Occupy Providence - Corporations Own Our Government

When I first heard of the Occupy Wall Street movement I thought, they should be occupying Washington, DC, not Wall Street but I soon realized they had it right because as stated in their first official  statement, their reason for being, is “because corporations own our government.”  The power lies in Wall Street.

Here in Providence, RI,  Occupy Providence officially began on Saturday, at 5PM, October 15, 2011 with a rally at Burnside Park and a march through Providence.   My first impression as I entered the park was that this gathering had a definite sixties flavor to it.  Not surprising.  In the mid-sixties Uranus and Pluto were aligned in the sky and today they are approaching their first major alignment since then, sparking that revolutionary fire. The revolutionary impulse springs from Uranus and the process of transformation comes from Pluto.  The 1960’s alignment, the conjunction, brought the anti-war, anti-establishment, civil rights, and women’s rights movements.  Raising consciousness, eye-opening and “click” moments were the order of the day. In those days demonstrators faced opposition and hostility from the police, the politicians and the general public. Today, with the recent history of the banking bailout, i.e. rewarding the banks for bad behavior, this movement resonates with a large segment of the population. The police, at least here in Providence, seem to be in sympathy with the occupiers, as are the Providence Fire Fighters who have made donations to the cause.  

Personally, with a large dose of Aquarius in my horoscope, these group efforts, rallies and revolutionary movements bring joy to my heart and arouse my curiosity. I am drawn to Burnside Park and the people there, I want to know about them, find out what their motivations are, and see how they are managing this mass of people camping out in a public park.

The first thing I noticed is that they are well organized. They’ve erected booths for food distribution and media. They have a donations intake tent and a couple of medical tents. They recycle the trash and compost what they can. Volunteers man these posts.  

Here are some snippets of conversation, thoughts and reasons for getting involved from some of the people I have talked with.

Bobby, the 19 year old who holds the live streaming gig at Burnside Park related to me how he saw a news blurb about 700 people who were arrested in NYC in connection with their involvement in Occupy Wall Street.  He waited for two weeks  and did not see or hear anything in the main stream media about the Occupy Wall Street movement.  He decided to volunteer because he felt that the movement needed to get the word out and he was adept at live stream.  He feels that the government controls the media. He’s a registered voter and gets most of his news from the internet.

I spoke with Shantal at the food booth, a 24 year old volunteer who feels that “the current system has failed us economically, politically and socially”.  She volunteers after work spending her evenings dishing out food to the occupiers and the homeless. 

Tom, 26, describes himself as an anarchist  and feels that the “right to eat should not be dictated by money.” 

Dave, 43, was drawn to this movement by “a blend of grief and anger….about our broken promises to our most vulnerable population…..”

Jessica, 25 feels the “power balance is out of whack.” And that through the “government and corporate media we are manipulated….it creates a woundedness….consumerism is shoved down our throats.”  She is down here because she feels it is about waking people up to what is going on around them.  A very wise young lady she says, people need to ask themselves, “Why are you unhappy?” and follow that to the root cause.

Elliot, a retiree,  is down here because he feels that the country is “going down the tubes.”  He listed a variety of issues, banking reform, health care reform, unemployment, “it is a real shame that we are in these dire straits.”

Carol, another retiree, is “depressed at the direction the government is going.”  She feels that corporations buy candidates and campaign financing should be regulated and campaigns should only last three months.  She has lived abroad and finds the health system here appalling. 

Will, 24,  has not voted for awhile because he has no faith in the electoral process and feels to effect change we need direct democracy.  “The bailouts are symptoms and we need systemic change.”

Willie, 42, feels that “greedy people create problems”  Corporations are so greedy that they are putting people out of work, out of their homes and people are unable to take care of the basics. “The country is suffering.”

I did not see any evidence of partisan politics. The movement is not about that, it is about the corruption of the entire system. On my daily walk through Burnside Park I have seen the tents sprout like mushrooms as more people get involved. I think everyone should go down to Providence to see for themselves, to talk to the people and make up your own mind. I will continue to make trips down there to talk to people and get their ideas and thoughts.   

My next post will analyze the horoscopes of Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Providence.  These horoscopes show the direction, duration and outcomes of this movement.  Stay tuned.