Weeks after the Occupy movement started up, protests are still going strong and spreading. Unfortunately, so are the responses from law enforcement. Last night, over 100 demonstrators were arrested for participating in Occupy Boston.
Hip-hop artist Immortal Technique told RT that the video of New York City protesters being pepper-sprayed by the NYPD at the start of the movement served as a catalyst for public support. Though police may have hoped that their actions could keep the protesters down, crowds continue to gather in Lower Manhattan and elsewhere. The Occupy Wall Street movement spread out of Zuccotti Park in recent weeks and onto the Brooklyn Bridge where around 700 participants were arrested by the New York Police Department. RT reported earlier today that cops in Seattle, Washington are prohibiting protesters from using umbrellas while they occupy parks in the city and masses continue to swarm public spots in other parts of America.
Jason Pramas of Open Media Boston told RT that the political establishment in Boston is starting to get nervous as the movement grows in the same city that helped spawn the United States. It wasn’t the run-of-the-mill hippies that the mainstream pegs as the common protesters that was arrested last night; Pramas said that decorated veterans, legal observers and medics were arrested as well. Pramas says that despite this opposition, he doesn’t see an end in sight.
“In American terms, this is our Chicago ‘68 all over again,” Pramas said to RT. “Young people are up in arms about the situation in society, about the inability to make a living, they are afraid of the future.”
Rob Kall of OpedNews.com added to RT that opposition is coming from law enforcement all across America, with some cities being more understanding than others. “We’ve had experiences in Philadelphia with some police where they arrest our journalist and other times where the police are just great. It’s a lot of personal differences, I think,” Kall told RT. “You are going to have police who are more sensitive. When we were down in Washington over the weekend, we saw one policeman who literally attacked signs and tore them apart and went after people pretty viciously.”
Cops continue to crack down on demonstrations across the country, but Pramas says it is must more than just keeping protesters from being heard — it’s an infringement on everything American. “What we are talking about here is basic rights,” said Pramas. “This is protected speech, this is protected assembly”
“It’s clear that not only is this the voice of a generation, it’s the voice of working Americans,” added Pramas.