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Occupy Grand Forks? Occupy Scranton? Occupy Wall Street Goes Nationwide

by Nando Di Fino | 2:02 pm, October 17th, 2011

» 36 comments

Although Occupy Wall Street gets most of the attention, the movement to protest the divide between the rich and poor is slowly moving into smaller cities across the country. Grand Forks, Scranton, Roanoke, and a host of other cities now have rallies, protests, and even makeshift camps. Not sure if your city has one? Just Google the word “Occupy” next to your city’s name. Chances are that something is brewing in your downtown.

Nancy Hennen started the Occupy North Dakota Facebook page. According to the Grand Forks Herald, she quickly got 900 likes and discovered that people were itching to bring it past cyberspace and onto the streets. She also realized that there was a hankering for more localization, so she established Facebook “Occupy” pages for Devils Lake, Wahpeton, Bismarck-Mandan and Grand Forks-East Grand Forks. At the first organizational meeting for Occupy Grand Forks-East Grand Forks, which took place two weekends ago, 17 people showed up. Meanwhile, in ~~South~~ North Dakota on Saturday, about 150 protesters rallied downtown as part of an Occupy Fargo-Moorhead demonstration.

Occupy Topeka protesters will meet every morning at 11:00 to peacefully demonstrate. Their Twitter page has 60 followers. A last-minute Occupy Akron event had about 20 protesters earlier last week, but a larger Occupy Canton protest pulled in 150 on Saturday, while Occupy Youngstown’s rally attracted about 300. Matthew Eckhart, who was at the Akron event, explained to Ohio News Now why the smaller movements are gaining traction. “Since a lot of us are too poor to move on to bigger areas like Wall Street… we are going to gather in smaller areas.”

The movement has even reached the Adirondacks, in New York’s North Country, as Occupy Saranac Lake’s Facebook group rallied approximately 50 people to their event this weekend. In Roanoke — the site of America’s first colony — another 50 people gathered as cars drove by and honked. Organizer Rafael Gonzalez told The Roanoke Times that he’d like to see the group’s ranks expand. “The Tea Party is welcome, the 53 percenters are welcome,” he said. “The 1 percent is welcome.” Occupy Pensacola’s protest managed 300 protesters, with police deeming the event “large, but very peaceful.” And Occupy Lubbock boasts about 12 people camping out every night.

As for the coolest of the movements? Occupy Hawaii had probably the greatest image of any group so far, with its group of protesters forming a giant peace sign on the beach. About 250 protesters in Waikiki marched to a statue of Gandhi at the Honolulu Zoo on Saturday. But Gordon Y.K. Pang of the Honolulu Star Advertiser says that a moment of irony occurred at their rally: as the hundreds marched through Waikiki, billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto walked right past them, unnoticed, as he walked to his hotel.

Grand Forks, Occupy Hawaii, Occupy Wall Street, OWS

Anonymous

There goes the “just a bunch of smelly hippies” FOX drivel. There aren’t THAT MANY! Guess maybe they’re thousands and thousands of people who are sick & tired of being raped and plundered by the TOO BIG TO FAIL banks and Wall Street & the stranglehold they’ve got on the Government!
TruDat

I read that this Friday, Barney Frank is holding an “Occupy My Booty” rally at his very own home!
TruDat

Move to Venezuela, they have the economic system there that you’re looking for.
Anonymous

Many of us already knew that the American Left has abandoned debate and dialogue, and scorn the rule of law when it runs counter to their agenda. But now the rest of the voters are seeing the American Left for what it really is. Middle America now looks on in amazement as the Left abandons policy and debate in favor of the mob mentality.

And the Democrats and liberal media don’t even have enough sense to see the harm they are inflicting on their own credibility and political prospects. Mark my words: the end result of this shift to demagoguery and rabble-rousing will be a historic repudiation of the American Left in next year’s election.
Michelle

I think you should head on down to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The biggest recipient of Wall Street cash in 20 years resides there (well when he’s not on Martha’s Vineyard or the golf course).
S R Karenova

That is the most beautiful peace sign. Peace, love, and understanding. We can do it guys!!! GO OWS!!!!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_WH3ZLMM7CUKUHUIMK4TKXW6SQE John

These people forming a “peace” symbol still support the guy in the White House who has increased troop involvement Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Yemen, and Uganda. They still support the guy who refuses to close Guantanomo Bay. They still support the guy who pushed through the reauthorization of the Patriot Act. It’s like they live in a bizzaro world. Just when you think they couldn’t be bigger idiotic hypocrites they go ahead and form a peace symbol.
http://twitter.com/Good_Lt Good Lt.

Do what?
http://twitter.com/Good_Lt Good Lt.

Increased drone strikes = PEACE

Right, Obamacrats?
Anonymous

The OWS freaks certainly cannot blame Mediaite for not giving them wall to wall coverage.

However, f-n-f…..crickets!!!
Obamas lies about the…cough cough…so called..”jobs bill”…..crickets!!!

How much of our tax money is going to pay Dan Abrams to cheerlead anyways?
Anonymous

The OWS freaks certainly cannot blame Mediaite for not giving them wall to wall coverage.

However, f-n-f…..crickets!!!
Obamas lies about the…cough cough…so called..”jobs bill”…..crickets!!!

How much of our tax money is going to pay Dan Abrams to cheerlead anyways?
ganymede

I just have time to make a short comment – the cat’s out of the bag. Occupy Everywhere is taking over the country, if not the world, because the vast majority of us have had enough with both political parties, especially the Republicans. We are entering a totally new political environment. I wonder where all the rightwingers on this website are going to be in 30-60 days! I hope and pray that you will open your eyes and minds to what’s really going on.
Anonymous

I remember when mediaite gave this kind of attention to all the tea party events around the country…oh wait a minute….they hardly covered the masses except to call them racists, and make fun of them. These anarchists on the other hand are held up on a pedestal…

So funny, so typical, so biased.
Anonymous

This is what democracy looks like. The reason you’re so upset is because you despise democracy.
Anonymous

Actually, no. You are the one who supports the wars. You are the one who supports Guantanamo Bay. You are the one who supports the Patriot Act. You are the one who supports Obama.

