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My New Favorite Holiday: May Day

As an Occupier I've been asked many times "What are your demands?" Yesterday I was asked "What do you hope America can learn from this march?"

After marching with over 30,000 people from Bryant Park through lower Manhattan yesterday, a Daily News reporter suddenly asked me what I thought America could learn from this march.

Images of hundreds of signs I’d seen that day passed through my head. I quickly tried to think of which one to talk about. Almost all of these concerns are deeply connected. Was there a way I could sum them up in my own words?

All I could say was what popped into my head. That I don’t think people should be ashamed of being poor, unemployed, hungry or homeless. Or working two jobs and still not being able to pay the bills. Join the club, it’s a big one. 150 million of us are struggling with poverty in this country right now. I think the first step towards working to solve this problem is to acknowledge it and talk about it. 

Coming out and talking to other people about their challenges has been tremendously empowering and humbling. Marching with this huge crowd and talking to people individually was one of the most moving things I’ve ever done. Knowing that hundreds of May Day marches were taking place all over the world involving hundreds of thousands of people gave me a deep sense of international community. 

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Jaguar-Guy May 3, 2012 at 02:56 pm
What about all the people who do not have the time to march, but must be hard at work and cannot express their frustrations with the ecomony and joblessness and big oil paying zero in taxes?? Not all the people that walk the streets represent all the opinions involved here. To think otherwise is ridiculous. Do you think that only those who carry signs represent everyone mad as hell here?? Some people have to keep quietly grinding it out.
Frank T May 3, 2012 at 03:05 pm
How did you arrive at the 150 million figure?
Jaguar-Guy May 3, 2012 at 03:05 pm
My favorite holidays are still Christmas, 4th of July and Memorial Day - certainly not May Day with the radical overtones. Yes, the celebrate it all over the world, especially in Red Square - just saying.
Preliator May 3, 2012 at 04:10 pm
Oktoberfest is nice I hear...isn't that right Fraulein Mary?
Preliator May 3, 2012 at 04:17 pm
According to the 2012 census the rate was 15.1 % and included 46.9 million people or for Mary Beth equal to slightly more than half the population of Germany yet has a slightly higher poverty rate of 15.5 %.
Patti Robinson May 3, 2012 at 04:38 pm
Tavis Smiley & Cornell West went on a "Poverty Tour" which became a series broadcast on PBS in 2011 and then wrote a book about it: "The Rich and the Rest of Us".
http://www.amazon.com/The-Rich-And-Rest-Manifesto/dp/1401940633/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336062655&sr=8-1
Frank T May 3, 2012 at 04:39 pm
I'm guessing Ms. Robinson is not a math teacher.
People Person May 3, 2012 at 04:46 pm
And Kristallnacht isn't far behind, Heir Preliator! Stop intimidating people with your tired downtradden neo-Nazi diatribe. You're a bore.
Frank T May 3, 2012 at 05:37 pm
That confirms my belief that the numbers are false.
Preliator May 3, 2012 at 05:49 pm
Sorry, that should read "2010 census"...just for the nitpickers.
Frank T May 3, 2012 at 05:50 pm
Russia also has a VAT tax of 18%. This increases the costs of goods purchased and hurts lower income individuals.
I agree that we do not have the political will to fix what is wrong particularly debt spiraling out of control. Unfortunately raising taxes will not be used to pay down the debt. The additional short term revenue will be used for additonal reckless spending by our spineless Congress.
Concerned May 3, 2012 at 05:51 pm
May Day in some countries are celebrations of success. In Russia under communism, May Day was a parade of military power, but now it is a week long holiday as the Russian middle class is growing and in fact there are more billionaires in Moscow than in NYC. Oh Russia has a flat tax of 15% on everyone, not a progressive tax. Wealth and success are celebrated not vilified. Europe on the other hand is in deep turmoil as socialistic policies that are wreaking havoc on their economies. The USA is following the path of Europe and we now have such high debt load as a country , and we will have to cut social programs and then after the economy rebounds taxes will be raised. We do not have the political will in either party to fix what is wrong with the economy. I hope the political rhetoric will stop and we will unify our country and take the painful medicine we need.
Preliator May 3, 2012 at 05:52 pm
I am offended that you are suggesting that I think Mary Beth and the whole host of liberals, progressives, Marxists, communists and democrats are in any way, shape or form Nazis, that is ludicrous.
They are all socialists.
Jaguar-Guy May 3, 2012 at 06:37 pm
