Occupy Wall Street rises up for Sanders

[BigBearJohn]

Source: CNN

(CNN)The forces of Occupy Wall Street, splintered and faded in the aftermath of their 2011 demonstrations, are getting the band back together to boost Bernie Sanders ahead of next week's critical New York primary.

Nearly five years since Occupy was evicted from Zuccotti Park, blocks from the New York Stock Exchange in lower Manhattan, a coalition of organizers, labor leaders and progressive activists who lined up under the banner of "the 99 percent" are renewing their efforts in pursuit of a more traditional cause: Getting voters to the polls on April 19.

That begins with traditional canvassing, but will extend to what is expected to be a large pro-Sanders, Occupy-inspired march on Saturday in Manhattan.

"This is the place where the message of income inequality resonated across the country and across the world -- it's where it really began," said "People for Bernie" co-founder and Occupy activist Winnie Wong. "He's bringing it back home."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/13/politics/occupy-wall-street-bernie-sanders-new-york-primary/index.html

[mdbl]

1. Good News!

I was wondering where they've been.

[PeoViejo]

2. Turn-up the Bern!!

Love and Light.

[persuadable]

3. It is about time

The reason OWS failed to have any impact was it had no leader, direction and goals. With Bernie it can have what it needs to have a real impact. With it Bernie has the movement to achieve the goals he has outlined, no matter what is the outcome o his Presidential campaign.

Power to the people.

By the way, I no longer support Hillary.

[BigBearJohn]

5. Welcome welcome welcome. ..nice to have you!

I really really loved what you said about OWS. With the participation of the OWS movement and Bernie's leadership this will be a huuuuge turning point in the primary. Shoulder-to-shoulder we cannot lose.

[lewebley3]

31. OWS was a failure because didnt vote: they turned out like Sanders

nothing but not air.

[me b zola]

38. Sigh and biting my tongue...

The Bernie campaign would not have been possible without the Occupy movement. Occupy has not failed, only short-sighted individuals would suggest such a thing. This movement rolls forward.

[navarth]

39. keep in mind you're dealing with a troll

don't expect it to respond to anything sensible...

[Divernan]

59. Clinton campaign's version of Tokyo Rose.

[whirlygigspin]

73. catapult that propaganda

サーサ皆さん
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胸当ズボンの
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ぼくの好きな
あのお嬢さん
今日は
まだ来ないけど
きっと彼女は
来てくれる
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風の日も

サーサ皆さん
ぼくが磨けば
どんな靴でも
よく光る

ア シュシュシュシュシュ
ア 愉快な靴みがき
サーサ皆さん
東京名物
とってもシックな
靴みがき
えんじのネクタイ
陽気な口笛
東京シューシャインボーイ

赤い靴の
あのお嬢さん
今日も
また銀ぶらか
きっとお土産
チョコレート
チューインガムに
コカコーラ

サーサ皆さん
往きも帰りも
ちょいと磨いて
エチケット

ア シュシュシュシュシュ
ア 愉快な靴みがき
サーサ皆さん
東京名物
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靴みがき
ダンスがお得意
英語もペラペラ
東京シューシャインボーイ

ぼくの好きな
あのお嬢さん
今日は
またどうしたの
きっとあしたは
来てくれる
いつかふたりで
踊りましょう

サーサ皆さん
ぼくがみがけば
みんなほがらか
よくひかる

ア シュシュシュシュシュ
ア 愉快な靴

[GoneFishin]

92. Perfect. Exactly.

[cui bono]

87. Yep. Yet another one of those that Skinner just can't do without.

Well over the 5 hide limit and still allowed to post the stupidest comments ever.

.

[billhicks76]

58. Your Latest Failed Observation

It's obvious to a 3 year old Bernie supporters are voting. Maybe you can have better luck on FOX blogs where you resonate more.

[lewebley3]

60. No: I support Hillary a real Dem that get things done; not a failed socialist

[rhett o rick]

77. You don't like the 99% do you. Rhetorical. You like to side with big money.

Do you think they will like you? Do you justify your indifference to those struggling among us by hoping that the rich will like you. Greed is evil. Those that put greed before our fellow people are immoral

[BeanMusical]

80. "nothing but not air."

But if it's not air then what's this nothing made of?

