The ACLU and Occupy Wall Street » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
What About the Other 99%?
The ACLU and Occupy Wall Street
by PETER WHITE
“So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we’ll be called a democracy.”- ACLU founder Roger Baldwin
The best of times and the worst of times are our times now. Occupy Wall St protestors have launched a social movement at a critical moment in our history and have given the ACLU a real shot in the arm. Not since the Great Depression have conditions been so ripe with the possibility for transformational change. In just two month, the protests have challenged our national politics in ways the reformist ACLU has not been able to do in 80 years. Whatever the differences between the 99%ers and the ACLU lawyers who are defending them in court, it is clear they both need each other now and they probably will continue to work together whatever lies ahead.
Speculators were responsible for the meltdown of the economy in 1929 and they are responsible for it again today. The occupiers are taking their time figuring out how and what to do about that and they are damned sure the “Republocrats” won’t do anything good on their own. It’s a safe bet the 99% don’t want taxpayers bailing out the banks. More likely, they want them nationalized or at least re-regulated.