The first general assembly meeting of the South Jersey movement was held Oct. 21 in Ocean City. The group, along with other regional Occupation groups, are planning more protests and meetings in the area.
OCEAN CITY, N.J. — Just eight minutes away from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's cocktail reception Thursday night, Oct. 20, at Sandi Pointe in Somers Point, a small group with giant ideas met in a corner coffee shop in Ocean City, sharing their frustrations over taxation, economic inequality, student-loan debt and the money that influences the decisions made in Washington D.C.
The Positively 4th Street Coffee House (named after the 1965 Bob Dylan song) hosted Occupy South Jersey's first general assembly meeting, headed by Ocean City's Jaime Bowen, 31, and her friends and family.
Inspired by the Sunday protest outside of the Bank of America on Route 9 in Somers Point earlier this month, nearly 30 people showed up at the coffee shop to voice their concerns and stand in solidarity with those in the more than a month-long Occupy Wall Street movement in New York.
“Congress needs to be sent as message as far as I'm concerned; no more money from Wall Street,” said Galloway resident Frank (he didn't wish to disclose his last name). Frank's father is a disabled WWII veteran who had to file bankruptcy and his wife has taken a minimum-wage job after a year of job searching following a lay off.
“Wall Street walks around our Congress and owns them,” Frank continued, “I'm tired of it. It's about public service, not personal gain.”
Although as a whole the Occupy South Jersey group voiced a wide array of complaints, all were connected and generally on the same page as other “Occupy” movements across the country.
A main concern was that mainstream media has been skewing and confusing the “Occupation” movements with rash generalizations that the groups are simply against corporations when in truth, the heart and soul of the protests are not against Capitalism and corporations, but rather in opposition to what some of them are doing and how some of their money is “controlling Washington,” with some corporations donating large amounts of money to the politicians in charge of regulating them, for one example.
The Occupy South Jersey group tossed around other ideas, such as term limits for members of Congress, hoping to make an attempt to change things in America so that the politicians are truly working for the people and not simply Wall Street.
“Atlantic City, Vegas, Reno, Wall Street is the real casino,” shouted protesters, “We are the 99% and so are you.”
The group wants a totally peaceful and family-friendly occupation, keeping everything legal with strictly no drugs, violence, alcohol or weapons at the Atlantic City encampment. “We have high hopes and we know that we are capable of doing big things if we all work together.”
Atlantic City’s Brighton Park was occupied Saturday afternoon, Oct. 22, by a group of more than 30 people who stood in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement. Occupy Atlantic City members plan to meet again Saturday, Oct, 29, back at Brighton Park.
After a tour of the area the Occupy Atlantic City organizers agreed among themselves that their next in-person meeting would be at Brighton Park, in Atlantic City, Saturday, Oct. 22, at 11am.
Washington, DC tells us the recession is over, when many of us seem to be living through a depression. We hear from politicians at all levels what they are doing for us, when many of us seem to think they are the problem. Americans want to go home again. We remember and long for a simpler time and better place… the land of the free and the home of the brave.
An “Occupy South Jersey” rally has been scheduled for Sunday at 3pm at the Bank of America branch on New Road and Bethel Road in Somers Point.
If you want your children to continue being physically active and positively occupied once the school year begins, Back to School night is a must.
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1. Anonymous said... on Oct 22, 2011 at 03:42PM
“I think the occupation movement is long overdue but disagree with the following: "One of the problems the Occupy South Jersey group saw with such a widespread “Occupation” movement was the need to come up with some kind of end game, a tangible course of action, possibly narrowing in on one specific goal.
There is so much corruption and wrongdoing that has been going on. It is not just one thing that is off, it is practically everything that is off. I strongly agree with Michael Moore and others who are asking protesters to not let the mainstream media or anyone else make you feel unorganized just because everyone has their own reason to be protesting. Let's try to fix all of the problems and not settle on one. Sorry, I will have to head to Philly for my protesting where they are up for keeping the agenda about all topics and not narrowing it down to one.
”