[boobooday]

12. I would argue they did have an impact

And we're seeing it now, in Bernie's political revolution.

[lewebley3]

34. There is no revolution. Hillary has 2.5m more votes

[PeoViejo]

55. That's a lot of comatose Nursing Home Denizens.

Check those surrogate ballots.

[reddread]

18. not a failure a smart move

if it was a failure then Jerry Brown would not have used "non lethal" projectiles to nearly kill people.
Jerry Brown would not have pepper sprayed protestors.

It may have been blamed on the individuals or administrators involved,
but that is how he gets away with it.

[Dustlawyer]

19. While OWS did have an impact and started discussions, you are right that the lack of a leader

and too many issues kept it from becoming what it could. Those problems are solved by Bernie and now it can grow to its full potential! What OWS was best at was in raising awareness of the real cause of the problems in this country, the money in politics and the shadow government that runs this country and cracked down on OWS.

[bvar22]

63. Isn't that EXACTLY the purpose of protests?

"raising awareness of the real cause of the problems in this country, the money in politics and the shadow government that runs this country"

I always believed that was MY purpose in protesting.

OWS changed the language and the dialog in this country and the world.

For example, In the SOTU before OWS, Obama was all "Its time to eat your peas, and we need entitlement "reforms".
In the SOTU AFTER OWS, Obama was all "Income Inequality" and even mimicked being a populist. The change in just one year was dramatic and very noticeable.

Even today, our nation uses the lexicon given to us by OWS.
Change the language and you change the thinking. Change the thinking, and you change the country.

OWS WAS and still IS one of the most successful Movements of the last generation. They were/are heroes, and I still applaud them for their courage and understanding of what we are fighting.

--bvar22
an old hippie radical protester, and active Afghanistan and Iraq War protestor. Age associated illnesses keep me closer to home now, but I haven't lost the spirit or will to fight for what is right.
I applaud OWS and the new generation that is STANDING UP.

[deacon_sephiroth]

22. How did it fail?

Occupy eschewed any leadership for a reason, and it's goals included changing the national conversation. The article in the OP confirms that it did just that. In addition to giving it credit for making the Bernie Sanders campaign possible. Bernie alone gives me some fleeting hope that maybe America is not too far gone to care about. If OWS gave us that in failure, then I'd like to know what condition would have had to be met for you to consider it successful.

power to the people indeed.

[jwirr]

24. e

[questionseverything]

28. ows changed the national conversation,introduced the 99% vs the 1%

ows showed our "leaders" will quickly fire on their own if their GRAVYTRAIN is disrupted

information is power, the more people that are awake the stronger we are

[840high]

30. Thank you and welcome.

[libdem4life]

82. When the people are ready, the Leader will appear n/t.

[LiberalElite]

4. I don't think it ever really "splintered and faded"

how would American Pravda know what the fk Occupy's been doing anyway?

[Helen Borg]

6. This is really crucial...

Bernie has to win big here...

[lewebley3]

32. Sanders an empty suit: OWS turned out to be nothing because they failed to

Vote

[FighttheFuture]

47. Wow! If an empty suit can make Hillary shit her britches this much, imagine her in the general!!

[lewebley3]

48. Hillary is crushing him:some of his money is coming from the GOP to attack her

[FighttheFuture]

51. From nothing to within 200 delegates with 1000 left is hardly "crushing". HRC's money

is coming from rich, powerful oligarchs, banks and corporations. I 'll take the R money in this case. BTW, have a source for your assertion, besides R individuals who don't like Hillary?

[lewebley3]

54. 2.5m more votes: Superdelgates ahead: Won more states: Their is no

where Sanders is even close to her.

[FighttheFuture]

65. No link for your assertion? Thought so. Regardless of whether Bernie wins the nom, he has

started the process of moving the Democratic party away from DLC crap like the Clintons and shit like Debbie Wasserman-Shits. That alone is a major win. As it is, your delusions aside, Bernie has been become very competitive, and the longer he is in it, the more Hillary slides down. the only lament is the primary season is not longer so more people can get to know Bernie despite the virtual MSM blackout and corrupt voting systems.

[LittleGirl]

88. You can almost

smell the desperation, can't you? (from the previous posters comment).

