In St.Louis today, the local branch of the Occupy Wallstreet crowd known as OccupySTL is gearing up for a protest in Kiener Plaza from 3:30-5:30pm. In addition to providing their own LIVE STREAM of their antics and incoherence, you can also monitor part of Kiener Plaza from the EarthCam website.
According to the St.Louis Beacon local union leaders will be joining today’s protest. Maybe this will bring some direction to an already aimless movement. There has also been a strong push by the Media to compare the Occupy Wallstreet protests to the Tea Party protests, so let’s take a walk down memory lane. As documented by SharpElbows.net and The PO’ed Patriot, these protests are far from a kind or gentle version of any Tea Party protest. This are what ‘anarchy’ looks like, or at least how it starts. If you need proof just look to the UK.
First off here are a couple of photos from the OccupySTL Facebook page, the only place I could find crowd photos at Kiener Plaza. Their other crowd photos, other than the few that look like their were shot of typical downtown foot traffic, have some groups with signs standing in traffic and getting busted by Police.
I guess the good camera was broke.
Two months after the first Tea Party protest in St.Louis which took place in late February and drew a crowd of 1000 (as reported by KMOX Radio), the St.Louis Tea Party held an event on Tax Day 2009 in Kiener Plaza (full photo set) drew 7-10 thousand as stated by the Parks Dept. These are some of those photos from that event, so you can side-by-side compare the two crowds for message, crowd uniforms (or lack of), and of course cleanliness:
Need I point out that there were no racist or antisemitic signs?
I am posting these photos taken only 2 months after their first Tea Party protest in St.Louis so you can compare the sheer massiveness of the Tea Party Movement and the Occupy Wallstreet/STL Movement.
- Both have a right to law abiding protests, yet only one group has ever had trouble with the Police leading to massive arrests.
- One protests for more government control over profit and banks, yet the other protests for less government and less control.
- One group wants money to be taken from the rich and given to the poor (something for nothing), and the other just wants the opportunity and freedom to earn it on their own.
You get the idea. You’ll have to decide for yourself which group you more closely relate.
Update:
KMOV Channel 4 reported their numbers to be between 300 & 400 protesters/paraders. If you thought that the OccupySTL protest/parade would basically be a protest by the Unions co-opting the aimless ramblings of high school and college-aged kids with a sprinkling of ex-hippies, you’d be right:
Ariel view of Kiener Plaza during today's protest by Gateway Pundit's Niece.
St.Louis Tea Party protest in Kiener Plaza on Nov. 28, 2009
Video courtesy of PO’ed Patriot:
An offshoot of ACORN, Missourians Organizing For Reforma and Empowerment (MORE) have Co-Opted the Occupy STL protests. While it seems this Astro Turf Organization can steal an entire movement from Grass Roots, it seems they can’t lead a protest without screwing it up…
Eventually the MORE Organizer gets yelled at by some Anarchists.
Update 2:
PO’ed Patriot also has more excellent video from the OccupySTL/Labor Union protest/parade which took place on Friday Oct. 14th.PO’ed Patriot also reported being handed this flyer at the Oct. 14th protest/parade (click to enlarge):
He also reported that one protester hijacked the St.Louis Cardinal baseball logo to push their own Communist message (also covered in the “Commie & Confusion” video below at about 0:33).
Video of a member of OccupySTL openly admitting to the plan to be co-opted by the Labor Unions. This ends any argument whether or not this is a “grass roots” movement:
From PO’ed Patriot:
Special Thanks to my friend from M.E.W. who helped with some of the filming.
A Retired Wash U Professor at OccupySTL claims to have been waiting years for a revolution like this one.
At a recent Occupy STL protest I had a chance to ask this SEIU member why he was protesting. If you figure it out please inform me….and him.
If this still isn’t enough for you, I have one question I’d love to have answered.
Does the OccupySTL group stand with the Occupy anarchists and the anti-war crowd whose views in 2007, as reported by Little Green Footballs, were depicted by the banner in the photo below.
OccupySTL & Labor Unions, FOR OR AGAINST???