Prof. Cornell West ?? Come on, really. Taking a "poverty tour" and writing a book sponsered by PBS (and Bill Moyers) - that is NOT anything you should be quoting. That is like quoting Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck for facts and statistics. BOTH extremes can cite any statistic they want and try to make sense of them, so that argument fails Patti. Why not Van Jones and Barry Goldwater ???
Patti Robinson May 3, 2012 at 09:12 pm
Hey, its not every day I get called a commie pinko retard : )
thatgirl May 4, 2012 at 12:32 am
"socialistic" (is that a word?) policies haven't done europe in--you might recall that it was a decidedly socialist government approach, country-by-country that was adapted following two world wars that dominated europe within a 50-year span. try to imagine what shape the u.s. would be if it endured two world wars on its shores under the current idealogy. if your home or livelihood was destroyed, how would you recover?
europe implemented a unified currency and infrastructure in the 2000s. they invited nations into that currency who weren't stable, and followed some of our nonsensical financial "products" into the abyss. you haven't explained how we're "following the path of europe," exactly, but we've socialized quite a lot for quite a long time now: schools, police, fire protection, war debt--and our currency is traded worldwide, just as the euro is. stop blaming a concept you have no understanding of for our country's woes. we simply prioritize badly by creating wars and cutting taxes on the wealthiest without worrying about paying for either. that "success" other countries celbrate? all part of the same whole: protective labor law and organization that brought prosperity--even to our country. in this climate of making unions wrong for every ill, it's important to remember that organized labor provided a few generations a decent income and a robust consumer economy. that's what may day was always about. ask why those jobs don't exist.
Concerned May 4, 2012 at 01:30 am
That girl, your history is missing a key fact, and that is the USA rebuilt Germany, Italy and Japan. Socialism is great but it falls apart when you run out of other peoples money to fund the give always.
Jaguar-Guy May 4, 2012 at 11:36 am
Was that Hazel W?? LOL !!! I wish the insults would stop at long last - please. Let's just make out points and not be the Congress vs. Senate here. Sheesh !!!!! Spain currently has 26% unemployment, and 51% unemployment of folks 25 and under. Greece, France, Portugal and Spain are all rioting, and protesting the austerity measure cuts, which grow ever deeper. They are made to keep slashing gov't spending and are being bullied by Germany to keep cutting. Let's all watch the French election in a couple days.
Al 17 May 4, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Milton Friedman on the Phil Donahue show 1979:
*Phil Donohue: When you see around the globe the maldistribution of wealth, the desperate plight of millions of people in underdeveloped countries, when you see so few haves and so many have-nots, when you see the greed and the concentration of power, did you ever have a moment of doubt about capitalism? And whether greed is a good idea to run on?
Al 17 May 4, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Milton Friedman: Well first of all tell me, is there some society you know that doesn’t run on greed? You think Russia doesn’t run on greed? You think China doesn’t run on greed? What is greed? Of course none of us are greedy. It’s only the other fella that’s greedy. The world runs on individuals pursuing their separate interests. The greatest achievements of civilization have not come from government bureaus. Einstein didn’t construct his theory under order from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn’t revolutionize the automobile industry that way. In the only cases in which the masses have escaped from the kind of grinding poverty that you are talking about, the only cases in recorded history are where they have had capitalism and largely free trade. If you want to know where the masses are worst off, it’s exactly in the kind of societies that depart from that. So that the record of history is absolutely crystal clear, there is no alternative way, so far discovered, of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system.
KY May 4, 2012 at 12:44 pm
These "great ideas" you ask about, Al 17, will be found within you. Yes, YOU. So stop being so lazy by asking others to do your work for you. Do your job, Al 17. As a responsible citizen, as a patriot, as a human being, your job, Al 17, is to go within yourself and look for the "great ideas" you are demanding of others. We will help you brother/sister, Al 17. We well carry your weight for a while. But, don't make us carry your weight for long, ok? Pull your own, if you are able. And this my dear, Al 17 is just one of the many elements of the "agenda", as you call it, of the Occupy Movement. There are many many more. The Occupy Movement is a Peoples Movement. YOU are one of those People, Al 17. And that's your lesson for today, brother/sister Al 17.
---Be careful what you ask for, you'll probably get it! ...........OCCUPY!
KY May 4, 2012 at 01:06 pm
