Stray factiods of insterest:
The US Marine Corp has an organiztion that is providing security and support for the Occupy movement : OccupyMarines.org
Not in ALL areas Charlie ... And I live in one of the top 10 largest cities in the US ... and they are definitely NOT here !!!
40-60,000 troops will be coming home for Christmas from Iraq to 9.5 % unempolyment, no jobs and families that have been surviving on food stamps for two years. Expect more vets to be members of Occupy as time goes by.
Unemployment is even higher in California, and higher in the area where I live which is well known as a Military Town. So we are "more" than aware of the plight of unemployed vets.
The things is, this "so called 'occupy protest' " hasn't focused on the plight of the veterans. Let alone the horrific nature of suicide rates among returning vets; lack of proper medical care; increased cost of living for their families here at the "home front", etc., .etc.
This "Occupy Protest" didn't have a CLUE as to what they were REALLY protesting against in the beginning (and this went on for quite some time), until they came up with the of "Wall Street Greed".
OR, Has everyone conveniently "forgotten" their "chants" in the beginning weeks: "What we want" ..... "We don't know" "What are We Fighting for" "We're not sure"
Call these Occupy people anything you want but the truth is they are are a
varied lot in age and demographic and are
highly educated:
I'm sorry, I beg to differ with you. I have see many of the group that took over our downtown Civic Center. Varied - yes, I'll give you that. Highly educated....I seriously disagree with you. Many were drop outs, and had lost their jobs due to the economy; many gravitated there because a few people from the North County area "felt compelled, to bring down a bunch of tents & cots" and some others "brought some food" . . . hence, no need to go to Father Joe's Village. I wouldn't really consider that in the realm of 'highly educated' - just knowing where to go to get some food, hang out, and have a place to crash.
Occupy Wall Street Demographic Survey Results Will Surprise You | TPM Idea Lab
Most have jobs - they just feel raped by the system they had nothing to do with building and that isn't working for them.
Again, I'm sorry, but here at least, "MOST" do not have jobs.
They're not going away: They will likely fade some during the winter (it gets cold) but they already are working with unions and other organizations to cooridnate activites in the Spring. They are planning to be back with a vengence. They are not going away.
The whole concept of protest is to inconvience people, including themselves, to show the depth of there anger and commitment. That's the point. They put themselves in your way, get arrest, get release and do it all over again. Until things change.
Police and govermental violence will only make them stronger. In Oakland they've been back with more people and more depth of feeling every night since the police attacks.
1% percent of the population, even the 1 richest percent, cannot govern the 99% of the rest of the population if that 99% refuses to be govened by them.
How long do you really expect police department who have had their unions crushed, their health care cut, their pensioned stolen and their co-workers laid off to actually do the bidding of the the bosses that did this all to them ? Police are the 99% too.