Return To Zuccotti Park

 That is a photo of myself and Andrew Wilkow, host of the Wilkow Majority on the Sirius XM Patriot channel, standing outside of Zuccotti Park. He was there this weekend co-hosting a live remote with David Webb, seen below, at the scene of Occupy Wall Street. 

The media spotlight continues to shine on those demonstrating at OWS, although whether it’s due to the spectacle of the event itself or the message it is attempting to disseminate remains an open question. There certainly was a carnivalesque atmosphere Saturday, which included a brass orchestra:

 

 

As well as theatrical agitprop supporting government movement on climate change:

 There was also a full complement of clowns:

 

As well as those costumed in other garb, including Captain America: 

 

Guy Fawkes:

 

 And the odd penguin:

As well as a self-professed journalist wearing a barrel: 

However, there were individuals at the park with more serious messages. Their causes ranged from the reinstitution of an FDR Era separation between investment and commercial banks:

To personal grievances:

There were also Japanese occupiers who highlighted their opposition to the development of nuclear energy, a hot button issue in the wake of the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear plant. 

A common theme was distress over high student loan payments.

 

 There were also Americans who shared their fellow demonstrators’ antipathy towards nuclear power:

Hydraulic fracturing, which is slated to occur in some upstate New York counties,  was also the subject of intense opposition:

There were those decrying instances of police brutality:

As well as a significant contingent of anti-war activists:

Including critics of President Obama’s muscular-some would say reckless-foreign policy: 

Some more clever than others:

Although the President did have his defenders, so perhaps the attempt by national Democrats to mobilize the disenchanted in Zuccotti Park isn’t entirely hopeless. 

 

There were also protestors who wanted to focus on their own pet causes, many of which had little if anything to do with the relationship between corporate America and the government. There were anti-Israel radicals:

As well as those agitating for the release of convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, a mainstay of leftist conclaves.  

There were those seeking to emulate EU nations which hope to ban the introduction of genetically modified foods.  

I also saw several signs demanding wholesale amnesty for illegal aliens, which came as no surprise. 

 Perhaps the person who designed that sign is unaware of the fact that President Obama has, in fact, stopped both the raids and the deportations. Nevertheless, there seemed to be a grab bag of perceived problems that occupiers could voice their displeasure with, as this catch-all sign seems to illustrate:

 The hard core Marxists made a pitch for their own pet issues, including releasing Cuban spies from the Wasp Network who had been convicted of espionage in the United States. That happens to be a favorite activity of the Castro regime. 

Our trade policy, or lack thereof, with Raul Castro’s regime was also targeted:

The detention camp for apprehended Al Qaeda terrorists, which is located in Cuba, was also derided:

Much of the organizational muscle behind Occupy Wall Street, such as it is, comes from organized labor, and union members-both in the public and private sector-were amply represented at Zuccotti Park.

 

 Although there were many national and local labor unions represented, there were also many fringe figures and organizations pamphleteering, including individuals from the ridiculous, discredited 9/11 Truth movement. However, perhaps the most disturbing element that had embedded itself within Zuccotti Park was a cadre of hard-line Marxists, socialists and Communists. 

The World Socialist Website had an informational booth inside of the park which offered a wide array of Marxist propaganda for sale. 

Including a variety of Trotskyist tracts.

 

 

 

 As well as the ever in demand Arabic-language works of  El Jefe :

The words of Malcolm X were also available, albeit in Spanish. 

As well as those of Marxist-feminist Evelyn Reed: 

Not to be outdone, the Socialist Workers Party had copies of its official newspaper for sale-rather ironically, I might add. 

One of the other newspapers on display was Dorothy Day’s old employer, The Catholic Worker:

There were a variety of other Marxist-inspired organizations proselytizing, including Socialist Action:

Despite protestations to the contrary by some participants in the Occupy Wall Street movement, there did seem to be some activists who were more than happy to embrace class warfare pretty explicitly. 

 

 

 

Even so, there were occupiers who held a distinctly more cooperative point of view, some of whom even advocated policy changes that would push the United States in a more libertarian-oriented direction. Tomorrow, we examine some of those dissenting voices. 

 

 

 

Tags: Afghanistan, amnesty, Andrew Cuomo, Andrew Wilkow, Arabic, babalu Blog, Barack Obama, Bolshevism, Cuba, David Webb, demonstration, Department of Homeland Security, deportation, DHS, FDR, Fidel Castro, Fukushima, Glass Steagall Act, GMOs, Hydro fracking, Hydro fracturing, ICE, illegal aliens, Indian Point, Israel, Japan, John Morton, Leon Trotsky, Malcolm X, Marxism, Morton Memo, Mumia Abu Jamal, New York State, New York Times, Newsmax, nuclear energy, Occupy Wall Street, OWS, Palestinians, protest, Raul Castro, SEIU, Sirius/XM, socialism, Socialist Action, Socialist Workers Party, The Catholic Worker, The Cuban Five, The Glass-Steagall Act, The Militant, Wall Street, Zuccotti Park

This entry was posted on October 24, 2011 at 12:51 AM and is filed under Analysis, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.