STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 25 January 2012

[Demeter]

30. Mic check! Occupy Wall Street offers a rebuttal to State of the Union

http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2012/01/24/mic-check-occupy-wall-street-offers-a-rebuttal-to-state-of-the-union/

Everybody’s got a response to the State of the Union these days — including Occupy Wall Street. Or at least a branch of Occupiers in D.C. do. They were supposed to deliver it live post-State of the Union in McPherson Square in Washington.

(By the way, in yet another sign that the Occupy movement is maturing — or at least is becoming more mainstream media friendly — we received this text from their publicist, marked “embargoed” until after the SOTU. Really.)

The following was designed to for Occupiers to take turns reading a couple lines at a time, then the crowd repeating them, “People’s Mic”-style.

Mic check! [mic check] Mic check! [mic check]
Fellow Americans, good evening! [Fellow Americans, good evening!]

We are men and women of the 99 percent
Many of us have spent many months at Occupy Wall Street

and at other Occupations across the country and around the world
We are here tonight to report on the State of the 99 percent in America

Of course most Americans know the state of the 99 percent very well
But sometimes the one percent, on Wall Street and in Washington, need a reminder

Financially, the state of the 99% is not strong
That is an understatement.

Never in our lifetimes have so many hard-working Americans
Faced so many difficulties, so many uncertainties, so many indignities

In Occupy camps around the country
We find Americans from all walks of life

[3 personal story couplets]

Some of us have had it rougher than others
And it turns out living in camps is no picnic either

But we do not give up easily
And we take inspiration from the brave Americans who came before us

From Dr. King, who gave his life fighting for economic justice
From the Suffragettes, who insisted the voice of women be heard

From all of those brave or foolish enough to believe in America’s defining idea

theidea of democracy

That we are all created equal

And we all have an equal voice in shaping the laws we all live by

America
Let’s be honest.

When our courts tell us corporations have more right to speak than we the people do
That’s not democracy.

When pepper spray and midnight raids make a joke of the 1st Amendment right to assemble.
That’s not democracy.

When defrauding clients, blowing up our economy, forging thousands of documents and seizing people’s homes illegally is not a crime
but protesting all that is a crime

That’s not democracy.
Our America is not a democracy, not yet.

We all know why: Wall street owns Washington.
Bribery is legal, and the laws we live by are for sale to the highest bidder

That is why our government serves the very rich and powerful
at the expense of the rest of us

It protects the bonuses of bankers and Wall Street executives,
while failing to keep hard-working families in their homes;

It shields offshore tax havens for the very wealthy,
while letting our bridges, schools, and infrastructure fall apart;

There have been dark periods in our nation’s history, when corruption became the norm
when grave injustices stood in the way of America living up to its best ideals.

But time and time again, Americans stepped up to take back their government and correct our course.
Today Occupy Wall Street and the 99% movement step into this proud American tradition.

But fear not, one percent!
We are not here just to help the 99% at your expense.

We are here to help you too.
For when you’ve begun to think rigging the game is fair game

When you regard hard-working Americans as undeserving of a middle-class life
and unworthy of the profit their own work creates

When you treat the people who build your buildings and serve your food and raise your children and patrol your streets
without respect

You have not only lost touch with our humanity
You have lost touch with your own humanity

You need to find it again, for everyone’s sake
Real democracy will do you good

We are the 99%
We are here to create the democracy we have all been promised.

We are the 99%.
Our finances are weak, but our spirit is strong.

We are the 99%.
Our spring is coming.