Archive for the ‘occupy wall street’ Category

this is something you can do. don’t feel powerless against banks take action

October 20, 2011

More pictures of the OCCUPY WALL STREET demonstrations 10/18/11, Jene Youtt

last night mary came over and we when down to photo salon to see various photographers portfolios and she asked had i read her blog post ‘Fix it or toss it out’ which i quote the beginning here

Fix it or toss it out!

I guess what I am really trying to say is some times something is so broken that it is beyond fixing and you are just throwing good money after bad and that is what the government did when they thought that we had to bail out banks and financial corporations and keeping these executives in power – i.e. –  greed continues to pay off and campaign funds flow in by the millions.  That’s the way I feel about our Financial Banking System and our government.

We are so lucky to have the freedoms of speech and I love that the people are standing up and fighting back.  We are 99% and I think soon some politicians are going to take us seriously.  We have witnessed uprisings in Africa, Egypt and France’s workforce, etc and there is something to be said for standing together and not backing down.  Anyone in office will get voted out by me because I don’t like the way they handled things.  An anybody running for election better have a plan in mind.  Stop the back stabbing, name calling, mudslinging crap and tell us how you think we can turn this around.  Cutting spending and raises the taxes of poor and middle class people is NOT the answer.  Jobs – Fine any corporation who lays off workers intentially to cut the bottom line and show a profit instead of cutting their own salaries and eliminating their 6 figure bonuses.  They are the ones that got us in this mess in the first place and all they care about is staying in business – not for the greater good of the masses but for their own good.  How much money does it take to make you happy?  How many homes do you need to own?  Excess and greed leads to destruction.  Just look at history. Read the rest of the post here  NYmetro.

while i  am spending another day at ‘Occupy Wall Street’ demonstration she’s actually thinking of something very positive to effect change.

me i just take pictures. each one of us adds to the whole .

at Liberty Plaza everyday is different while remaining the same. just the people change and that’s not always true. the more i go down there, the more i meet people who are different and others i’ve seen before. it’s really a learning experience for me. the first thing is i’ve never considered myself a street ‘tog but maybe i am learning how to, maybe not. i do know this is taking a lot of my time and who knows if anyone is appreciating it?

but we do as this couple is doing, the only thing we know how to, ‘show up’. while we may look like strange bed fellows at first as long as we have tolerance and an open heart we can all get along.

seeing this sign made me chuckle and think ‘have i ever paid for empathy?’  i’ve paid for a lot of things in my life but empathy? have i learned how to give it? it’s not an easy thing empathy for me to give i’ve had to spend hours learning  how to and i am not perfect at it now. i do try and catch myself by being mindful as repeating a few Metta phrases.

we can all get along here, well maybe not the bankers right now but maybe they will come around if the ever shed the blinders of greed. as robert fulghum says  Share everything. Play Fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.

this fellow knows how to draw a crowd along with a tog feeding frenzy, “watch out for the plants”

   what plants?

while others   some sit peacefully holding their signs

     while others march some write booklets

             some signs          i talked with this mother while the children played, the children drew as children do

why are we all here? can we really do something, Stop the machine? he did

maybe we can all find peace of mind and a few

 

have a good day, remember it’s our world.  something i learned in the 60’s during the anti-war demonstrations

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

jene

Posted in occupy wall street, Photography, public art | 1 Comment »

photo day at ‘Occupy Wall Street’ & other musings

October 17, 2011

i know this has been a photography and art blog and i am further from a real reporter/news photographer than you’ll ever know, but i am here in new york city where there is a real live story going on and it’s something one can’t ignore all though the mainstream news media are doing a pretty good job at that.

i am struggling with my typing- wordpress photo editing layouts and thought process. i want to walk away from the keyboard because my own lack of expertise in these aforementioned matters frustrate me. but i’ll prode on in the hope i’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel and it won’t be a train.

Saturday afternoon i went down to Zuccotti Park where the demonstration Occupy Wall Street rally is being held. it’s quite a small area, 33,000 square feet,  originally created in 1968 by us steel in return for a height bonus for their headquarters being built close by, then known as Liberty Plaza Park. now owned by brookfield office properties the park is named after company chairman john zuccotti, a politically connected business man and former deputy mayor under abe beame. the building is now renamed One Liberty Plaza.

Liberty plaza is one of the few open spaces with trees and benches located in the downtown area. renovated as part of the lower manhattan rebuilding efforts, the park was regraded, trees were planted, and the tables and seating restored with private money, and served as a staging area for world trade center recovery efforts and memorial ceremonies.

the significant thing  i missed took place further uptown at citibank, 555 La Guardia Place where some of the demonstrators where arrested attempting to close their accounts. can you imagine the panic in the banking community if hundreds of people started closing their accounts. at least not using your credit and debit cards.

did you ever think you could be arrested for closing your bank account. we now know who the nypd is working for and it aint us. you would think nypd would be grateful for all the overtime the demonstration is creating.

If you want to express your opinion about this type of customer service to senior management at Citibank, you can call Citibank President Vikram Pandit. He told Business Week magazine he’d be happy to talk to Occupy Wall Street! His direct office line is (212) 793-1201, and his email address is vikram.pandit@citi.com

but now it’s become famous for something completely different under the watchful eye of the nypd eye in the sky and other secret forces

eye in the sky

this reminds me of the movie war of the worlds where i invaders had huge machines wandering around killing people. of course these can’t walk, yet…..hey don’t give then any ideas. but here are the people, ideas and sights

marchers

the energy i felt from the crowd was pretty incredible  which i am sure changes from

day to day maybe even by the hour. i talked to a few people but a lot of them have agenda. there was a guy preaching the bible of course, they always come out for a crowd. what is amazing about the crowd is everyone seems to have a different view point and no one is in charge.

  

     

then there is this fellow reading the us constitution to no one and everyone

then the media: tv cameras, microphones, notebooks, still cameras

 

  the happiest people seemed to be these guys

    a variety of food along with free food supplied by donors of the movement. so much food and supplies are being sent to the movement a problem arose where to store it. the The American Federation of Teachers Local 1839 had office space near the site so they offered storage space. donations of money  via the internet to the tune of $300,00 are flooding in to the movement from all over.

  so this a mix of americans which is pretty cool, on the weekends everyone can come down and be a part of

  if you’re interested in learning what some of the media has to say check out mother jones has to say on the origins of this movement. even the NY Times paul krugman had something to say today about how wall street financial services have helped the american people or did they?

 

everyone had a job to do, some just being there, some making signs, some silk screening t shirts

so at the end of the elephants parade comes the sweeper

remember who has created this financial mess and who has benefited from it. are you better off now than you were six years ago? if you want to find out whats going on down at Liberty Plaza do peruse the Occupy Wall Street web site

jene

Posted in citibank, living life to it's fullist, network television, occupy wall street, power to the people, Uncategorized, welcome to nyc | Leave a Comment »