Mayor`Bloomberg's action to evict protestors from Zuccotti Park certainly had a cleansing effect on the premises. But the actual disease of our democracy of the few found itself in retreat as the cure raced across the country and refocused the light on where the true source of the illness sits. Somers, New York responded to Zuccotti's call for a day of action and lined Route 100 to stand among the 99% demanding their fair share of America's voice.
"The rich control the political process," said Jane Pendergast, who organized this suburban stand in of about 30 on November 17th.
The Mount Kisco
resident did so under the Moveon.org initiative to call out the 1% in regards to the nation's crumbling infrastructure. So with the bridge that connects Route 100 to Route 138 out for over a decade, Somers sufficed. "The decay of our nations infrastructure should mean jobs all across the country," she said.But why work when OWS gives people an excuse to express their anger instead of continuing to persevere. "I think a lot of people dismiss this movement out of hand," said Celeste Theis, and uninformed generalizations such as this arise out of the narrative that the 1% would like us to believe.
In contrasts to one misconception, says the Croton-on-Hudson resident, "I don't hate the rich and those who have made the most of American opportunity." On the other hand, she added, some of those benefactors have driven the rest of us over a cliff.
As a result people like Danbury's Rich Frasconi have a lot more time on their hands. "I have a job," says independent contractor, "but I have very little work."
He definitely makes himself available at actions such as this with the unwanted free time. He's also take the opportunity to gain insight into how America got into this mess.
"Putting profits before people" sounded like his time was spent sponging up the party line, but the specifics are likely a revelation to most and alerted him to the Ponzi scheme that is The Fed. "They print money out of thin air," he says.
And worse yet, each dollar conjured up comes with built in debt. "It becomes a never ending cycle," he said and the Fed, which really consists of the big banks, reap the profits, he added.
He easily ties this to his situation. "A lot of work in this country comes from new construction, and without money circulating, nothing is being built," he says.
Andrew Heugel isn't in the business of building but the Brewster resident can definitely relate to the idea that the money flow has stopped. An unemployed caseworker, he's found a hiring freeze
in the field with a lack of funding across the board.At the same time, lawmakers, and those in their charge, lack the type of vision that may very well have put them in the 1%. It's a lot cheaper to get people services earlier than waiting for something catastrophic to happen later, he said.
Right along those lines, Ms. Pendergast hopes the day of action gets the attention of the supercommittee and those that will suffer if the 1% continues to have their disproportionate say. "We will have more cuts rather than increased taxes for the wealthy," she says.
Legislatively out of the chief executive's hands, Christina Martinez still expressed dismay at the pulpit President Obama has remained silent on in regards to OWS. "What's he waiting for," she questioned.
Nonetheless, the Montrose resident is sure where she stands on the tenacity the Zucotti occupiers have demonstrated in the face of rain, snow and pepper spray. Given that, the impact they've had on her and the rest of us cannot be denied. "They really inspire us to create all these movements," she says.
Carl Grimm of Croton-on-Hudson can count himself among those as a member of a movement called "Transitions." "We're interested in downsizing the economy by supporting local economic alternatives, he said.
Making the bridge with him was close friend Cornelia Cotton. At 84 years old, she dusted off her "Brahms not Bombs" activism from the Vietnam age and held her sign in allegiance with fellow occupiers on Wall Street. "We want the country we live in to be better," she said simply.
That betrays the idea that OWS lacks an objective and her presence proves that the only thing homogenous about the deliverers of the message is that being left out of the discourse is something they will no longer tolerate.
Check out The Somers Deli - New http://yorktown-somers.patch.com/articles/somers-deli-to-bring-quality-and-convenience-back-to-route-100
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