Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 11 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
General News   

Occupy Wall Street - Day One

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   2 comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Chaz Valenza
Become a Fan
  (33 fans)

September 17, 2011 Â- Bowling Green Triangle, NYC:   Hundreds are gathered at 10 a.m. around the bronze bull.   Hundreds of NYPD officers of all stripes look on.   Hundreds of tourists riding double decked buses down South Broadway snap pictures and roll video.   An "illegal" read: non-permitted protest is off to a good start by refusing to be fenced in the official protest area.

People Not Profits
People Not Profits
(Image by Chaz Valenza)
  Details   DMCA

Beginning at 10 a.m. thousands of protesters took to the streets of lower Manhattan to mount a sustained effort to organize against a financial system that they say favors the wealthy and powerful at the expense of 99% of Americans.  

It was not, however the 20,000 strong action the organizers set as a goal.

More information: OccupyWallStreet.org

The numbers:

The NYPD did not release an official count of the number of protesters; neither did it list the protest or the closure of all streets leading to the New York Stock exchange in its daily NYC traffic advisory.   This never happened and is officially still not happening.

The organizers wanted to start with 20,000.   By my unofficial estimate they got somewhere between 3,000 - 5,000 protesters at the largest gathering at Bowling Green.  This includes hundreds of others were in smaller groups scattered throughout the Manhattan's financial district.

The kick-off to occupy Wall Street was notable for who was there and who wasn't.

Who was there:

Supporters from Anonymous, Code Pink, Socialist Party USA, the URPE, International Action Center, October2011.org, the Workers World Party, LaRouchePAC and at least two people supporting Ron Paul for President were represented.

The majority, by my estimate 90%, were individuals who had traveled from all parts of the United States on their own dime, learning about the event from limited social media platforms.   I identified representatives from: NJ, CT, PA, OH, upstate NY, CO, GA, FL, MA, and RI.

Smallest Crowd On Day One: 10AM
Smallest Crowd On Day One: 10AM
(Image by Chaz Valenza)
  Details   DMCA

Who wasn't there:

From what I could gather the NYC representation was small.   Representation from mainstream political and media organizations was non-existent or so insignificant I could not find them.  

AFSME, the powerful NY labor union who recently called for Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein to surrender one of his powerful dual roles could not be found, neither could any other labor unions.  

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Well Said 1   News 1   Valuable 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Chaz Valenza Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Chaz Valenza is writer and small business owner in New Jersey. He earned his MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business. His current feature film project is "Single Point Failure" an insider's account of how the Reagan Administration (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

America's 14 Most Ready to Riot Cities

It's Official: Gov Stats Shows the Middle Class is Dead

Top Ten Twitter "so I pepper sprayed him" Jokes

Occupy Wall Street: Day 9 - 200+ Arrested - MSM Finally Wake-up

Three Rules for Living through the Second Depression

Occupy Wall Street Day 8: 100+ Arrested for Peaceful, Legal Protest; Nets & Pepper Spray Used.

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend