Money | September 25, 2008 | 42 comments

Citizens dumping personal junk on Wall Street to protest bailout

source: http://www.infowars.com/?p=4854

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goldenways
An e-mail that began as a rallying cry from a lone journalist to an influential circle of friends to protest the U.S. government bailout of Wall Street has ignited a national day of street protests. Some demonstrators plan to dump their rubbish in front of the bronze bull sculpture near Wall Street in downtown Manhattan Thursday.

"People are going to bring their own personal junk that they think is worth as much as the junk financial instruments that the government is proposing to buy from the Wall Street banks," says Andrew Boyd, an activist and freelance online-video artist for nonprofit groups in Manhattan. "We’re hoping that people show up with their 8-track cassette collections, their old Spice Girl CDs, their surf boards that got bit by sharks and old Enron stock certificates."

Boyd is just one of thousands of Americans from all over the political spectrum who the Bush Administration has angered with its vague proposal to hand $700 billion over to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to restore U.S. financial markets’ health. That anger has manifested itself online through e-mail, web sites and other online chatter, with one site, BuyMyShitPile.com, going rapidly viral this week. The site, a parody of the dire financial situation, is what is inspiring the self-organizing group of activists to show up in downtown Manhattan Thursday evening with all their junk. They hope to make their simmering fury palpable to Wall Streeters getting off work.

"Why should people who made financially imprudent decisions be rewarded?" asks Boyd, who is best known for founding the political protest theater group Billionaires For Bush. "It’s our hard-earned tax dollars, and we’re being asked to bail these guys out at the same time as this locks out all the things that we want for the future."

Boyd’s is one of many voices of frustration. Other people’s anger spilled out online, which in turn, is fueling the planned protests’ momentum.

Arun Gupta, a 43-year-old freelance journalist in Manhattan, is someone else who was so upset by unfolding events that he was moved to action.

"I’ve been spending a lot of time reading about the intensifying crisis and the bailout plan," he says. "The more I read, the more outraged and flabbergasted I was: It became clear to me that this was the financial equivalent of the Sept. 11 attacks."

He was so upset that he banged out a passionately worded 629-word e-mail on his laptop Sunday afternoon urging his friends — and anyone else who would listen — to show up at the southern tip of Manhattan late Thursday afternoon to demonstrate. He says that he’s never organized a protest before in his life.



"This week the White House is going to try to push through the biggest robbery in world history with nary a stitch of debate, to bail out the Wall Street bastards who created this economic apocalypse in the first place," he wrote. "This is the financial equivalent of September 11. They think, just like with the Patriot Act, they can use the shock to force through the "therapy," and we’ll just roll over!"

He added:

Think about it: They said providing health care for 9 million children, perhaps costing $6 billion a year, was too expensive, but there’s evidently no sum of money large enough that will sate the Wall Street pigs. If this passes, forget about any money for environmental protection, to counter global warming, for education, for national healthcare, to rebuild our decaying infrastructure, for alternative energy.

This is a historic moment. We need to act now while we can influence the debate. Let’s demonstrate this Thursday at 4 p.m. in Wall Street (see below).

The e-mail ricocheted through the electronic ecosystem faster than the implosion of Wall Street itself, tapping into and riding the frisson of resentment among Americans at this monumental financial foul-up.---------CONTINUES
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42 comments // Citizens dumping personal junk on Wall Street to protest bailout

  • ACrisisinAmerica
    • 0
      ACrisisinAmerica  

    • Dear Americans,

      I would like to propose a "NATIONAL STRIKE DAY" for every American that is able. I have heard France has been doing this with great success. Please let us get everyone engaged here and anywhere we can post this message or one of your own.

      The Questions I would ask here are as follows: What day should it be and when and how often? Once a month to start or? I believe this would really give the people back their power in this country. It is time to take action! If we do not take some action now as our Declaration of Independence says we have the right and obligation to, it looks like our country will fall.

      People are losing their homes by the millions, and jobs of course with it, and our government with the media's help are trying to hide it from us. They are going to let us just fall, we have to save ourselves, to many good people's lives are being ruined.

