Occupy Wall Street Protesters Recruited to Oppose Fracking

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Occupy Wall StreetIt appears the fine, upstanding protesters of the Occupy Wall Street movement—the same people who want to abolish capitalism and redistribute all wealth from producers to those who won’t work—are prime targets to be recruited to oppose fracking. Birds of a feather…

Eric Weltman, Senior Organizer for Food and Water Watch, visited Zuccotti Park two weeks ago with his family, and not as a part of the group. Last Wednesday, the organization set up a table and brought in volunteers and brochures. Weltman felt Occupy Wall Street was a good venue to meet like-minded people who would be willing to support the cause, due to the apparent anti-corporate sentiment.

"Our main purpose is to engage people as individuals to come over and sign our petition," says Weltman.

Julio Rolon, who flew to New York from Puerto Rico to take part in Occupy Wall Street, signed the petition urging Governor Andrew Cuomo to ban fracking in the state of New York.

"I also decided not only to sign the petition, but also promote their ideas. I know what fracking does, and what [Food and Water Watch is] is doing is good work," Rolon said.

Sherman Jackson, a member of the Occupy Wall Street public relations working group, says he welcomes a group that’s against fracking.

"You know who’s advocating for [fracking], it’s the same companies that pollute the gulf, the same companies that polluted Texas," he says.

Corinne Rosen, another organizer for Food and Water Watch, says that what she and the protesters are doing at Zuccotti Park is not just about marching around and shouting slogans.

"It’s also about organizing and building power," she said. "We don’t just hand out a leaflet and walk away, we talk to them and there’s a human connection. That’s what changes minds."*

*New York City Limits (Oct 17, 2011) – Recruiting Occupy Wall Street Protesters to Oppose Fracking

14 Comments

  1. It always amazes me that so many people can “protest” so much. I can’t understand how they can spend so much time protesting, do they not work or are we the “working class” supporting them so they can protest the fact that we DO work and condemn the businesses that support us.

  2. Just want to help you out with a few facts. You say the Occupy Wall Street people want to abolish capitalism. They don’t. You say they want to redistribute wealth from those who produce to those who don’t work. This is wrong. They are firmly and consistently calling for more jobs. They are consistently calling for fair wages. We look back at European surfdom and see serfs who did the work and the owners as the ones who didn’t work. They probably saw themselves differently. The owners probably saw themselves as doing the serfs a favor letting them live in hovels on their land for work sunup to sundown. The same is true of our society thinking $7.50 and hour is a fair wage and that we are doing people a favor paying them that to flip our hamburgers,  answer our phones, or turn our screwdrivers. I was a kindergarten teacher in the city and saw families struggling on such wages. It’s very shameful that we accept this as just in America. That is what OWS is against, not capitolism.

  3. Another sweeping generalization. The OWS movement does not want to abolish capitalism. Many participants are, in fact, capitalists and even Republicans and Tea Partiers. The movement is calling for a reform of capitalism, more guided by moral principals than naked greed. I’m a small business owner, and a capitalist, and I support OWS.

  4. Reannne, I want to respectfully pitch in my take on your facts…  I haven’t heard with my own ears anything to discount the statement that the “occupiers” have a legitimate agenda.  All I’ve heard them publish are statements calling for redistribution of wealth from those who earned it to those who didn’t.  The whole serf/fiefdom/nobility argument doesn’t wash because most successful people in America didn’t inherit their success – they worked hard and earned it unlike European nobility.  As to the minimum wage that is in place due to it being the law of the land, hard work and dedication will propel people past this level of wage earning.  There’s usually a reason, or reasons that someone who isn’t a student or in the very early stages of a career might earn minumum wage, but experience and hustle will cure the issue…

  5. The most  positive thing I can say about the “occupiers” is that I’m happy the authorities are starting to clear them out and clean up after them.  They want good jobs?  Set the protest signs down, apply, and attempt to gain an entry level position in the oil patch.  We’re starving for good help… 

  6. I’m curious as to where the promotion of abolishing capitalism and redistributing wealth has been voiced by the OWS protests. Have they released some sort of doctrine or list of demands? It was my impressions that they stood for an end to innate unfairness in our financial system, among other concerns. I don’t mean to be derisive of the MDN take on the issue, I’m simply intrigued as to where the information comes from as it seems like it would be important news.

  7. Julieann you are out of your noodle if you think a Tea Partier would be within a 1000 yards of the solicialist soiling of Wall Street. WATCH ANY News channel. Camping out in a park, yelling how the government owes you something or how big business (who employs most of the workers in the country)is screwing us all, is not a Tea Partiers “cup of tea”. It is brought to you by you “Hopey Changey” Socialist (Progresives-same thing) who occupy the white house. Please come back to reality!!
    And of course you support OWS, from your well lit house, with your 2 cars in the driveway, and thriving business (I am sure we can find a Louis Vitton or similar hand bag some where to carry all this shame ) . . .of course you do! 

  8. The only “list of demands” I can find:

    //occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-for-occupy-wall-st-moveme/

    CLEARLY stated that it is an anonymous forum post and IS NOT an official list of demands. Fox News reported it as an “official list” but this is obviously not true.

    Just as I would not attempt to characterize the Tea Party, the pro-natural gas community, or any other group based on individual comments, forum posts, or interviews, I would ask you do the same.

  9. I’m not surprised when these idiots take up any cause.  They love to hate anything that’s convenient and timely.  So they want to tell the banks and brokerage houses how to think and act right?  Isn’t that the job of Obama’s SEC, and laws and regulations?  I don’t support these OWS clowns, they don’t even know what they are doing and why, they just want something for nothing.  It’s just class warfare and class envy at work, IMHO.  They should go protest in front of Fannie, Freddie and 1600 Pennsylvania ave.  There is where the corruption lies, again, IMHO.