Welcome to the #OWS 99% Movement “We Will NOT Be Co-Opted”
Preface from Washington’s Blog: Both mainstream Democratic and Republican parties are working furiously behind the scenes to co-opt the Wall Street protests. But as the Associated Press notes, the protesters are fed up with both mainstream parties, as are most of the American people.
A P.R. professional says that the mainstream media’s ridicule of the protests for failing to have a specific list of demands is a dishonest tactic.
And Yves Smith notes that the movement is effective even without demands:
I’ve noticed both here and on some news stories I heard in passing on MSNBC on Friday that the OccupyWallStreet movement has already succeeded in expanding the space of what is now being discussed as remedies.By David DeGraw, AmpedStatus.com [See this for DeGraw's role in organizing the Wall Street protests.]
This is not an official statement from the #OWS 99% Movement. As a decentralized leaderless movement, in our opinion, there is no one group, organization, website or individual who can speak for the movement as a whole....
...We emphatically reject the attempted leadership of any political party, organization or individual. If there are elected officials or organizations who endorse our movement, we welcome them.
However, they must do so knowing this: Your voice will be just as loud as any other voice. We are led by no one. You cannot co-opt We The People.
Respect Us.
So, how much are we talkin'?
From Ben&Jerry's:
To Those Who Occupy: We Stand With YouPreviously:
We, the Ben & Jerry’s Board of Directors, compelled by our personal convictions and our Company’s mission and values, wish to express our deepest admiration to all of you who have initiated the non-violent Occupy Wall Street Movement and to those around the country who have joined in solidarity. The issues raised are of fundamental importance to all of us....MORE
Too Funny: "GE Capital CEO "sympathetic" to Wall Street protests"
Occupy Wall Street: George Soros Understands Protesters’ PainMr. Soros probably qualifies for a spot in the Top 1%.