Occupy Miami Movement Underway As Wall Street Protests Continue

Almost in its third week now, the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City have sparked a series of similar protests around the country.

The protests have not galvanized in Miami yet, but local activists have been meeting and planning protests, including the initial meeting last week where about almost 200 people showed up to Bayfront Park in downtown Miami.

Occupy Miami will be meeting again tomorrow (Saturday) at 1 p.m. at Bayfront Park for their second planning assembly.

There is also an Occupy Fort Lauderdale movement emerging, which will meet up at 6 p.m. Saturday in front of the Broward Main Public Library, 100 S. Andrews Ave.

So you can make both of them and not miss anything.

“Everybody is welcome,” said Bruce Stanley, a 27-year-old graphic designer who wrote his account of the first meeting here. “Come out and have your voices heard.”

The question that many people are asking: what exactly are these occupation activists pissed off about?

They are pissed off at many things, but mostly at how the corporations are essentially running this country.

“It’s really not a democracy, but a plutocracy,” said Muhammed Malik, 29. “Corporations are the new evil high priests of society in how they rule and dominate us without giving consideration to our social and economic conditions.”

But there’s so much more they are pissed about. There’s so much more to be pissed about.  The above video gives you a general idea.

Right now, it is not clear what type of occupation they will be doing, but they assure us something will be done.

One of their concerns will be dealing with Miami police, which earned a pretty horrible reputation in dealing with activists during the 2003 Free Trade Area of the Americas meetings.

“We’re letting them know in advance not to pull that shit,” Malik said. “We’re going to be strong. We’re not anti-cop, we’re anti-brutality.”

Above: Muhammed Malik holding the megapone and standing with Patches Sitty of Fort Lauderdale.(photo by Anabel Bobes.)

“Generational wake-up call”

The occupation protests around the country have been compared to a left-wing version of the tea party.

But Malik said there were several Ron Paul supporters who attended Saturday’s meeting as well as some conservative republicans.

However, whether they are liberal or conservative, they are mostly fed up with the two-party system that caters to the corporate lobbyists.

“We do not want to be labeled democrat or republican,” Stanley said. “We want nothing to do with that.”

He hopes the occupation movement eventually emerges as its own political party. But even then, it goes beyond that. It’s about repairing a broken system.

“This is a generational wake-up call,” said Stanley, who voted for Obama in 2008 but is now disillusioned with him because of the ongoing wars, the bank bailouts and the corporate funding.

“There was all this talk about how Obama’s campaign was financed by the little guy, but by the end of the day, his biggest contributor was Goldman Sachs.”

Obama repaid Goldman Sachs by giving them a $10 billion bailout. And Goldman Sachs showed its gratitude by firing 1,000 workers and moving jobs overseas.

“It’s become very clear that the only way to a political candidate is to be heavily financed, and that’s not working for us as Generation Y,” Stanley said.

The mainstream media has criticized the occupation movement as not having a clear focus or established leaders

But all that is coming together, Stanley said.

“Democracy is a messy process, but there are a lot of people stepping up to the idea that they can be part of that process,” he said.

Robby Davis, who is participating in Occupy Fort Lauderdale, stated the following in a Facebook message:

I first would consider myself a democrat, and secondly, I believe in the occupy movement because its is the true voice of the people. Middle class, lower class, blue collar, white collar, students, retirees, vets are all joining together for a common purpose. The time has come for us to contribute to our own overall well-being, since the current system is flawed.

I will not pay into an already broken system. Corporations are intertwined in politics, and it needs to change. I hope the nationwide occupy movements help raise awareness about the grave injustices being committed every day by the 1% on Wall Street. They do not care about the economy, they care about themselves. They control the markets and create artificial growth for personal gain. The result is hard working people getting taken advantage of and losing their entire savings to a greedy few.

I hope this turns into a global revolution, inspiring a new way to govern. Big Banks, Bailouts, Unemployment, Healthcare, the list of grievances goes on and on. Its time the people take action. For the people, by the people. It is time local communities take local action through local general assemblies.

Keeping a peaceful movement is vital, and I am proud to see it happen. If not now, when? How much longer. I am proud to support OWS and Occupy Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Related Links: • Is Cuban Loyalty to the Republican Party Failing • Mayor’s Political Crony Under Fire As Head Of Miami’s Film Office Related Categories: Miami: Local News, Miami: Things to Do, Carlos Miller is a featured writer at Miami Beach 411. He also operates Photography is Not a Crime, a blog about photographer rights, New Media and First Amendment issues. See more articles by Carlos Miller. See more articles by Carlos Miller Was This Post Helpful? Please Share It With Others! Tweet

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