Occupy Oakland - Eyewitness Account

From friend and mastering engineer in Oakland Myles Boisen:

"I first noticed the constant whine of helicopters at about 4 pm today. Checking the news I learned that the Occupy Oakland camp in downtown Oakland had been cleared by police in the middle of the night, and a series of afternoon protests had been called in the nearby area. With plans in place to go downtown later that night, I searched the internet with a mix of curiosity and anxiety for news of what was happening. A flurry of twitter messages at the www.occupyoakland.org site detailed a few non-violent marches snaking throughout the downtown area, all headed for the disputed encampment that had become known in recent weeks as "Oscar Grant Park". An Oakland teacher's brigade led the march (see photo.) As phrases like "unlawful assembly" "tear gas" and "bring gas masks" began popping up in OWS feeds, I knew I had to head downtown - camera in hand - to see for myself. (more photos after the jump)

#OccupyWallStreet

Thank you to all the protesters occupying Wall St. right now.

We are a country built on shared sacrifice and civic duty. We are a nation of immigrants. We are a nation which, at our best, thinks flexibly about problems as they happen and works through them with the messy and slow process of democracy. These protests are voicing the myriad arguments for equitable economic reform and against the dismantling of corporate regulation, the dissolution of the social safety net, and the elimination of workers rights.

Our economy is careening off course in part because Wall St. was bailed out without any major rethinking of the 21st century economy and what it will actually take to reinvent our workforce and get people back to work.

We are so connected right now through technology, but seemingly helpless to sustainably reinvigorate our economy. We are not in fact helpless. We can correct the course of our economy through political reform, personal responsibility, and ingenuity. The issues raised by this emerging movement are clear:

#StudentDebtForgiveness

#CloseTaxLoopholesForTheWealthy

#ProtectOurSocialSafetyNet

#DesignEducationForThe21stCentury

#RebuildInfrastructure

#MakeHealthCareAffordable

#BuildAGreenEconomy

#EndTheWars

#EquitableImmigrationReform

#EqualRightsForAll

Keep Marching. Keep fighting. Keep talking. Keep working and we will change the course of history.