Saturday, October 22, 2011

Pete Seeger Marches On!

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist


The "Occupy Wall Street" movement is now over a month old, and it has spread to dozens of other American cities as well as to some international locations.  And while the Teabaggers like to thumb their noses at an honest people's protest movement and refer to them as just so much rabble, polls are showing that over one in three Americans support the "Occupiers," a number that far exceeds the national support of the Baggers - even on their very best day.

The movement to "occupy" the financial district of New York City and other American metropolitan areas is amazing, and it has grown and spread so fast that even the most astute of politicians don't know what to make of it or how to handle it.  On the one hand, they want to maintain the status quo and keep milking the system, while, on the other hand, if things do happen to change they want to squarely lined up with the winners.

And things may change.

The "Arab Spring" continues uprooting the established political order of the Middle East.  Mubarak is gone, Qaddafi is gone, and this weekend Tunisia is holding free elections to form a democratic government.  The fires of freedom are raging across North Africa and the Middle East - and change is happening.

Who is to say that it can't happen in America?  One important change has already occurred, and that is people are finally talking about the great disparity of wealth in America.  Hell, even the media is talking about it.

But the thing that I like best about the "Occupy" movement is that the people who are participating seem to be having so much fun.  It would be really hard for some right-wing mayor to turn the fire hoses and dogs on a group of people who are oozing with so much joyousness.  Peace and harmony rocks!

I just saw a report about yesterday's march across thirty blocks of downtown Manhattan.  The man leading the peaceful demonstration was a very old hand at protests.  Ninety-two-year-old folksinger Pete Seeger along with his guitar-playing grandson, Tao Rodriguez Seeger, led the crowd in song as they traipsed through some of the tonier sections of Gotham.  They were accompanied by Woody Guthrie's little boy, Arlo, and filmmaker Michael Moore.  Moore reported that even some New York City policemen joined in the protest march.

The elder Seeger walked those thirty blocks with the assistance of two canes.

Arlo's daddy said it best:  "This land is your land, this land is my land."  It does not all belong to the Koch brothers!

Stay strong, Occupiers!


1 comment:

Don said...

The most encouraging aspect of all is the rapid spread of the movement not only across the US, but around the world.

If things continue in this vein, the bankers will inevitably instruct the police to clear the area. And if this order creates violence on the part of the police, the movement (strong as it is) will double or triple overnight).

America needs this movement to succeed. The 1% seem not to understand that without a vibrant and enthusiastic middle class to buy their products, the economy collapses.

Perhaps 'Occupy' will remind them