Cowtown is Also Part of the 99%: Occupy Fort Worth

[McCamy Taylor]

Sorry in advance to those who insist that North Texas has weathered the economic recession with its jobs and houses intact. Today, Fort Worth joined the growing list of communities nationwide which have rallied in support of Occupy Wall Street.

First, thanks to the Fort Worth City bicycle policemen who helped keep things safe as we marched a winding path downtown at lunch hour. Our route took us past the major banks---Bank of America, J.P Morgan etc. Too bad these institutions were closed for Columbus Day. However, event organizers plan to keep up the occupation indefinitely.

It was my son’s first protest. He carried a sign reading The Middle Class Is Too Big To Fail. He was not the youngest kid there. One boy who looked all of eight had a sign which he had lettered himself which said Help kids have a wonderful future.



The saddest story I heard today was from a middle aged woman, a retired teacher whose husband has cancer. In the mid 1990s they built a home, and they had paid almost $130,000 on it---all interest---before they fell behind in their payments. The woman applied for and received a loan modification. The net result? The bank tacked $30,000 in fees onto her outstanding $130,000 in debt, and her lawyer charged her another $5000 for negotiating this wonderful deal. Her house is set to go on the auction block November 1. Her mortgage apparently passed through a number of hands before ending up with Deutsche Bank. She has never been shown a copy of her mortgage----smart thinking on her part to ask for it, since it is very likely that the German bank does not even have a copy of the document, making this one of the illegal foreclosures. However, when she asked her $5000 attorney to get her a copy, he said it would cost several more thousand dollars, and he recommended that she just walk away from her home. If anyone here knows whom she can talk to for help, please share. I don’t think that any American (and her husband with cancer and her kids and grandkids) should be thrown out onto the street without knowing for sure that the bank which claims to own her house really does own her house.



Public reaction was basically positive, except for a couple of guys who kept shouting “Get a job!” Ironic, if you think about. Next protest, I am carrying a sign that says Don’t Tell Me To Get a Job. My Job Was Sent to India. If there were jobs in this country, there would not be so many people out on the street asking the corporations to stop outsourcing jobs. Shouldn’t supply side economic work from the employees point of view, too?If there are millions of people willing to work, shouldn’t business be willing to hire them?

Again, the police were wonderful. 99% of the people we passed on the street gave us smiles, waves, applause or thumbs up. I think that makes this city in North Texas part of the 99%.

“The banks were bailed out, we were sold out!”

[Turn CO Blue]

1. Cowtown is my home town! The 99%! nt

[av8rdave]

2. I lived there until very recently

Glad to hear it went well, and that the police did their jobs correctly!

[barbtries]

3. thank you for going,

and for sharing. perhaps an OP with the information on the woman being foreclosed will net some useful information. best to her and to her family. what a travesty.