UPDATE X7!
In less than 9 hours, and with suggested donations of $9.17, we hit our initial goal of $1000!! Our New Goal will be simple--we're adding a zero. When we live in a world where banksters can "add zeroes" to make balance sheets and million dollar bonuses...the Other 99% must add a zero to their own futures.
Let's hit $10,000 in the next 24 HOURS!
UPDATE x6 10:30PM EST We just hit $740.87 and counting!... Help us hit our goal of $1000 by midnight. Please share on Facebook, this can snowball fast. Thanks for all those who have already contributed, I'll be listing out the purchases we made tomorrow...
Some Final Thoughts for the night...
*First, it feels like we are still very much on the knife's edge. Things could turn quickly and the movement can grow. Or more and more protesters will grow disillusioned and bored and may just fade away. The Facilitators recognize this and seemed to work with more urgency this evening. No Agenda or list of demands have yet been made, however.
*The donations are AMAZING! Food and water keeps the energy up. There is also a Food Committee organizing everything being delivered. [plug: please consider vegan pizza orders, lots of those requests being made] There is peanut butter and fruit and cheese and bagels and veggies and cases of water. There is a cleaning crew. We are breaking down recyclables and assembling trash piles. There is community here. This has sustained us.
*Zuccotti Park is PRIVATE. This is important. I have been unable to confirm this independently, but most say the Owner has made phone calls telling the NYPD he wants us to remain. Again, unconfirmed. However...we are still here.
*Spirits remain high. Sleep has been hard to come by for most in the park [note: I have not slept here] and nerves can surely get frayed. But, I have been impressed with this "leaderless" group sticking together. Bullhorns have been banned. But "GlobalRevolution" has been doing an admirable job of keeping up their feeds in the face of much adversity and infrastructure deficiencies. Their crew is amazing. Reddit is visible. And others have created flyers and pamphlets to distribute.
*A group of 6 young protesters were on the corner of the park at 8pm tonight chanting "Do NOT Pass Go! Do NOT Collect 2 Trillion Dollars!" It made me giggle, so I wanted to share it...
*I don't know what tomorrow brings. I know a group of 150+ protestors with sleeping bags remain. I know a rove of marching protesters breaks out a few times a day, and their amplified message seems to energize them. Many onlookers take pics and video. The chants are varied: "We ARE...the 99%!" and "Wall St Got Bailed Out...We Got Sold Out!" It seems the group is still not settled on one narrative, this is truly an organic movement made up of kids who were born after 1990. Think about that.
*The group wants more bodies protesting IN PERSON. But their message is not being received. Mostly because there is not yet a cohesive narrative to what their demands would be. For example, this quote appears in Metro newspaper posted tonight:
But to one man who works in the Financial District, the protesters are simply annoying.
“I think it’s a little ridiculous,” said Jamel Wright. “If they’re trying to achieve annoying the people who actually get up in the morning and are not walking around with picket signs ... they’ve achieved that.”
This remains the biggest challenge to the success or failure of this movement. But remember, we ARE the 99%!!
The fight carries on...
UPDATE x4[4:45 PM EST]:
-A MEDIA FUND has been established! Please go to this page to make a suggested contribution of $9.17! This is critical, thank you for your donations.
-"Facilitators" are working on an agenda as I type this... NYPD has instructed the group they will not allow bullhorns or PA systems. The group moved closer and used the "people's microphone," repeating back what they hear so more people can hear.
-The spirits are still running high. The food helped [THANKS GUYS!] and I others simply rested this afternoon.
-A march down Broadway is being planned before 6pm, more details still emerging...
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UPDATED 2:30PM
-Champs Deli DELIVERED!! I'm munching on a chicken sandwich now... Whoever you were, we thank you!
-SLEEPING BAGS! There is a growing need for blankets and sleeping bags, if the group is to be expected to stay. "Tents & Trails" 21 Park Place (212) 227-1760. We have established contact, they will deliver any goods ordered by phone.
-Chants of "We ARE! The 99 PERCENT!" starting to break out...
-3pm General Assembly planned, the facilitators [self-described] will try to "plan the agenda." Wish them luck...
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-At least 40 [now 50+] pizzas delivered. There is still a need for pharmacy goods. Please consider this instead.
-FOX News showed! Jesse Watters was here and asked "If a CEO came down to give you a job for $150,000 would you take it?" The brave young woman on camera said NO. And that she wants a DIALOGUE with the CEO! [doubtful this will make air tonight...] As an aside, I also had a chance to walk with Jesse and ask him why he ambushed Amanda Terkel while she was on vacation! He smirked and said "no comment." I loved it...
