The “we’re not sure what we’re really protesting but we sure don’t like Wall Street and Big Banks (who tend to hold a huge chunk of the money for union pensions)” movement in #ViolentOccupyOakland does what every liberal does: by hypocrites
(SF Examiner) Last week, one or more Occupy Oakland protesters smashed the windows of a Wells Fargo branch.
This week, the group’s general assembly agreed — in a near-unanimous vote Monday — to temporarily place $20,000 of the group’s money in an account at the country’s fourth-largest bank holding company, Wells Fargo Bank.
Whether the decision was an abandonment of the movement’s opposition to big banks or an ominous affirmation of the hold that big banks have on Americans, Twitter was ablaze with outrage last night, as news spread about the 162-8 vote, from which 16 people abstained.
“I am so disgusted right now. the hypocrisy of it all is just amazing,†wrote @GiveMeThatJuice.
I wonder why they did this
According to meeting minutes posted on a Facebook page for the “Oakland General Assembly,†the group’s lawyer, Tim Fong, will temporarily keep a $20,000 donation from Occupy Wall Street in a Wells Fargo account, until he can finalize paperwork needed to open a credit union account for the group. The move is necessary to expedite the money’s availability for bailing out jailed protesters, the minutes said.
Occupy Wall Street donated the money to Occupy Oakland with stipulation that it be put toward medical and legal needs.
So, it’s easier to put the money in Big Banks, and they need access to use the money in a way the #OWS did not intend? Does that sound rather familiar for the way Democrats in government tend to use the People’s money?
BTW, who’s going to pay the state and federal taxes on that “gift” from OWS? I hope the IRS is watching. They shouldn’t have to, though, because these far left hooligans believe in everyone paying their fair share.
Elsewhere, via OWS Exposed, we find out from Gawker that OccupyDenver has elected Shelby their leader. Shelby is a ….. border collie!
And from Jammie Wearing Fools, the Portland PD suspects Occupy Portland in Molotov cocktail attacks.
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU. Please sign the drill now petition.
Border collies are smart, and many of them earn their keep by working. I don’t get the connection between a border collie and this lot.
It would be interesting to WellFargo to make a legal claim against the money and freeze it because of the damage the protestors have done to their buildings.
That would be great theater.
heh heh heh
The writer of this article does not even try to hide his/her obviously bias view. “these far left hooligans believe in everyone paying their fair share.”. ‘Hooligans’ is not an appropriate term.
OWS is not a Leftist movement. There are Left, Right, and Independents involved. It is everyone who is sick of the corrupt/unfair system. All ages, races, and political views. If any of you actually attended a meeting rather than spouting off baseless false statements you would know that.
@ Banshee. There are many hard working people involved in this movement. And so what if there are homeless/jobless people involved. Shouldn’t there be? Seeing as people are losing their homes. Everyone agrees there is a shortage of jobs. So there should be homeless and jobless involved. Also, just because someone is job/homeless does not make the message any less true.
I have personally had retired people in there 70’s come up and thank me for protesting. Saying that they remember what things were like before they got this way. They thank us for standing up for what is right, as they drop off donations. Stop watching 1% controlled media (especially FAUX News) and open your eyes.
You’re off the edge of the map, wake up. This little bit of theater is strictly among those on the Left, particularly the hard left. Those on the right would be demonstrating in Washington and at the offices of elected reps, the real enablers of the problems. Plus, we already have our own movement, the Tea Party, which was against the bailouts before you lefties decided to camp out on concrete and refuse to shower. Oh, and whine when people refuse to give you stuff for free that you didn’t earn.
We also didn’t have the violence, rape, sexual assault, etc.
An Open Letter to Occupy Oakland
November 10, 2011
There has been a lot of discussion about the deposit of funds into my Wells Fargo client trust account. In the interests of transparency, I submit this open letter.
When I volunteered the use of the account I was balancing the possibility of bad PR, with the possibility of forestalling serious physical harm to people in the jail. It was possible that there would have been mass arrests on the day of the general strike.
If I have to choose between bad PR and human lives, then I will choose bad PR every time. I was informed that people had already faced seriously dangerous conditions in the jail. The night before the general strike I had no way to know that the day would not end in mass arrests at the port, or a hail of rubber bullets and wooden dowels like the anti-war port protest in 2003.
A few points of clarification:
1. Why did Occupy Oakland open an account at Wells Fargo?
We didn’t. My client trust account existed previously– I did not open it recently. I was in process of moving all my accounts for 5 November when I got sick.
