EDITORIAL: Occupy Wall Street Protest

By Christina Fermin

Politics & Society Columnist

Saturday September 17, 2011 was the kick off to the Occupy Wallstreet peaceful Arab Spring style protest. The goal is to get 20,000 people to flood the public spaces of lower Manhattan, setup a tent community and occupy the area for the next few months. The event has been organized by NYC General Assembly and US Day of Rage, answering Adbusters call for the occupation in July. According to their website they claim they are “the 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%.” Similar occupations are suppose to begin October 6, 2011 in Washington D.C.’s Freedom Plaza for peace, social, economic and environmental justice.

The group aims to get an uprising such as we saw in Egypt, Greece, Spain and Iceland, which began in December 2010 in response to the global economic conditions, human rights abuses, political corruption and oppressive regimes. They address the core issues in our society: profit, through means of the Capitalist system of haves and have nots, as well as the Corporations who control the wealth and means of production and inherently the political system that governs. Occupy Wallstreet's goal is to regain control of our freedoms which have in the last century withered away. Their definition of freedom is “the right to communicate, to live, to be, to go, to love, to do what you will without the impositions of others.”

In spirit I am there with the protesters as I would love to be there protesting. I fully support this protest and what they are trying to accomplish, this outrage, this public anger, this protest is the materializing frustration of the masses that has been echoed in the internet and whispered in the halls for the past few years. People are getting tired of all the bullshit, the lies, the corruption, the void that capitalism cannot fill. People are beginning to realize there is something seriously wrong with our society. When money and profit are worth more than the life of a human being, there is something wrong.

I have been a strong proponent for change this past year. I write about it, I talk about it, I read about it. I have written about the paradigm shift that is coming, the shift that has been mentioned in the prophecies of our ancestors. The time has come when we must come together as a people and address the core issues in our society and try to come up with innovative, creative solutions to fix what is so seriously wrong with our world. This protest will begin the winds of change, this will get the creative juices flowing, this is the time to begin talking with anyone and everyone you know and start thinking of better ways to live.

We control the future, we control our lives. It is time we take a step back, catch our breaths and look to what really matters in life. When you die all you have is the experiences you chose, nothing more, nothing less. We the people are the majority, and without us the upper echelon would have nothing. It is time we took responsibility and began co-creating the future we want. A future where everyone is equal, peace, love and respect are the way. I not only support the protest, I encourage all of you to get involved by writing about it, talking about it, supporting the protesters, taking part in a protest and when the call comes, be ready to answer it. This is our time.

Peace & Love,

Christina

About the Columnist

With a bachelors degree in political science from Florida Atlantic University, Christina Fermin has always cultivated her love for history, politics, sociology, ancient knowledge and teachings, the outdoors, the ocean and the environment. Christina strives to make our world better by helping us all create a new reality and understanding of all taking place here and now.

Posted in: Editorial Columns