      This is the responsibility of a free people. Be sure the world bankers have a diabolical plan for us and unless we truly want to be slaves, we have to do something. I am open to other ideas, or maybe someone is already doing this (I heard something). I plead with each American here on Twitter to get involved and support this idea, and everywhere else we can get this message out.

      This will be a peaceful way to get our government's attention, while we take back our country. Trust me if George Washington and the many honorable men and women who fought our war of Independence were here today, they would have already taken action years ago, many years ago, and I doubt it would be very peaceful.

      Thus, no one works until our demands are met. Start with say five or ten demands. So my idea, proposal is that Americans just go to the street, your city hall, or what is ever appropriate in your state. No one works until our demands are met. But absolutely No violence, no vandalism, no matter what please. That will destroy our honest political cause afforded us by our constitution. In fact, we should make, in my opinion that it is a very somber and quite sit in, almost complete silence until our demands are met, so they cannot try and intimidate people or arrest them unlawfully as they have been doing. I believe this is very important point, no conflict what so ever, just freeze everything. We are all allowed to stay home from work. We need to get employers involved obviously.

      My list of demands start as follows:

      1.) No more bail outs, but instead money is to be given directly to the American people.
      I heard some experts are saying that this is the only real cure, some 450,000.00 to each American is the answer to our financial crisis. http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?=26321

      2.) Abolish the IRS, period!

      3.) Reinstate our fourth Amendment rights.

      4.)

      5.)

      I hope others will give their suggestions. I would recommend we elect a board and thus work to organize our first AMERICAN NATIONAL STRIKE DAY, or if someone has already started this, please if anyone is aware of this let me know.

      
      http://www.google.com/search?q=strikes+in+france&ie...
      en-US:official&client=firefox-a

      http://www.americansinfrance.net/DailyLife/Strike.cfm

      Sincere hope for our beloved nation,
      Stephen Paine

      Here is Why we need a NATIONAL STRIKE DAY!

      http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a...

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P-hvPJPTi4

      http://www.svpvril.com/nwo.html

      http://www.prisonplanet.tv/articles/end_game.htm

      http://nonwo.blogtownhall.com/2008/03/26/tyranny_an_ame...

      The Secret Rulers OfThe World, Bilderberg Group/Rothchild

      You must watch this video if you care about your future and your families future:

      http://truthtold.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/the-secret-ru...

    • 3 years ago
  • SDLN
  • third_eye_view
  • myndperception
    • 0
      myndperception  

    • i would take part in this if i lived closer.

      this will mark the beginning of the revolution. we the people have been quiet for a long time now, isn't about time our voices were heard.

      this is just the beginning...

    • 3 years ago
  • asherp
    • 0
      asherp  

    • During the 1920s, a similar protest happened, where people littered Banana peels on the ground....

      which is supposedly where we get the iconic "guy slipping on a banana peel"

    • 3 years ago
  • NeoDotCom
  • nufsenuf
    • 0
      nufsenuf  

    • Atomiclove - Just think about it for a minute - the Boston Tea Party, (fast forward) to 1955, the courage of Rosa Parks in Montgomery, AL, the 1965 Selma march to Montgomery (which ultimately led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of '65) All these were forms of social protest - PEACEFUL SOCIAL PROTEST! This is a basic fundamental of our country, and a basic right of all people. This kind of peaceful protest is one of the things that make this country worth living in. It's one of the things this country was founded upon. Peaceful protest is a viable means for the people to be heard, and a powerful tool in righting the wrongs.

      PS: I'm not a gen-xer - I'm a gen-xer's mom!

    • 3 years ago
  • AveryMoore
    • 0
      AveryMoore  
    • nufsenuf:

      Agreed, absolutely agreed.

      What seems a trivial protest - because it isn't "melodramatic" or in the slightest violent - takes on an elevated significance because its subtlety communicates and integrates with higher levels of understanding. In us all.

      That, and there is no possible excuse for the opposition to overreact. Which doubtless they would dearly love to do.