-Wall St Journal just arrived! Female reporter is speaking to a young man who was arrested this morning. They are chatting as I type...
-We NEED batteries! Dell 1525 batteries, the logistics on this are tough. Anyone local can go to J&R or Best Buy nearby [Please use the MEDIA FUND now, thanks]...
This is a diary dedicated to online resources to support the Wall St protest group currently encamped at Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan. I have been at Zucotti Park for the past two days, though I did not sleep there.
The group so far is loosely knit youth who were organized by AdBusters starting in July, nycga.org, and various social media organizing. There is no cohesive message or agenda... YET.
I think the next 48 hours are critical. The group is currently attempting to write out an agenda or even a list of "demands." There is much varied opinion on what to consider, so the result is a muddled vague narrative of "We want to change the system." We can help create some oxygen to help this organic movement get momentum. And then take a cohesive narrative back to the streets that the majority of this country could support.
So, what can YOU do if you are in California or Wisconsin or Louisiana? [or Spain or Greece or Iceland?] Follow me below the fold for my ideas...
FOOD & WATER:
Nearby delis and pizzerias WILL deliver to the park. Liberato's Pizzeria SOLD OUT on Sunday night, after delivering 100+ pies! At least 25 came from Anonymous, and had messages written in black marker, presumably from the pizzeria themselves. [confirmed reports of pizza orders coming in from all over the world!]
Liberato's Pizzeria - 17 Cedar St. -- (212)344-3464
"Anonymous Loves You!" -- It was a fun thing to see last night, and it re-energized the group. Please continue to support Liberato's, as we already have a working relationship with them. The owner also spoke by bullhorn last night at approx. 8pm. It was carried on LiveStream, and is recorded if you want to view here.
Here is a list of the closest delis. If you explain you want them delivered to the park, they will come. There is already some good will between local businesses. Please consider sending gallon jugs of water or sodas.
Panini & Co Bread - 115 Broadway, (212) 732-3110
Champs Deli - 30 Broad, (212) 363-2100
Charly's Deli - 110 Trinity Pl, (212) 566-0006 <-- 24 HOUR DELIVERY!
FIRST AID:
I have encountered problems with the manager at the local pharmacy I posted earlier. Deliveries are no longer being offered to the park. I am working on next steps, and will leave the suggested items below. You may also choose to donate to the MEDIA FUND set up to purchase batteries, cords, hard drives, flash drives, and even gas for the generators running... A suggested donation of $9.17 [Sept 17] or anything you wish to send can be made HERE
Suggested items:
Ibuprofen
Band Aids
Hand sanitizer
Baby wipes or Sani Hands
Baby powder
Neosporin
Female products
Lip Balm or vaseline
Chewing gum [everyone loves candy!]
Ponchos [it may rain on Wednesday]
MEDIA SUPPORT:
There have been 400+ news hits on Google for "Occupy Wall St" as I type. We should get in front of the best stories and keep pressure on local media in NYC to continue their coverage...
LATEST NEWS:
Wall St Journal "Metropolis" blog: "Much of Wall Street remained barricaded to foot and road traffic Monday morning as hundreds of protesters continued a demonstration against U.S. financial institutions."
NY Daily News has an excellent piece on Liberato's!: "They don't even ask the price," said owner Telly Liberato. "A lot of passion over the phone, something that hasn't been felt in a while." [snip] He says he is supportive and has even cut his price from $20 a pie to $15. "You can't be greedy," he said. "Look at what greed has done here."
New York Magazine has a piece on their website, posted under "Daily Intel": "It wasn't Tahrir Square, exactly, but the anti-Wall Street demonstration that began on Saturday succeeded in disrupting the Monday morning commutes of the area's workers."
The Guardian [from this morning...]
SF Chronicle is reporting 7 arrests this morning at the opening bell.
Democracy Now from Monday morning. Video of some protesters...
Unfortunately, Talking Points Memo has a quote from a protester as the HEADLINE. It reads: 'I HAVE A BACKGROUND IN ANARCHY." Ugh. I love love love TPM, but I wish they had a better narrative to write about. That's partly a fault of the organizers or facilitators. I have emailed their reporter and asked if they plan a followup...
List of NYC Media contacts, email and phone numbers here. Please support the movement by sending emails and making phone calls to the newspapers and media outlets who you want to see continue their coverage.