December 17th: A Day The World Stood Together

I have to be honest. December 17th was an incredible day. For the record, I am very pro-Occupy movement. I've camped once with my local occupation (I'm not very tough) and I did attend "Global Change Day" activities in New York City. I do plan to camp more when the weather improves. Winters are brutal up here in Central New York (and I'm a transplant to the area). But, I've also donated, wrote about the country's issues to spread the word to friends on my old blog, and am a general ally of the movement. Our country, and this world as a whole, is so wrought with problems. I feel that massive changes are needed. With that as the backdrop, understand I'm writing this as a supporter.

For those unaware, December 17th marked the anniversaries/birthday of 3 people/events that have literally changed our world. It was the 1 year anniversary of Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation. Bouazizi's suicide was in the aftermath of his constant humiliation by local law enforcement and confiscation of his fruit vendor wares (wheelbarrow, fruits, scales, etc), and his growing tired of government corruption. His action triggered the uprisings in Tunisia. This caused public outrage, massive protests, and violence. The protests were so effective that then-President Ben-Ali stepped down just 10 days after Bouazizi's death, 27 days after he set himself on fire. Ben-Ali was in power for 23 years. The Tunisian uprisings led to the spread of similar acts in other Middle Eastern nations (Libya, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain). December 17th is also Bradley Manning's birthday. Bradley Manning is the alleged source for thousands of government documents being leaked to Wikileaks. Bradley Manning has (if guilty) given us vast amounts of information detailing government corruption, war crimes, etc. His treatment after being arrested has also given him martyr status. Support for Bradley Manning stretches worldwide. This picture was taken in Germany, as he was honored by the people of Occupy Berlin (text is in German). A few hundred people, from nearby occupy camps, traveled to the location of his court hearing in support (in the video, above). There are unsubstantiated reports of torture while in custody. And, he is just getting his day in court this week, after being arrested 19 months ago. Lastly, December 17th is also the 3 month anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The first occupiers slept in Zuccotti Park on September 17th. The confluence of these 3 events led to global actions in at least 1,000 cities. I saw 2,000 cities being talked up, as the total number taking part, but I have not seen that verified by traditional media sources. Just know that it was a far-reaching, worldwide day of action.

Because so much was going on, it is impossible to tell you everything that happened. But, I did want to highlight a few of the most important stories from the day. I urge you, if you're curious, to search the web for your own local Occupation happenings from the day or any town you may be interested in. Posts about the day were marked on Twitter, under the hashtag "#D17."

We start in Tunisia, which as I mentioned, looks to be the catalyst for these global actions. In Tunisia, they marked the day by unveiling a statue to honor Bouazizi in the town of Sidi Bouzid. The statue was of a cart, similar to the one he used as a fruit vendor. Thousands marched and carried pictures of Bouazizi and others killed during the revolt. Tunisia's current president took part in the day's events as well. You can see a full write-up, from a reporter on the ground in Sidi Bouzid here. It includes a picture of the statue built to honor him.

London also saw very visceral, confrontational protests. It was spearheaded by a group called "UK Uncut." UK Uncut's existence pre-dates that of the Occupy London group. However, there is a natural synergy in their messages and goals. UK Uncut strives to shine a light on the abuses by large companies in the UK. And how, if they paid their fair share of taxes, the British government would not have to force harsh austerity measures on their citizens. They use direct action to get the information in the public. They stage sit-ins in the shops of what they call "tax dodgers." On December 17th, they again took aim at Vodafone, who currently owes about 6 billion British pounds (9.32 billion in US Dollars). Vodafone has been the subject of multiple actions by UK Uncut. This site has some great pictures from the day. A couple weeks ago an off-shoot of Occupy London took over an empty UBS bank building. At time of posting, they're still there and have named it the "Bank of Ideas" Check the video on how they did it, why they did it, and what they use the building for.

December 17th was not a completely peaceful day either. In Cairo, Egypt, the situation seems to degenerating at a rapid pace. The military/government forces brutally beat down protesters yesterday. A good portion of this was caught on tape. They did not attempt to hide their tactics. You can see one of the videos here. Full disclosure, it is a quite graphic video. You even have to click YouTube's agreement about viewing potentially disturbing images. From all accounts, it was not an isolated incident and many similar videos are out there showing the crackdown.

In New York, there were a smattering of reports, claiming police brutality. Some were against members of the press. On the day, 50-55 people were arrested. The most spectacular scene from New York, was of occupiers attempting to take over a place called Duarte Square, which sits next to Trinity Church and relatively close to Wall Street, Please take a moment to look at these great pics from the MSNBC photo blog. The activists erected a wooden ladder, and after getting cops to retreat, used the ladder to climb into the park. One of the first to climb in was Bishop George Packard. Police eventually moved in, with reinforcements, and cleared the park. You can see video of the Bishop, inside the paddy wagon, on the way to central booking here. Photos of Bishop Packard climbing into the park and his eventual arrest are within that MSNBC link. If you wanted a feel for how the Duarte Square action happened, blow-by-blow, check out yesterday's live blog from the Daily Kos. The live updates included pictures from the Miami and Memphis actions, photos from inside and outside Duarte Square. It also includes tweets from the journalists who claimed to have been hit or roughed up by the NYPD. After being cleared from Duarte Square, a march was convened that led the group to Times Square. There were more tense interactions with the NYPD, but not as bad as earlier in the day. The group ended chanting reasons they occupy, by way of the People's Mic, just spreading the message to passers by and tourists.

I think I will leave it there for the day. Like I mentioned earlier, the actions all across the globe were quite remarkable. It warms my heart to see people standing up like this. Slowly but surely, more of the public seem to be taking to the message. The police response has to have helped with that. They have also gotten celebrities behind them (Michael Moore, Russell Simmons, Radiohead, and others). They also have people who hold respected professions behind the message. For instance, a few of the pictures I link to include those from the medical profession, calling for a single payer healthcare system. I am aware that there are people out there that do not understand the occupy message. Some think that they are going about it the wrong way. And, this hub may reach some of those people. But, I feel that it is an inarguable point, that something needs to be done to fix our problems. It can't go on as it has been. I can go over a laundry list of what's wrong in the U.S (50 million people without health insurance, 70% of bankruptcies are caused by medical bills, 46 million living in poverty, income inequality on par with some 3rd World countries...I could go on). My point is that even if you disagree with the tactics, the need for change is here.

I am pretty new to HubPages. I do not know just how many Occupy "hubs" are out there. I sincerely hope you got something out of this hub, even if you have been following the story closely. Thanks so much for checking it out.

See you next time,

James