The Occupy Wall Street protest has reached its thus-far zenith of 20,000 protestors taking to the streets of New York to protest unemployment, income stratification, corporate media and political control, and the ineffectual failures of current government representatives to do anything about the problem.
The protests will soon come to a full month of living in Zucotti Park and marching continuously, as labor organizations swell the ranks of the protestors and lend welcome support to the embryonic movement which supporters are likening to a sort of reverse Tea Party in its populist nature with opposite policy goals.
And yet, despite the similarities in nature and intent, the mediaâ€"â€"or specifically, Fox News and its brethren, have been painting the Occupiers in the most negative light possibleâ€"â€"as criminals; this comes despite the zero crimes having been committed by the protestors. Despite the comments coming from Fox and others, the charges and arrests thus far were not for criminal activity, but for misdemeanors at most, such as...walking across a bridge.
The Tea Party, on the other hand, was originally a vigilante act of criminal theft and vandalism. This has thus far not been the chosen method of the Occupy Wall Street movement, whilst Tea Party favorites and others have embraced “second amendment solutions” to the problems. Such is the dichotomy and hypocrisy of the nature and portrayal of the demonstrations thus far.
The unarmed, non-criminal, peaceful protests have thus far experienced arrest, pepper spray, baton beatings and other measures which, according to all eyewitness testimony and video footage, has consisted exclusively of one-sided violence and allegedly premeditated tactics which more closely resemble the actions of Middle Eastern crackdowns than Western right-to-protest countries.
It has been reported that JP Morgan Chase has recently donated $4.6 million to the NYPD, so it is no surprise that the police would be on the side of the major banks, despite being an unconscionable violation of civil liberties at the same time. The oaths they took were to protect the citizens, not the interests of multinational multibillion dollar corporations like Bank of America and others.
The wealthy and politically connected are putting enormous efforts into discrediting, demoralizing, and physically damaging the protestors, which, thus far, has only motivated the movement further. Reports of unprovoked violence against the demonstrators spread quickly, and in the age of consumer video camera ownership and digital distribution, those reports do not fall on deaf ears. The ranks will only swell. The resistance has clearly shown themselves willing to suffer for their cause, and any further acts of violence will only work in their favor.
If these protests continue, it is highly likely the United States will experience a significant political shift in time for the next election. And if the crackdowns continue, it is likely the protestors will become exponentially galvanized into channelling that energy into further resistance. Ironically, and perhaps quite sadly, the unarmed, motionless, peaceful, nonviolent, inert victims of pepper spray and baton attacks will become the poster children for the movement, and it will only become stronger.
Let’s hope it doesn’t become another Kent State.
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