2. So you control the money?
No. The money is technically still the property of Occupy Oakland, that’s why it’s called a trust account. Occupy Oakland has ownership of the money, and dictates how it is spent. That is why the solidarity committee brought a proposal to the GA the other night– to get approval for the money to go into the client-trust account. Had the GA rejected the proposal that would have been 100% fine with me, which is what I said at the GA. Had someone else stepped up that night, that would have been 100% fine with me as well. But no one did.
3. Why didn’t Occupy Oakland just open an account in its own name?
We were in the process of doing that. However, we had to file paperwork with the state of California. I, personally drove to Sacramento to file it and get it done in an expedited way. Nonetheless, we still had not received the paperwork back, and are still waiting for it. We are still in process of setting up an independent Occupy Oakland financial account.
Neither a bank nor a credit union will open a bank account for an organization without showing the relevant state paperwork.
4. Well what about Long Haul? Aren’t they handling some donations on our behalf?
Long Haul could not accept the money from OWS. The terms of the agreement with Long Haul forbid Occupy Oakland to use any of the deposited money for bail. Period.
5. Why didn’t you just send someone down to a credit union to open an account?
Because if we sent some random person down to a CU or any institution, and they opened an account, they would take legal possession of the money. If that person had wanted to run off to Tahiti with the money, they would have been well within their legal rights to do so.
6. Why didn’t you personally just open a trust account at a credit union, it’s so simple?
Actually it’s not simple. First, there was nothing I could do the night before the general strike. Second, adding steps to a process always adds uncertainty and more variables increases delay. Last week, we knew that at least one person had languished for almost 24 hours without medical care, despite a ruptured spleen. Those are not, by any stretch of the imagination, good conditions.
7. Where the hell is the money now?
The money reached the client trust account today, November 9th, around noon. I have been told that another attorney has stepped forward who has a client trust account with a non-major financial institution. If this is the case and Occupy Oakland authorizes it, I will happily transfer the money to him.
8. Well fine, but you didn’t receive the money until November 9th, why not open a new account before then?
I had passed the client trust account information to OWS (via people inside Occupy Oakland) on the afternoon of 3 November. I was advised that the transfer would take place immediately, so made no preparations for another account.
Over the next week, I heard a variety of things from “the money is being transferred today†to “NPR has reported that the money was transferred over the weekend.†I can understand that OWS was concerned who I was, and so I offered my bar (law license) number as well as volunteering to give personal references in the Bay Area progressive community.
Commentary:
Had I known it would take a week, I would have simply put the word out for another attorney with a trust account in a community bank or other institution. But there was no way to know that going in.
I understand that this entire event has been bad PR for Occupy Oakland and the Occupy movement generally. What I also know is that I will always choose to risk bad PR over risking people’s lives and personal safety.
The mentality that Occupy is protesting is a mentality that applauds the opposite. It applauds good PR over risking people’s lives. That is the mentality of people who stand aside for corporate misbehavior, even when it costs lives. It is exactly the mentality of politicians who choose to go to bat for oligarchs and try to cut food stamp programs, rather than risk being called a socialist. It is exactly the mentality of judges who allow foreclosures even when the bank foreclosing has no case.
People like that don’t want the bad PR, and they’re willing to risk other people’s lives to avoid bad PR.
And that is exactly what we are fighting against. Isn’t it?
Theater? lol. Oh and racist Glen Beck’s rally was not theater? Come on. holding it on the anniversary of MLK’s speech in the same place. ridiculous. Because homeless people moved in on the occupy camps for the free food, does not mean all occupiers are homeless do nothings. The KKK, says they are a christian organization, yet I’m not saying all christians are racists, who want to lynch black people. You logic is ridiculous. The Tea Party came and went. You did not stay for a month providing food and shelter and creating a community. Do that, and watch how the same issues will happen, as those issues exist in all societies. Especially when people who appose the movement (the 1%) pay people to cause trouble at events. It’s an old trick in politics. Those crimes you refer to are symptoms of the problems with the system. At least we are trying to feed the homeless and help the best we can. They system is not doing that. You say we want hand outs? we are giving the handouts. At Occupy Portland, we feed 1000 people a day. What did the Tea Party do to help? Nothing! You say you want small government yet support expanding the US Empire. Army bases all over the world and fighting wars requires lots of tax dollars and spending. Keep kissing corporate/banker backside. I’m sure the payout is worth it for you.
Big ups! Thanks for everything you are doing. Also, thanks you for taking time on this forum to educate people of what is actually going on.
You rock!
Kudos