You just don’t realize it because you’re a moron who has been trained to say precisely the opposite of the truth.
Anonymous

Notice how the Republicans have been systematically trained to reject the concepts of peace and democracy.

The mere mention of these things sets them off. If they’re not killing American troops or oppressing minorities, they’re not happy.
Anonymous

Notice how the Republicans have been systematically trained to reject the concepts of peace and democracy.

The mere mention of these things sets them off. If they’re not killing American troops or oppressing minorities, they’re not happy.
Michelle

Nope, sorry to burst your bubble:

Via The Hill:
In the minds of likely voters, Washington, not Wall
Street, is primarily to blame for the financial crisis and the
subsequent recession.
That is the key finding of this week’s The Hill poll, which comes as
the national Occupy Wall Street movement — a protest that objects to
risky practices and excessive salaries at major banks, along with
American income disparities in general — enters its second month.
The movement appears to have struck a chord with progressive voters,
but
it does not seem to represent the feelings of the wider public.A
plurality believe that the Occupy Wall Street movement will hurt
Democrats and Obama in the 2012 election. Even those whose sympathies
lie on the left of center seem unsure about the likely political
repercussions. Just half of all liberal likely voters — the group most
likely to blame Wall Street for the recession — and fewer than half of
all Democrats believe the protests will help their side next year.
you’re welcome

Quick Michelle, explain us that the peace symbol that people formed actually means “behead the rich!”.
Anonymous

Democracy is what will happen in the voting booths in November 2012. An angry mob in the street is called anarchy. The fact that you can’t tell the difference is quite revealing.
Anonymous

The reason you see democracy as anarchy is because you are a moron, and that’s what you’ve been trained to do. It’s not a mystery.
FreeMike

With the number of people involved, what makes you think that a good portion of Middle America isn’t at these rallies?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_WH3ZLMM7CUKUHUIMK4TKXW6SQE John

I voted for Ron Paul.
Anonymous

You probably should have selected from among the people running for president.
Anonymous

What they are not telling us is that all of these “Occupy Whatever” protests draw 10-50 people.

1000 protests with 10-50 people is 10,000-50,000 people nationwide.

You could have a march to end nosepicking by liberals and get more people out to protest the Left’s right to pick their noses.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=692276993 Eric McCommon

Just need to say, Nancy didn’t establish the pages for the other cities in Nodak. It was local people, we centralized on finding Occupy Nodak. (I founded Occupy Bismarck-Mandan’s facebook page)
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=692276993 Eric McCommon

Fargo – 200+
Grand Forks – 100+
Bismarck ~60

Not quite 10-50. Even in a tiny state like ND. And the bigger cities are drawing 1000 to 4000 minimum in their movements. Your math is thus, quite off.
RW

Read The Full Alinsky By Michael Walsh at http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/280407/full-alinsky-michael-walsh

The Full Alinsky – perfect!

“In case you haven’t figured it out by now, what’s going on in Washington and across the country is the Full Alinsky, brought to you by the same malcontents who have been awaiting this moment for more than 40 years. It’s been a long time wandering in the desert for the Sixties Left, but this is their moment, this is their time, as somebody or other from Punahou once said.”

As InstaPundit says – read the whole thing.
Anonymous

don’t forget the communists, the anarchists, the socialists, the jewish-haters, the hippies, etc.

The OWS organizer is an anarchist organizer, but don’t let the truth behind the OWS org stop the fun. The free food and music are almost enough to hid the lazy, filthy, masses.

Soap really is one of mankind’s best discoveries. In fact, hygiene is a key reason for good health…
Anonymous

Americans have been brainwashed for so many years, its hard for them to recognize that the 2nd revolution has begun. The stakes are so much higher than the 60′s or the 30′s or even 1776. The corporate pigs who control Wall Street, who control American politicians, who control the military, who control United Nations and Nato, who control the World Bank, are the real anarcists who are responsible for murder, mayhem, and theft worldwide. They are the .001 % of the world’s population. They don’t care how many men, women, and children they kill, how many people they foreclose on, how much air, water, and land the pollute with deadly chemicals as long as they extract all the oil from all over the world. Their minions who speak so boldly in favor of AIG and Goldman-Sacks are just a heartbeat away from the unemployment line. Then what will you say?
Al Gore

We are actually a Republic, not a Democracy.
This is costing the left and the Democratic party a lot of money. I hope they aren’t using stimulus money for this.
Al Gore

Because Middle America doesn’t act like this. It’s the protesters right to do this, but they have no claim to the 99% of Americans. This is more like the 2%. I think they should go to Hollywood, where all the really rich live. They make shameless amounts of money for just pretending on film. Why should they get more than minimum wage for that? How about those Black Rappers who have gold dripping off them and 50 cars and a manision? I think they should only have one gold tooth, one gold chain and one car. That’s where the real greed is, in Hollywood.
Anonymous

Man, a lot of Republicans have been trained to say we’re not a democracy. You’re a bunch of retarded zombies.
urn1d10t

are you serious??? talk about the dumbing down in our school system.
Anonymous

Look, moron, Republicans have been trained to say that “we are not a democracy, we are a republic.” You know why? Because “republic” sounds like “Republican.” You are morons, and the world knows it.
Curtis Cronan

http://www.stopoccupyingwallst.org