Opinion: What are the "Occupy Wall Street Protests" in NYC?

AOA NEWS
By Ernest Britton

Poster by Adbusters

Saturday, as more than 2,500 protestors marched through Lower Manhattan for “Occupy Wall Street” my Midwest was silent, and only mildly curious. The chaos in NYC and the growing tent-city in Los Angeles all seemed distantly chaotic and bizarre even by those of us who also oppose corporate greed and income inequality. As I watched the Twitter updates, especially from my NYC arts-ally Kianga Ellis, it all felt surreal and frankly annoying. Where once we tweeted about Art, was now a stream of news about Occupy Wall Street. After weeks of typical Midwestern denial, I finally asked yesterday -- what's it all about? @Ms_Kianga tweeted a wikipedia link. I asked where the clergy stood? She tweeted back, "I have no idea" and added hashmark #occupychurches; and then I asked, "what about the artists?" and via Twitter, yes, I learned about the very real engagement of the Arts & Culture Committee. Yesterday, I learned what the Wall Street protests are in NYC, and about the Left's new voice "inspired by the Arab Spring," but I am yet to be convinced that it wil matter to us in the Midwest, but at least I'm finally listening.