More from Occupation Wall Street

The Protesters Tried To Do WHAT?! To Jamie Dimon Last Night?

People like Jamie Dimon talk out of two sides of their mouth: they can pretend to be sympathetic to the 'young people's aspirations' at the same time as funding violent crackdowns and police violence.

Business Insider,

3 November, 2011

Last night, Occupy movements across the country took to the streets for a General Strike.

In Oakland, things got totally out of control, multiple banks and businesses were targeted, and the port of Oakland was shut down.

In Seattle, there was one main target — JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon.

According to Daily Kos, starting around 6:30 p.m., 500 protesters surrounded the Sheraton hotel where he was giving a speech. Police in full riot gear had to use pepper spay to disperse the crowd after hours of demonstrators "occupying" the perimeter of the building. They said they wanted to chase Dimon out.

"Whose streets?" they chanted, "Our streets."

On one hand, we understand the protesters' ire with the CEO of JPM. Dimon is a well-known critic of of regulation and the demonetization of bankers.

On the other hand, while the protesters were attempting to surround him in order to make what they called a "citizen's arrest," Dimon was inside agreeing with some parts of their movement. In his speech last night for the University of Washington's Foster School of Business he actually said he sympathized with the protesters (via the Seattle Times):

"They're right. In general, these big institutions of America let them down," he said. "That's not the same thing as to say that every bank was bad, every politician was bad. That's where I would disagree."

And on the topic of the widening wealth gap in America, one which some of Dimon's peers have denied, he is with the protesters as well:

"America has become more inequitable in the last 10 or 20 years. That's a fact," he said. "I don't personally think that's a good thing. I've been a big supporter of progressive taxes."

Dimon also supports policies that would allow companies that have moved their operations off-shore to bring their capital back to the United States, as well as lower capital requirements so that banks can lend more easily.

In his speech he had a message to specifically for young people:

"Keep the faith. I wish we hadn't put them in this position. Remember those fundamentals always when you wake up: You are in the best country and it will come back."

In the end, the protesters left around 9:30 pm after they found out that Dimon had been rushed out of the hotel around 9:00 pm.

Veterans hold dramatic march on Wall Street

Business Insider,
3 November, 2011

Teachers, auto workers, nurses and more have had their chance to show their support for the ideals of the Occupy movement.

Today, veterans had their turn.

There is no perfect way to describe what it looked like, we can only say that their demonstration was serious and somber unlike any other.

This was not a party with music and cheering, their signs were not funny either, this was a true march in protest. After all, these men and women are soldiers.

As they made their way to Zuccotti Park, the feeling was tense. People who watched from their offices did not smile or laugh, they stared and whispered quietly to each other.

And then the veterans took the human microphone. Like their steps, their voices rang in perfect time. The occupiers stood in silence, only opening their mouths to repeat what the soldiers said.

When one Navy veteran addressed Zuccotti Park he put it very simply: "If you continue to assemble in peace and solidarity, justice will come to pass. We are the 99%."

Click HERE to see photographs

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