The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 75/No. 39      October 31, 2011

 
NY mayor backs off move
to evict ‘Occupy Wall St.’
 
BY DAN FEIN  
NEW YORK—More one month after it began, Occupy Wall Street and similar actions worldwide continue to be a magnet for young people, workers, and hard-hit layers of the middle class, all of whose lives and plans are deeply affected by the unfolding economic and social crisis of capitalism.

In an effort to quash the protests, Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced cops would remove protesters from Zuccotti Park here starting at 7 a.m., October 13 for “cleaning,” after which there would be a ban on tents, sleeping bags and other paraphernalia.

In response, hundreds came down to defend the right to free speech. Protesters brought mops and brooms, declaring they would clean the park themselves.

“Students get bogged down by debt. They shouldn’t have to be ruined to get an education,” Rebecca Bannasch, 16, told the Militant. She and Josia DeChiara came to New York from Shutesbury, Mass., to “be part of something big, something for social change.”

“There is a whole generation of teenagers who can’t get any work experience,” Bannasch added.

“I sent out 977 resumés since graduation, 60 for overseas jobs. No interviews,” said Nathan Tumazi, 25, a graduate of University of California, Irvine. He’s been unemployed since June 2010.

Those who come to Zuccotti Park find a wide variety of views on the source and solution to the economic crisis. Anarchist groups that helped initiate the actions put forward the idea that the protest is an end in itself.

Some groups promote conspiracy theories and reactionary claims that the source of the problem is the Federal Reserve and Jewish bankers.

Many are attracted to working-class struggles. Several marches by union workers in various fights with the bosses have joined with Occupy Wall Street demonstrators, where they find solidarity that inspires both groups.

The Bloomberg administration faces some obstacles in the effort to evict the Occupy Wall Street camp.

Most people sympathize with the protests, which have tapped into rising discontent. According to a Quinnipiac University survey, 67 percent of people in New York agree with the protesters and 72 percent say they have a right to stay as long as they want.

And the protests have backing from prominent figures in the Democratic Party, who see them as an opportunity to garner support against their Republican Party rivals as the twin capitalist parties prepare to vie for the 2012 elections.

Central Democratic Party figures, including Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, state Senator Daniel Squadron, and Congressman Jerry Nadler, called Bloomberg and Brookfield Properties, which owns the park, and demanded the eviction be halted. The park owners, and Bloomberg, backed down.

As politicians from both parties lead the assault on working people, Democratic figures are stepping up their demagogy against “corporate greed” and the Republican Party. However, according to a recent Gallup poll, more than twice as many people in the U.S. blame the federal government than the banking and financial system for the crisis.

“Protesters are assembling in New York and around the country to let billionaires, big oil and big bankers know that we’re not going to let the richest 1% force draconian economic policies and massive cuts to crucial programs on Main Street Americans,” says a recent email sent out by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Conservative Republicans are also taking note. “If you put aside the political rants,” wrote Rich Lowry, in the National Review, “the stories [of economic hardship by protest participants] are a stark pointillist portrayal of the grinding misery of the Great Recession.”

Lowry notes that while the Democrats have no program to create jobs or do anything to ameliorate the crisis, the Republican presidential candidates don’t either. “Republicans often don’t even bother to try to connect their program to the troubles of workers down the income scale,” he admits.

Socialist Workers Party members have joined the discussions at Zuccotti Park and nationwide, stressing the importance of solidarity with working-class struggles today and the need for working people to organize independently of the two capitalist parties in order to mount a revolutionary struggle to wrest power from the propertied rulers.

On October 15 coordinated days of protest held around the same themes as Occupy Wall Street took place around the world, including 300,000 in Madrid, as well as actions in Greece, Switzerland, South Africa, Australia, Japan, Germany and the Philippines.

Candace Wagner contributed to this article.  
 
 
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