      Precedents? After a long march Gandhi saunters onto a beach and lifts sea salt from beneath his feet. The British salt monopoly begins to crumble. Autocratic British rule begins to fail.

      Junk piles up at the doorstep of the Junk Bond capital of earth and it reminds us all - we mean to impoverish millions to support the junk trade?

      Are we that crazy?

      There is something inspired about this that will probably trigger other spontaneous acts.

      Nice.

    • 3 years ago
  • atomiclove
    • 0
      atomiclove  
    • nufsenuf:

      The Boston tea party led to the American Revoluation.
      Rosa Parks was still arrested and nothing changed untill people got mad that it led to nothing.
      There was even fighting with Gandhi.
      my point is still in place.
      your "PEACEFUL SOCIAL PROTEST" just makes you believe that they you have a say in the system.
      thats why they let you do it.
      it gets it out of your system.
      and in the time that you think its changing anything their already going through with it anyways.

      you want a sign that this government doesnt listen.
      turn on your news.
      what war are we still in?
      how many people hate it?
      how many people want Bush out?
      whats his approval rating?

      what you have is hope.
      because you dont want to admit that theres going to be a time of great suffer in America.
      no one wants to admit that.
      no one wants it.
      we hope these problems can be solved with out being called to arms.

      we always hope for the best.
      but the sooner we can admit that this leads no where the sooner the changes can take place.

      but keep your hope.

      it seems to get you through your day.

    • 3 years ago
  • curiously_strong
    • 0
      curiously_strong  

    • I would want to FedEx my garbage over there also, just make huge pile in front of wall street. It would be nice to start that same tend in other parts of the country.

    • 3 years ago
  • khromadjo
    • 0
      khromadjo  

    • “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives”

      --William James

    • 3 years ago
  • rebot
  • HolyCity2012
  • globewatcher
    • 0
      globewatcher  

    • and how many cops will be there arresting people, screaming through megaphones that it is an illegal assembly-not to mention littering. well, i know one thing. we will hear about it first here on current.

    • 3 years ago
  • poosta7
    • 0
      poosta7  

    • Dang!! I just got kicked to the curb by the Republican version of Adam Smith's invisible hand of the free market. I can actually feel that invisible hand in pocket.

    • 3 years ago
  • neocongo
    • 0
      neocongo  

    • "The more I read, the more outraged and flabbergasted I was: It became clear to me that this was the financial equivalent of the Sept. 11 attacks."

      Lets hope unlike Sept. 11th, we this time ask ourselves the most important question. Why did this happen?

    • 3 years ago
  • karnathis
  • naturechild
  • Patio_Patty
    • 0
      Patio_Patty  
    • naturechild:

      LMAO! Now that's funny! I wish I had thought of that, cuz he sure left me with a lot of shit!! Goodwill wouldn't even take it. I had to PAY someone to take it to the dump. It would've served a MUCH better purpose had I saved it for this event!

    • 3 years ago
  • atomiclove
    • 0
      atomiclove  

    • WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU!
      generation X at its best.
      beliving that this will casue anything other then some exrta work for road clean up.
      you want to tell them how you feel?

      STOP GIVING THEM YOUR MONEY!

      _you-"lets put all our junk in front of wall street to show them we're not happy"

      -them-"can we get a clean up crew out here some LAZY good for nothing thinks their making an impack"\

      WAKE THE HELL UP AMERICA!!!!

      the more you think their even caring the more they drag us in to a pit we cant get out of.

      you want to make a change
      stand the hell up and remind them that WE own THEIR asses!
      that THEY answer to US
      and if WE dont like IT wont happen.

      it makes me sad to know that you all think this will change anything

    • 3 years ago
  • onechance
    • 0
      onechance  
    • atomiclove:

      I think it's more of a symbolic "FUCK YOU" to the pricks that are going to do what they want anyway.

      I highly doubt that anyone involved in this (or most any other protest) are in any way giving money directly to these goons.

      What do you propose?

