Occupy Seattle: ‘We do have a point’

“Just because the media doesn’t understand our message, that doesn’t mean we don’t have one. We do have a point. Please stop saying we don’t, says an Occupy Seattle demonstrator who wants to run down their concerns.

I’ll yield the floor in a moment, first an update on the cost of the protest. About $30,000 has been paid out in overtime for Seattle Police officers, and the city has paid about $3,800 in overtime costs to Parks Department workers.

Michael Lester has been participating in the Westlake Park protests for the past four days. He’s going to Portland today, where there is a larger demonstration, to learn how to mobilize more people for their cause. And what is that cause? I asked him to share, in his words, what the Occupy Seattle people want to change or accomplish:

We are not violent. We are not hangers on. We are not homeless. We are not hippies. The majority of people behind Occupy Seattle are between the ages of 25 and 34. There is an even mix of men and women. We are Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and non-political. You can’t put a label on us, and we will not accept whatever term you use.

We are not disorganized. In a few days we’ve become a city unto ourselves. We are building a new society in a way. Our society isn’t based on inequality. Inequity is ruining our society. Rich get richer, poor get stomped on and stepped over. That has to end. No more bailouts. No more tax cuts for the rich. We are the 99 percent, and we need to tell Congress it’s time they listened to us. Corporate greed has to end.

One corporation has stepped up to add to the demonstrators’ message. Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream issued a statement in support of the 99-percent.

“The inequity that exists between classes in our country is simply immoral. We are in an unemployment crisis. Almost 14 million people are unemployed. Nearly 20% of African American men are unemployed. Over 25% of our nation’s youth are unemployed. Many workers who have jobs have to work 2 or 3 of them just to scrape by. Higher education is almost impossible to obtain without going deeply in debt. Corporations are permitted to spend unlimited resources to influence elections while stockpiling a trillion dollars rather than hiring people.”

The company didn’t mention whether it’s giving any financial support demonstrators, but they “stand with” them.

If anything, Occupy Seattle is social media savvy. Along with their website OccupySeattle.org, people can text the word “occupy” to 68398 for updates. Twitter updates through the hashtag #OccupySeattle and on their feed OccupySeattle. They have a livestream of their nightly organizational meetings. About 13,000 people are following the Seattle demonstrators on their Facebook page.

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Photo from OccupySeattle.org