[FighttheFuture]

95. Oh yeah.... it smells like ... lewebley3!

[navarth]

93. You're being played by a disruption troll. Don't feed it.

Unless you really want to.

[FighttheFuture]

94. I know... pearls before swine. thanks.

[JDPriestly]

91. What is the proof for that assertion?

Are any big Republican bankers or business interests supporting Bernie?

He only accepts $2700 maximum donations. So even if some GOP money were to be directed to Bernie, it would be nothing compared to the fence-sitters from the big banks who are really Republicans when it comes to economic issues who are supporting Hillary.

Are the bankers who paid Hillary $250,000 to give one speech all Democrats? Were there maybe a few Republicans in there?

And where are the groups that include Republicans who have paid Bernie $250,000 ever?

[DemocracyDirect]

7. Earthquake?

No, battle formations.

[Jitter65]

8. Yeah, well we all know how that turned out and the changes it bought about.

Just preview of what a Sanders term in office would be like...a revolution running into reality.

[boobooday]

13. I think the underlying problem is allowing reality to be defined

By those who benefit most from the status quo.

[appalachiablue]

25. +1. WELCOME, OCCUPY and THANKS SO MUCH!

[appalachiablue]

27. The Big Tent is Becoming Much Larger Again, Fast!

Bernie Rally This Week at SUNY, Buffalo, New York.

[navarth]

41. wow!

come on NY!!

[BigBearJohn]

86. WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[KPN]

26. Perfect response!!!!!!!!

[lewebley3]

33. Looks like TRump rally

[me b zola]

42. WTF is wrong with you?

Just what?

[lewebley3]

44. Trump and Sanders are same a lot of complaining: No solutions: Sanders is an empty suit

[me b zola]

45. Oh my. In calling Senator Sanders an empty suit you have revealed yourself

...have fun rubbing yourself, you'll get no rise out of me

[lewebley3]

49. Just the truth: Sanders is against fracking but has no plans to stop it: Hillary does

[me b zola]

56. Oh, I see. Hillary selling fracking to a dozen other nations is her plan to stop fracking?

Just get out. If you want to sell Hillary, be honest about who and what she is. She is pro big money, pro big corporate welfare, and could not give a fuck less about real people. Just say that and you would at least have an ounce of credibility.

[lewebley3]

74. Hillary is not pushing for fracking: LA times exlpained Hillary's plan

to end tracking: Sanders just the banks he has no idea
how to stop fracking anymore than he knows how to
break up the banks

[lewebley3]

57. Your vulgarism let me know: I won the argument: You are empty of ideas

[me b zola]

61. LOL, took you a minute

Yes, clearly you are a towering intellectual now that you have convinced me that Senator Sanders is an empty suit...Except that darn, that Sanders has been on the right side of policy for more than thirty years. And his stances on policy have not been politically expedient nor easy, but he has been vigilant. But if that is what you mean by empty suit...again, you reveal yourself.

[boobooday]

72. Thank you!

[peacebird]

14. the powers that be crushed Occupy because it frightened them, just like Bernie Sanders does now

This peaceful revolution needs to happen to get equilibrium back in our economy and our government. The rage you see at Trump rallies isn't going away until there is some real action to correct the course.

[lewebley3]

50. No one is scared of Sanders: The GOP would eat him alive if the Dem let him be the nominee

[deacon_sephiroth]

23. I DO know how it turned out, do you?

It turned out that thousands of people in thousands of locations took to the streets to fight for change

It turned out that the national conversation changed when INEQUALITY coverage and analysis quadrupled across all major media following the movement

It turned out that (as mentioned in the OP's link) the movement made the Bernie Sanders campaign possible.

It turned out that Hilary is having to mimic his message to try and match his rising popularity and staunch her own hemorrhaging support.

The conversation changed, social media changed, the primaries changed, and if the movement puts Bernie in the driver seat, together we'll run headlong into your cynical reality and you'll find it's not the insurmountable obstacle you've let yourself be cowed into believing. There's one thing that can defeat it and it's CHANGE... it's what we do.

[passiveporcupine]

52. Very well said

And welcome to DU!

[Scootaloo]

83. Were you one of the DU'ers laughing and high-fiving over people getting hosed with pepper spray?

[BigBearJohn]

9. This is **HUGE** people

I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the hill tumbling down, tumbling down

[zentrum]

10. Kicked!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

11. Yes! Finally!

What took them so long?

