Analysts are warning that serious chaos could ensue as a coalition of radical activists, leftist organizations, self-described “revolutionaries” and anti-capitalist agitators — some of whom are reportedly linked to the Obama administration — plots to “occupy” Wall Street starting on September 17. Under the banner of a “Day of Rage,” critics and supporters say the protests could be just the start of something much bigger — and the list of targeted cities in the U.S. and around the world is still growing.
The real goals of the effort remain murky. But despite the apparent socialist and collectivist bent of many participants, even some constitutionalists have expressed tepid sympathy after organizers released a statement blasting the American kleptocracy run by banksters.
We must stop their influence, their motives, and their tricks, from continuing to destroy our democratic republic, concluded a tactical plan released last week by one of the organizations affiliated with the movement. The group, known as US Day of Rage, also called for an end to the influence of money in politics.
We demand that the resources of our nation no longer be used to coddle and benefit banksters and their minions, the statement said. We demand that our nation no longer be held hostage to ‘too big to fail’ banks.
The document also played on widespread resentment against the U.S. central bank and its policies. We demand that solutions be found that stop the Federal Reserve from stealing our future, it said.
While confusion about the upcoming events and the official goals is rampant even among participants, organizers are estimating that the number of protesters just in New York could be in the tens of thousands maybe more. Solidarity demonstrations are also being planned from San Francisco and Los Angeles to London, Paris and Madrid.
The idea behind the scheme slowly evolved from a single day of protests apparently inspired by recent uprisings in the Middle East into what organizers have now started calling an occupation. Many activists were planning to set up tents and camp out for weeks or even months. Some said they would stay until their demands are met.
Even while distributing information about civil disobedience, resisting arrest and interfering with court proceedings, groups and websites associated with the event have repeatedly stated that the protests will be non-violent. Critics, however, are warning that violence and rioting could become the order of the day.
American radicals are planning hundreds of simultaneous violent uprisings to topple our system of capitalism, warned Ron Arnold with the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise in an e-mail. I’m talking about anti-capitalist terrorists in our own country.
The militant progressives plan to fill American streets with hundreds of thousands of demonstrators hell-bent on creating Marxist-style revolution, according to Arnold. Their ultimate goal is to kill capitalism and replace it with socialism. And I guarantee that they’ll stop at nothing to reach that goal.”
Adding insult to injury, Arnold noted, is that people pulling the strings behind these protests at least some of whom are reportedly connected to the Obama administration are receiving federal taxpayer dollars through front groups associated with the disgraced community organizing outfit known as ACORN. “We are footing the bill for their guerilla demonstrations, he charged.
Organizers, meanwhile, are calling the scheme a peaceful leaderless resistance movement. But the precise roots and origin of the efforts still remain somewhat of a mystery.
Several sources said the first call to arms came in mid-July in the magazine AdBusters, which describes itself as anti-consumerist. The idea quickly picked up steam. And numerous organizations have since popped up to support the effort.
Alright you redeemers, rebels, radicals and utopian dreamers out there, we are living through a rare crisis and moment of opportunity, noted a message, signed Culture Jammers HQ, posted on the magazines website. A worldwide shift in revolutionary tactics is underway right now that bodes well for the future.
According to the statement, demonstrators would be zeroing in on one specific demand to propel us toward the radical democracy of the future. The flood of activists in New York, the message said, would then incessantly repeat our one simple demand until Barack Obama capitulates.
Multiple reports, however, claim that there is a far more sinister side to the story. World Net Daily, for example, reported that many of the individuals behind the upcoming demonstrations are in fact directly tied to President Obama whose presidential campaign, ironically, was heavily financed by the very same banksters supposedly being targeted.
The protest is closely tied to the founders of ACORN and leaders of major U.S. unions, including the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, reported WND in an article entitled Wall Street targeted for Britain-style riots by Aaron Klein.
The involvement of a few specific individuals is of particular concern, Klein noted. First there is ACORN founder Wade Rathke, who earlier this year called for days of rage around America targeting bankers.
Then there is the SEIUs Stephen Lerner, apparently a regular guest of the White House, who was caught on video earlier this year discussing plans to bring down the stock market and “destabilize” the nation with a goal of “redistributing wealth.” Numerous analysts called his scheme the equivalent of economic terrorism.
Bill Csapo, the man listed as a media contact on the website OccupyWallSt.org, originally told The New American that he was not sure whether Lerner was involved and that he planned to find out. But in a follow-up e-mail, he said: contrary to our conversation, I have begun neither the investigation on the claim of SEIU involvement in the Sept. 17 movement, nor the grand scheme of Stephen Lerner to collapse the global economy.
OccupyWallSt.org, which is helping organize logistics for the demonstrations, prominently lists the so-called Second Bill of Rights on its website. According to the site, the ideas were espoused by early socialists before being advanced by President Franklin D. Roosevelts in his 1944 State of the Union speech.
Essentially the scheme calls on the government to create a new set of rights that critics say would severely limit economic liberty. The state-enforced privileges include a useful and remunerative job with enough earning power to provide adequate recreation; the ability to sell products at a certain price; protection from unfair competition and the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment; a decent home, medical care and a good education; and more.
All of these rights [sic] spell security, FDR is quoted as saying by the Wall Street occupiers. But even though attacks on traditional notions of American liberty and inalienable negative rights feature prominently, the biggest concern expressed by activists appears to be the effect of money on the political system.
Other organizations publicly supporting the protests include Euro Revolution, Take the Square, and the hacktivist group of hacker activists known as Anonymous. Following September 17, which astute observers noted was also Constitution Day in America, organizers hope to march on Washington later this year.
It remains unclear whether or not the upcoming events will serve as a catalyst with serious implications for the world. While some analysts expect severe chaos, others say the plans may well fizzle out without much of an impact. But rather than sticking around to find out, at least one critic, free-enterprise activist Ron Arnold, plans to take a trip to the countryside on September 17.
