Wall Street protesters say they 'want a voice'
NEW YORK -- Don't ask the protesters sleeping out in a downtown plaza for the list of demands of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which enters its 19th day today. There isn't one, and with labor unions set to join the group today and with groups in other cities from Los Angeles to Louisville starting their own camp-out protests, their specific proposals for change aren't likely to get any clearer soon.
"This is the first movement of its kind in a long time," said Jake Dodenhoff, 18, who has been camping out since Sept. 17. "We're accomplishing things slowly, but we're accomplishing things."
Instead, rows of handmade protest signs laid side-by-side stretch the length of the plaza offer a political smorgasbord: "Tax Breaks for the Rich Don't Work — But We Will" lies near "Fix Are Skoolz," "Personhood is for People" (an objection to the Supreme Court ruling that corporations can make political contributions just as individuals can), "Ban Fracking" (a form of natural gas drilling), "Drone Attacks Foment Terrorism" (an apparent reference to the death of al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki), "Obama: Stop Funding Israeli Occupation" (supporting a Palestinian state) and "Free Squid Sketches" (unclear).
So what? says protester Chris Guerra. "Name one big group that agrees on one thing. Democrats? No. Republicans? No." The spread of protests from New York to Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and smaller cities such as Louisville and St. Louis is an achievement already, he said. "If we wanted to, we could go home. Just to bring awareness to people, that's success."
But the theme of anger at corporate money and its influence in government resonated in smaller protests across the country Tuesday. "I'm here because our federal government has sold us out," said Meredith Dooley, holding a sign at an intersection in Louisville, where nearly 150 people gathered. "It's government of the money, for the money, by the money. I hope people get greater awareness that their government is not representing them. People should be outraged by the inequality of wealth."
"We feel the power in Washington has actually been compromised by Wall Street," said Jason Counts, a computer systems analyst and one of about three dozen protesters in St. Louis. "We want a voice, and our voice has slowly been degraded over time."
Zuccotti Park, a plaza near the World Trade Center site that has become the headquarters for Occupy Wall Street, has acquired a lived-in look: Sleeping bags, blankets and air mattresses are clustered together, beach umbrellas provide a bit of shade and shelter, and tables of donated food keep those camping out fed.
"No more canned food! We don't have any can openers and no place to cook it," said Bill Buster, an organizer.
"It's a very odd mixture of people," said New York City Councilman Dan Halloran, who dropped by Tuesday. "It's not just one group of discontented social strata." But he felt the protesters would be more effective if they had policy proposals. "You can't fix problems without solutions. They'd be better served sending their message with a specific plan," he said.
Related Stories
ABC News Live