Sunday, October 2, 2011

Third Month in New York City--Occupy Wall Street: the next generation



Change is in the wind.  Young people have set up camp at a park in downtown New York to present the message that the problem is Wall Street.  It become personal last night when our niece went to see what it was about;  there was a march of over 1000 headed for the Brooklyn Bridge--they were led onto the bridge and then surrounded and arrested for being on the bridge.  It was an orderly march where people thought they were following the rules;  I got to spend until 2 AM last night at a remote Brooklyn Precinct where 100 of them including our niece were being "processed."  Above is my sister-in-law, her friend and me; and then our niece as she was finally "let out." You can see from one picture, even the cops there were having a good time and were quite annoyed by such a waste of police resources when real crime on a Saturday night needs their attention.  My experience was extraordinary waiting with this group of kids who reminded me very much of my Peace Corps under 30 crowd.  These are the best and the brightest--no job prospects, huge student loans and they see Wall Street making more profits than ever.  John and I will be joining the protest this week for sure -- although it is clear that this generation is taking on the struggle.  The National Lawyers Guild was there to provide pro bono legal representation. On October 7, 2011, Walkabout Clearwater Chorus sang labor and peace songs with the crowd at Zuccotti Park.   Later this month I leave for Honduras for an accompaniment project that is part of the same struggle.