December 12 on the West Coast; Occupy is still around.

by Andy Paul

Just when the mainstream American media and stringent advocates of the status quo thought they had won, Monday December 12 came. Neither the winter, with snow in the northeast and cold rain on the West Coast, or determined adversaries across the country, could keep thousands of protesters from assembling in port cities from San Diego to Vancouver and all the way up to Anchorage, Alaska. It’s 3,500 miles from San Diego to Anchorage, highlighting the remarkable coordination required for a single day rally.

Occupy Portland and Occupy Oakland saw the largest success early in the morning, ultimately shutting their ports down. Efforts in Long Beach and San Diego had temporary impact, but riot police successfully broke apart the movements, that were comprised of significantly less protesters.

Despite lacking direct support from the International Longshore Workers Union (ILWU), the move was made in solidarity.

But why the ports? Goldman and Sachs, the mega-investment banking firm, also holds significant stakes in the cargo-shipping industry. For this reason, Occupy has seen ports as a viable option outside of Wall Street for demanding an end to corporate greed. With the success of Portland and Oakland’s #D12 effort, was any impact made? You can see the downward trend for Goldman & Sachs for the day here.

David Hatfield's photography from the Occupy movement were displayed at ArtLab on Adam's Avenue December 8

With the movement still going on, many are criticizing it of lacking a cohesive message. But clearly the main concern here is greed and the lack of accountability of transparency of unregulated money handled on Wall Street.

With the power held by banks, seen by many to be greater than that held in the White House, this is a true 21st century David and Goliath match up. Only time will tell whether the voices of Occupy will be heard or unharnessed profiteering and exploitation will continue.

Sources and Further Reading:

NPR: ‘Occupy’ Protesters Disrupt Ports in Portland and Oregon

Jeffery Sachs on the state of the global economy, Al Jazeera

The night before Occupy San Diego #d12, as written by Mark Ayling: “I visit Occupy San Diego”