Today’s Hilo Protest at Merrill Lynch in solidarity with “Occupy Wall St.”
Aloha kakou,
Today’s protest in Hilo was truly amazing. I expected perhaps a dozen people would show up from 4-6 PM fronting Merrill Lynch. Instead 80-100 showed up, over half –youth. It says to me that the bleak future brought on by Wall St. greed is the Vietnam draft for today’s generation. I see reason for hope in the growing resistance of today’s youth. It is transforming a generation into activists for justice and peace.
It was a very uplifting day. The spirit was strong from those participating in the protest and those passing by. People made their own signs and came to stand in solidarity with people occupying Wall St. and people around the world saying no to corporate dominance and corporate greed and influence in government. Where the Hilo and other protests will lead is unclear, but the momentum and a movement is building. Let us seek to work together and support one another.
I invite everyone to join the Hilo Friday peace vigil 3:30-5PM at the downtown Post Office. Bring your signs of today and broaden the movement for peace to economic justice for all. The entire Washington establishment (with its embedded Wall St. Cronies) is as responsible as Wall St. for the economic crisis, and the scandalous bank bailouts and bonuses to the very people who created the crisis. No one has been held accountable for millions of people losing their homes, jobs, pensions, savings, etc. It is up to us, the 99% to hold the 1% of Wall St. and Washington accountable.
For those interested in next steps, we can have a meeting following the vigil at 5PM on the lawn of the Hilo Post Office/Federal building. Come one, come all, to talk story on where do we go from here?
With gratitude, solidarity, and aloha,
Jim Albertini
