‘Occupy’ protests sweep Midwest, nation, world
An Occupy Lincoln protestor stands next to her tent as she explains her stance on the legalization of marijuana. Other causes include financial corruption, unemployment, women’s issues, anti-war protests, veteran’s issues and a multitude of others.
An estimated 50-60 residents have “occupied” the lawn at the Centennial Mall in Lincoln. While the Lincoln group is well organized, within the last few days, protestors in cities across the country have been arrested in confrontational clashes with the police who have been ordered to protect their cities from "health and safety issues."
Occupy Lincoln began in late October in the Centennial Mall parking lot. The movement was born out of similar “Occupy” demonstrations across the U.S.
By Jay Sloan
The protest movements of the 60s and 70s have returned with new causes and growing fervor. Since Sept. 14, a growing contingent of protesters are exercising those rights and making their presence felt around the globe and right here in Nebraska.
The faction, now known as the “Occupy” movement, started domestically in New York City, when a collection of protestors “occupied” Zuccotti Park primarily protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed and corruption within the government.
The movement has swiftly spread to over 70 major cities and 600 communities in the United States. It’s estimated that over 900 cities worldwide have held protests similar to Occupy Wall Street.
Occupy movements across the globe have taken on the slogan “The 99 percent.” Demonstrators believe that one percent of the American wealthy are corruptly influencing the government, thus buying governmental opinion which effects the other “99 percent” of Americans.
UNK political science professor Dr. Claude Louishomme thinks the movement is a positive display of the rights we have as Americans.
“In a democratic society, when things get out of sorts and the people believe the way the government is working is wrong, we can protest,” Louishomme said. “Our government can’t arrest us or beat us down. There are some rules we have to follow, but this is a natural part of our political system.”
The simple lifestyle of the Midwest has not come out unaffected. Both Lincoln and Omaha currently host “Occupy” sites, full of protesters who pledge they’re staying put. The Lincoln protesters have occupied the
Claude Louishomme
lawn at the Centennial Mall next to the State Office Building. The lawn is covered with tents, and the site has more commonly become known as “Occupy Mall Street.”
Demonstrators in Lincoln say they are just one subgroup of the largest, interworking, interconnected movement. Leaders of the “Occupy Mall Street” protest estimate that they have 50-60 full time residents in the tent community. Individuals from that community say they continue living their regular lives, work their regular jobs, but instead of returning to their homes at night, they return to their tents.
The “Occupy Mall Street” tent city has adopted a very tribal community feel. Leaders of the community have established rules and guidelines. Daily meetings are organized, where any member of the community has the right to veto any idea that affects the collective community. Designated smoking areas are set up, and the so-called mother of the community, “Mama Jo,” dishes out weekly cleaning duties.
While the group in Lincoln still stands firmly behind the core initiatives of the Occupy Wall Street movement, protesters said they have also added local topics to their slate of issues needing change. A forefront issue among the Lincoln protesters is the building of the TransCanada Pipeline.
Seven Occupy Lincoln protesters went to Denver last Friday to learn about cold-weather camping for their Lincoln organization. But they called for five others from Lincoln to stand in solidarity with the Denver protesters as police cracked down on the Colorado movement.
Louishomme says this kind of localized protesting can actually be very successful.
“Protest and people getting involved and people mobilizing is a major way that signals are sent and pressures are put on our elected officials to let them know what we as a people want to happen,” Louishomme said. “This week our legislature held a special session for the pipeline. This is how it works. People don’t think this is the way it should be and they mobilize, and theoretically, governmental officials pay attention to that. It seems here, in the issue of the pipeline the government has paid attention.”
UNK has even had a collection of students share their opinion. Protesters in Kearney organized a one-day rally known as Occupy Kearney. Event organizer Tarik Arram encouraged anyone and everyone to come and raise awareness to issues closely affecting them.
The Occupy Kearney event was held on Saturday, Oct. 15.
Arram said the event was primarily about being solidified and standing up for his beliefs. He believes that everyone should have an equal and fair shot at the American dream.
Whether it be protestors in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta or Lincoln, one question still remains unanswered—when will they leave?
According to protestors in Lincoln, that’s a good question.
“We’ll leave when we see change,” one Lincoln protestor said. “We’ll leave when our government stops lying to us,” said another. “We’ll leave when the one percent stops corrupting our government,” shouted another man.
Category: News
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