[Cal33]

15. Welcome back. This time to stay!!!

[lordsummerisle]

16. K&R n/t

[SammyWinstonJack]

17. Go OWS! Go Bernie! Bring it on home!

[antigop]

20. YES!!!!!! nt

[Hydra]

21. The spirit of OWS was here the whole time

The establishment doesn't get it- they think they can destroy ideas just by making people go away. Unless you kill them, those people are still there, and still believe in the things that made them rise in the first place.

We are the 99%!

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

53. Meanwhile in Eugene Oregon

occupy still lives.
Check it out.

https://occupyeugenemedia.org/

[Zephyrbag]

71. I'm also in Eugene.

The first Bernie campaign headquarters in Oregon is about 1/2 mile from my house. He's a real champion of the people.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

96. Welcome to DU

We're down in Port Orford.

[JonathanRackham]

29. Fond memories of the last camping trip.

[Myrina]

35. Rather condescending language in the article, IMHO ....

"... splintered and faded ..." & "... getting the band back together ... "

[Duval]

36. Great news. nt

[cprise]

37. K&R

[restorefreedom]

40. go OWS! the people are rising up! nt

[LiberalLovinLug]

43. We all know what side Hillary stands with

With apologies to cartoonists Clay Bennett and Steve Breen for the edit,

[Babel_17]

46. Dirty Hippies

is what they've been called, more or less, but they had it right the first time.

[silvershadow]

62. I actually think Occupy just merged into the main stream of thought and consciousness.

While there may be some die-hard occupiers still active, to my mind their ideas have just simply become mainstream in most awake Americans.

[LittleGirl]

89. I would have joined them

in my home state but I didn't want to get arrested while my spouse was going through the naturalization process to become a citizen. That's the only reason I stayed home. I believe many were on the OWS side but couldn't risk losing their jobs since they were so scarce back then in 2011.

[blackspade]

64. awesome sauce

But i'm sure the authoritarian crowd here at DU will shit all over occupy a second time....

[Uncle Joe]

66. Excellent!

Thanks for the thread, BigBearJohn.

[freshman22]

67. Forever

Occupy Wall Street

[kpola12]

69. The legacy of Occupy

When peaceful revolution becomes impossible violent revolution becomes inevitable.

[snot]

70. Just want to add, though I've never researched it, I AM aware that,

in addition to the other impacts Occupy had on general awareness, after the camp evictions, many Occupiers continued to do important work with big impacts; e.g.:

1) The Occupy SEC committee submitted massive and excellent comments on the Dodd-Frank regulations, with effects that Wall St. has not yet managed to fully undo;

2) Last I looked, Occupy Sandy seemed to be doing more to help Hurricane Sandy victims than most or all the other governmental and other agencies; and

3) The Strike Debt offshoot of Occupy, a.k.a. Rolling Jubilee, has been buying up student debt at the steeply discounted prices available to collection agencies and the like and then cancelling it.

[warrprayer]

75. does my heart good

to hear this news

?1318021502

[Kalidurga]

76. What is 48,000 times 35.

A: 1,680,000 If everyone in that rally talks to 35 people face to face and gets them to commit to voting we can see a real uptick in the number of people that will vote for Bernie.

[moondust]

78. Rockin' it.

[thebeautifulstruggle]

79. My guess is Hillary supporters

No longer agree with OWS

[Beartracks]

81. "May the road (street) rise up to meet you!"

[MrMickeysMom]

84. K&R, BBJ...

My wish is to pick it up from where it lay TEMPORARILY disrupted and carry this mother home.

[senz]

85. This is as it should be.

They were a righteous group.

I remember photos of Wall Street denizens looking down from several stories up, laughing at OWS.

[flamingdem]

90. Fantastic! It's not easy, all that happened to Occupy

There was no leader that emerged and anyway the idea was not about leaders.

Sometimes a leader emerges and no one feels threatened by them. Somehow they can take the burden of all of us and still move forward. This is what we have with Bernie, he's suited for the job.

I'm seeing him as a leader of the "movement" no matter what happens. It might be a new kind of structure but this amount of energy and focus has to flower.