricaded. Still, this has received almost no coverage in the American media, and certainly no support. In fact, the NYPD has made a number of arrests, has not allowed protesters to sleep in tents because they are considered "structures" (threatening arrest), and has also seized gasoline to power generators (which are in part sourcing live feed cameras). In a classic protest stunt, the police have begun to stack up ready for riots (in my experience, this taunts peaceful protests into chaos, and gives cops an excuse to make arrests and break up the protest ... not to mention, the Chief of Police is the one who gets to deem a gathering a "peaceful assembly" or an "illegal one."

But, I digress. In short, the same spirit that the media and our government so praised overseas, has been met here with bureaucracy, harassment, intolerance, and non-coverage. Where is the logic and consistency? What is the American government/media's agenda?

How this thing will play out is yet to be seen. If I had my guess, it will end poorly for the protesters, and the media will vilify them after it's all over.

Learn more at www.occupywallstreet.org
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