The People versus San Francisco’s Wall Street Bull

0
1113

Published on Saturday, December 3, 2011 by CommonDreams.org

 

The golden bull glitters outside San Francisco's Wells Fargo Bank where marchers stopped to protest the bank’s foreclosures, Friday, December 2, 2011. (Photo: Susan Galleymore)“

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Labor Council attracted several hundred protesters to march from the Federal Building on Mission Street to the financial district – with spirited stops outside Wells Fargo Bank (king of foreclosures), Verizon (obscene disparity in salaries between executives and workers) , and the Embarcadero Hyatt (egregious treatment of workers, especially women). Seniors and wheelchair-bound protesters were especially evident at this event to protest cuts to social security and medical care and health insurance companies’ business practices.

The golden bull glitters outside San Francisco’s Wells Fargo Bank where marchers stopped to protest the bank’s foreclosures, Friday, December 2, 2011. (Photo: Susan Galleymore)“Roger” – he still works in the insurance industry – agrees with the effort to “tax the rich” and “no cuts to health care benefits and social security.”

“Over the last twenty-years I’ve become increasingly discouraged as we, as a nation, have moved away from our values. Then I found the 99% group, people of action trying to change things for the better.”

Roger is plump, 57-year-old “white guy” who has never before in his life participated in public protest. His face glowed with pleasure when I used his camera to photograph him with a Vietnam vet holding a sign stating that more than 5,000 war veterans have lost their homes to foreclosure.

Roger once worked for a health insurance company. “Honestly, I agree with these protesters that health care insurance is an extremely corrupt field. The industry has ways of making money that hurts the average person. The company I worked for had deductibles for families and if one family had more health problems than another family working for the same corporation they’d raise the deductibles for the corporation making it more expensive for the corporation to keep that family on…and that gave it an incentive to fire that employee.”

Like many other Americans around the country who’ve never protested before, something about this protest, this message (despite mainstream media’s claim that there isn’t one) touches something deep within Americans like Roger; they know intuitively that it’s the right time for these protests. And Roger has taken to the Occupy movement like he was born to it. Joyfully he explains that he takes boxes of donuts each morning to the Occupy encampment at Justin Herman Plaza. “Sure, they’re donuts, not the healthiest things around but I do it as we all enjoy eating ‘em and talking things over.”

And, yes, Occupy San Francisco is back! Evicted last week, the camp – larger than ever — was in full swing this week. Campers, protesters, ferry commuters, and tourists joined in as singer/protest song writer Dave Rovics encouraged his audience to join his refrain that “we’ll stay…right…here!”

There are lingering fears throughout the camp that SFPD is planning another action to clear the camp. But, for now, the plaza looks like America: youth, middle-aged, able-bodied seniors and those on walkers and in wheelchairs, singers, poets…and insurance agents… understand that We, the 99% are not gonna take it anymore and we plan to “stay right here”!

Susan Galleymore is author of Long Time Passing: Mothers Speak about War and Terror, host and producer of Raising Sand Radio, and a former “military mom” and GI Rights counselor. Contact her at [email protected].

ATTENTION READERS

We See The World From All Sides and Want YOU To Be Fully Informed
In fact, intentional disinformation is a disgraceful scourge in media today. So to assuage any possible errant incorrect information posted herein, we strongly encourage you to seek corroboration from other non-VT sources before forming an educated opinion.

About VT - Policies & Disclosures - Comment Policy
Due to the nature of uncensored content posted by VT's fully independent international writers, VT cannot guarantee absolute validity. All content is owned by the author exclusively. Expressed opinions are NOT necessarily the views of VT, other authors, affiliates, advertisers, sponsors, partners, or technicians. Some content may be satirical in nature. All images are the full responsibility of the article author and NOT VT.
Previous articleHow Iran Could Be The Next Neocon Target
Next articleLessons on “Who-less” Ranting, Duff on Ratigan
Robert O’Dowd served in the 1st, 3rd and 4th Marine Aircraft Wings during 52 months of active duty in the 1960s. While at MCAS El Toro for two years, O'Dowd worked and slept in a Radium 226 contaminated work space in Hangar 296 in MWSG-37, the most industrialized and contaminated acreage on the base. Robert is a two time cancer survivor and disabled veteran. Robert graduated from Temple University in 1973 with a bachelor’s of business administration, majoring in accounting, and worked with a number of federal agencies, including the EPA Office of Inspector General and the Defense Logistics Agency. After retiring from the Department of Defense, he teamed up with Tim King of Salem-News.com to write about the environmental contamination at two Marine Corps bases (MCAS El Toro and MCB Camp Lejeune), the use of El Toro to ship weapons to the Contras and cocaine into the US on CIA proprietary aircraft, and the murder of Marine Colonel James E. Sabow and others who were a threat to blow the whistle on the illegal narcotrafficking activity. O'Dowd and King co-authored BETRAYAL: Toxic Exposure of U.S. Marines, Murder and Government Cover-Up. The book is available as a soft cover copy and eBook from Amazon.com. See: http://www.amazon.com/Betrayal-Exposure-Marines-Government-Cover-Up/dp/1502340003.