The point of Occupy Wall Street is NOT to camp in tents, it is to challenge power and corruption.
And now that our tents are going away I am almost relieved. The tents were becoming a distraction anyway, now it is time for us to focus on how we will place pressure on the corrupt power structure and demand the changes and reforms and accountability we all know is absolutely necessary if we are going to have a viable future for millions upon millions of working class people.
So Welcome to PHASE 2 of Occupy Wall Street, and here is a brief message based on what I have observed in my 2 months of participation . . .
More below the fold
I keep hearing from people that Occupy Wall Street protests don't have a clear message, so here is a short rundown of the "message" as far as I have seen.
It is time to TAX THE RICH
It is time to END THE WARS
It is time to restore Glass-Steagal
It is time to repeal Citizens United
It is time to get the money OUT OF POLITICS
It is time to invest in infrastructure and education
It is time to STOP busting labor unions, whether private or public
It is time to defend Medicare and Social Security tooth and nail from phony reforms or baloney cuts
It is time to STOP the spending cuts and start investing in America, and if we have to raise taxes on the rich and corporations in order to force them to invest in America, then so be it.
It is time to make higher education affordable, to offer students debt relief, and to provide funding for education, and stop blaming honest teachers and educators and for the failures of an underfunded system.
It is time to STOP the racist and discriminatory practice of "Stop and Frisk" and other tactics of racial profiling
It is time for civil rights for ALL, and that means equal rights for LGBT Americans to serve our military and marry whom ever they will
It is time for ACCOUNTABILITY for the men who lied us into war and crashed our economy
It is time for immigration reform that does not punish workers, but provides a clear pathway to citizenship for everyone
It is time for investigations that lead to prosecutions on Wall Street in response to the crimes that have been committed in the last decade.
It is time for a serious discussion about the Federal Reserve and it's role in this economic disaster
It is time for universal health care that everyone can afford. It is time to talk about Single Payer Health Care.
It is time for alternative green energy instead of Oil and Coal.
It is time to protect our civil liberties and our constitution.
It is time for a discussion about free trade and how it has undermined the working class while enriching only the wealthiest among us.
It is time to end corporate personhood.
There are sooooo many things that need to be fixed, reformed and addressed, and this short list does not do justice to the many grievances that the 99% have, but we must accept the fact that the GOP only serves the rich and the Dem Establishment only serves to cave to the GOP. They are NOT going to help us. We are going to have to do this ourselves.
It is time to have the BIG conversation about what kind of country we want America to be, and the lobbyists and corrupt career politicians and the corrupt corporate media are NOT going to hijack our conversation. Do we want America to be a nation where 1 out of 5 children live in poverty while the wealthiest among us get ever more wealthy and more powerful? Do we want to live in a nation with crumbling infrastructure that can only reward the rich with ever decreasing tax rates while our schools go unfunded? Do we want to live in a country that can always fund these never ending wars but must cut spending on everything else?
Now, I know the corrupt media, the corrupt politicians and the massive wealth of corporations do NOT want us to have this discussion. They would rather call OWS childish names or talk about socialism or death panels or ANYTHING else, but we WILL have this conversation whether they like it or not, and they can throw our bodies in jail, they can throw our books in a dumpster but they can NOT evict this idea, this idea that We The People should have the power, not the corporations or the special interests or the politicians who take bribes to do the bidding of billionaires.
We WILL have this conversation. Reform is coming whether the powerful want it or not.
It is time to move into phase 2 of #occupywallstreet. Whether that means supporting certain policy ideas, running our own candidates for office, putting pressure on politicians and corporations, whether this goes one way or another I can not say, but that change is coming whether the corrupt status quo wants it or not.
Whose Democracy? Our Democracy!
Whose streets? Our streets!
Peace and love to all, and stay safe out there, the brutal police state in the mirror may be closer than it appears.
You can follow me on Twitter @JesseLaGreca
7:01 PM PT: A note: This list is of my OWN ideas, this is NOT an official #OccupyWallStreet document. Any views held wherein are my own, though I welcome the sharing and discussion of them.
Just wanted to clarify that, peace to all
Wed Apr 15, 2015 at 12:06 AM PT (Anonymous Coward): nice articles
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