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Anonymous's Occupation Of Wall Street Begins At Noon
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 17, 2011
Modified Sep 23, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 17, 2011
Modified Sep 23, 2011
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A loose coalition of left-leaning groups like Adbusters and Anonymous are beginning their "occupation" of Wall Street today at noon. Their goal is to "see 20,000 people flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades, and occupy Wall Street for a few months." According to the protest's website, a "leaked bulletin from the New York Police Department reveals that they expect at least 5,000" to show up today, and ask participants to being "warm clothing" along with other provisions due to the recent cold snap. Mayor Bloomberg told his eponymous news organization, "People have a right to protest, and if they want to protest, we’ll be happy to make sure they have locations to do it. As long as they do it where other people’s rights are respected, this is the place where people can speak their minds."
Once in place, the protesters claim they will "incessantly repeat our one simple demand until Barack Obama capitulates," but what exactly is that demand? We won't know until a week from now, when they "publicly deliver [their] manifesto to the White House and to the American media," but looking at their list of possibilities, they are anything but "simple." Then again, neither are the problems.
The occupation won't be entirely "peaceful," as Anonymous is promising to roll out a new, more powerful hacking tool to cripple websites. According to ITWorld, the group recently tested it by bringing down WikiLeaks and Twitter. If the protesters make it until Monday, they'll be able to greet President Obama as he swings into town to speak to the UN and schmooze with wealthy donors.
"If we have peaceful assemblies and debates about what our demands to President Obama should be, then bit by bit we can create a situation that will rival what happened in Egypt," the editor of Adbusters tells CNN. While the occupation begins at 12:00 p.m. at North Bowling Green, the protest will amass in earnest at 3:00 p.m. at Chase Plaza.
Tagged
2012
adbusters
anonymous
barack obama
economy
occupy wall street
protests
rich people
wall street
war
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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