Good question brother/sister Frank T! The answer to your question will be found when you read "The Rich And The Rest Of Us - A Poverty Manifesto" by Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornell West, just released in paperback. The figure is accurate and supported by documentation. The rich continue to get richer at the expense of the impoverished or soon to be impoverished. But remember the most important point here. This is happening because our Democracy has been stolen by the Rich and Powerful. They now own our so-called representatives. The Rich and Powerful are writing our laws to suit there desires. Their desire is to become richer! And this is why we OCCUPY brother/sister Frank T. (Take note Al 17, this is another element on the 'agenda' of the Occupy Movement).
Thank you brother/sister Frank T, for your important question...........OCCUPY!
Preliator May 4, 2012 at 01:06 pm
You cannot deny that the social democracies that arose in Europe after WW2 had their national defense subsidized by the hard working tax payers of the United States. They could afford to indulge in outlandish, expensive and unsustainable social programs because they did not have to fully fund their national defense obligations. Look at them now as they struggle to meet their obligations; Italy, Greece, Spain, the list goes on and on.
You can fast forward to a recent example of that and the operations in Libya last year; NATO nations began to run out of munitions suppressing Khadafi's thugs and had to (once again) call on the United Sates to help. It should be worthy to note that the European nations could not sustain and air campaign against a third world dictator with minimal air defense, what chance do they have of defending themselves from other more aggressive and powerful countries. I am sure Chine, Russia, Iran and others took careful note.
Preliator May 4, 2012 at 01:12 pm
What a bunch of utter crap KY.
Preliator May 4, 2012 at 01:16 pm
Ugh, my gag reflex is kicking in after reading this sanctimonious garbage.
Preliator May 4, 2012 at 01:26 pm
I think that pretty much sums it up, thanks AI 17.
KY May 4, 2012 at 01:47 pm
Thank you Jaguar-Guy. You bring up a good point.
Remember, fellow patriots, our country took birth ONLY for the courage of Radicals like Paul Revere, Nathan Hale, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Adams, the list goes on and on. You know them. They are the The Radicals, the Traitors, the Resistors, the Protestors, the Demonstrators, the Marchers, and the Fighters who fought for the Radical idea that the people should govern themselves. Don't believe for a second, Jaguar-Guy, that your freedom is guaranteed without your participation in your democracy. Like the Radicals who have so courageously gone before us, and in their honor, we must rise to equal levels of 'Radical' to preserve the precious gift they have entrusted us to protect. Today, the government of our dear country is owned and operated by rich and powerful corporations. The government of our country is responsible for the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocent civillians in many parts of the world. This is not the country I want. I trust you feel the same way, Jaguar-Guy. Remember, Jaguar Guy, the admonishment given to us by a fellow patriot, Edward Abbey, "A patriot must always be prepared to defend his country against its government". The Occupy Movement is the People's Movement, Jaguar-Guy. If one must be radical to defend ones country, then so be it...........OCCUPY!
Al 17 May 4, 2012 at 01:49 pm
KY-what the heck are you talking about? I'm not the one marching, chanting, complaining or squatting for change so why do I need to come up with ideas? Here's my idea. Are you ready because it's a radical one---take reponsibilty for your own life and go to work. (not you, per se, but OWS in general) The only thing the Founder's promised us in the Constituion was equality of freedom, not equality of outcome. "A society that puts equality - in the sense of equality of outcome - ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom"-Milton Friedman
Al 17 May 4, 2012 at 01:57 pm
KY,again you make no sense. Isn't it everyone's desire to become richer? Do you really think your "brothers and sisters" would still be there if they hit the lotto? Oh sure, they would be walking around handing out hundreds. Yeah, right. If you believe that our representives are owned by the rich, why not go after them? The rich don't work for you, the politicians do so your quarrel should be with them. Why target those who earn their money instead of the People's elected representatives who get paid with your taxes while paving the way for the evil rich to get richer at the expense of the poor and downtrodden? As I said, a rudderless ship...
Al 17 May 4, 2012 at 02:01 pm
Your welcome "brother or sister".
Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
n.mcgrath June 14, 2013 at 10:30 am
There is a "deadzone" on Box Tree Road for years already!
bchbum11968 June 14, 2013 at 06:37 pm
It's more than just E Quogue/Westhampton. There are so many people out here and not enoughRead More bandwidth. Maybe cell tower opposition needs to be re looked at!