OWS angry with heavy-handed cops
Anti-Wall Street activists are turning some of their anger against New York police over what they see as an excessive use of force. Despite that, the root cause of the campaign is still winning over hard-pressed Americans.
The popularity of the movement seems to be growing not just among the demonstrators, but with regular Americans as well, as RT’s Lucy Kafanov reports. They support the OWS campaign and the major frustrations that the protesters have expressed, namely what they see as corruption in Wall Street and Washington, and the influence by Wall Street on the political system.There has been an increase in violent, heavy-handed responses from the police, as the weekend saw mass arrests in New York and across the country. Hundreds of people have been arrested during the five-week-long protests, with police sometimes using pepper spray at rallies. In Seattle nine protesters were arrested for refusing to evacuate the camp after being asked by the police to do so. In Chicago as many as 175 demonstrators were arrested and more than 100 in Arizona in what they called a non-violent civil disobedience tactic. Several police officers implicated in the video showing violent actions are being investigated. Despite all that, the movement does not seem to give up. There is a new global day of action scheduled for October 29, not only in New York City, but in the whole country and many cities worldwide. Meanwhile, the financial situation of the OWS movement has improved, having raised around US$300,000 from donations, though the protesters have yet to announce how they are planning to spend this sum.