    • 3 years ago
  • Patio_Patty
    • 0
      Patio_Patty  
    • atomiclove:

      What's REALLY sad is the apathy that people like you provoke. Doing nothing has gotten us exactly in the mess we're in now. ACTION speaks LOUDER than words. . . always has. If we don't at least try to invoke change, the apathy will prevail. We just can't freakin' afford that anymore!

    • 3 years ago
  • MeganMcKenzie
  • mata_dindi
  • onechance
    • 0
      onechance  
    • mata_dindi:

      Isn't making the average taxpayer pay for the mistakes of the filthy rich illegal? If no, shouldn't it be? It's time for outcry. It's time to stand against this disgusting transfer of wealth.

    • 3 years ago
  • poosta7
  • asherp
  • k8_hj
  • kDrew_Productions
  • Elligirl
    • 0
      Elligirl  

    • Yes, somehow they can create $700b out of thin air to fund Wall St, but can't find any money for health care or education reform or bridges and roads.

    • 3 years ago
  • onechance
  • philvoydanoff
  • AveryMoore
  • nufsenuf
    • 0
      nufsenuf  

    • This is awwwsoooome! I wish I could be there, too! I know it's been said and sung before, but ,Hell Yes!! Power to the People!

    • 3 years ago
  • Patio_Patty
  • SeaJade
  • SeaJade
    • 0
      SeaJade  
    • Image

    • Here, I found some trash in my photo files - its not mine, so I want to be clear from the start, but nobody has claimed it for years and years - will this still count? - I could donate the profits to a non profit solar roof company or health care funds for all that need it.... the man at the end of the pool is praying for a good sale, the water is contaminated and there are lots of dead fish and birds about that i believe will also be part of the deal! There are more, and other trash piles, but I didn't want to get everyone over excited...

    • 3 years ago
  • MeganMcKenzie
  • onechance
  • atomiclove
    • 0
      atomiclove  
    • onechance:

      i think they know what their doing.
      but their doing it for their own good.
      i think they know that they can piss on your rights and not fear the after math because its only a few people dumping their trash.
      i think as long as Americans think that this "peacful talk" gets them anywhere is as long as we have to suffer.

      i think its been to long since we got really mad.

      what do we as citizens have to lose?
      our freedom?
      their pissing that away like nothing.
      our money?
      their doing the same with that.

      i think its been to long since they've been rattled.
      i think they know they can get away with this.
      beacause at the end of the day they still have everything and we still have nothing.

      i think its easy for them to turn a blind eye and say its all in the name of the people.
      i think they know what to say and how to say it.
      i think their leading us all along.

      how far can you get on empty promisess?
      how many times can you hear that their doing this for "our own good" or that "its all done with us in mind"

      how many times can you risk your own income on the will of another.

      when did we as citizens forget that this government answers to US.
      not to others behind closed doors.

      its OUR money they play with like poker chips.
      i dont know about you but im kinda of sick of being seen as just a name or just a voice in the system that doesnt listen.

      why are we this kind of country?

      why do they not have to answer to us when we're the ones that vote them in.
      WE give THEM the power and we sure as hell have the right to take it away.

      a few people putting their trash infront of wall street is going to do what?
      "a big FUCK YOU to the company"

      now look at it from a real stand point.
      if your the guy in the building looking down what are you going to say?
      do you really think its going to have anything to do with what they choose?
      do you really think its going to make them even think twice?

      im not anti american.
      i believe in this country.
      i believe in the hopes and dreams of millions of people.

      i look in the eyes of children and im scared for them

      i dont want to get ride of this great land
      but i want to take it back from the companies that have WRONGLY tooken it from us.

      when did everything we work for become the joy of somebody else.

      at the end of the day.
      all your trash in the street is just something else for them to step over on their way out.

      im not calling on americans to rise up.
      dont do anything.

      but dont sit there and tell me that by doing something as meaningless as this does anything.

      you want change you have to be willing to give something up
      and if that means ones own life then so be it.

      but untill then welcome to hell

    • 3 years ago
  • agenas_phoenix
  • SeaJade
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