Survival in adversity

All over the United States and all over the world groups are gathering to protest the Federal Reserve, war, use of nuclear weapons and things I talk about in Why We Are Always Broke things we need to know about the economy. I have visited 5 of these groups: Memphis, Tennessee  Nashville, Tennessee  Baton Rouge, Louisiana  New Oleans, Louisiana and Austin, Texas.

Groups are working on different issues but they all have a common purpose and a common format. They camp out that is "occupy" a public place as a statement that these places are owned by the people. The governor of Tennessee sent in troops to arrest several of the Nashville occupiers. The judge refused to prosecute them saying they have a right to be there.

Another common action is reaching out to the homeless. They feed the homeless. In most cases some of the homeless camp out with them. The Memphis, Tennessee group is working vigorously to get housing for the homeless.

The groups have held two major attempts to urge people to take their money out of the large banks and place their money in local credit unions. This is an ongoing process. Already several millions dollars have been transferred from large banks to local credit unions. On the first 2 Saturdays of November, 2011 they claim over 50 million dollars have been transferred. One account I read which considers a time much larger than the 2 November Saturdays claims over a billion dollars have been transferred.  

Another common element is education. They are vigorously reaching out to churches and  other social groups to educate the broader community.

There are over 1500 occupy groups worldwide. While visiting the Nashville, Tennessee group I noticed a group of about 10 men taking pictures. I was curious and went over to talk to them. They were from Germany and were interested because there are several groups in Germany. One of the men told me: "This is very necessary."

Although the number of occupiers is usually between 30 and 120 their support is much broader. Planned events like the march on banks to withdraw money usually draw several hundred persons.  A significant number of people passing by in automobiles honk in support of the effort. People bring food in support of the occupiers. Many people feel the crunch today.