The demonstrations that started in New York due to unemployment, poverty and several other internal issues have taken root and are spreading to big and small American cities.
Press TV spoke with Richard Becker, a member of the “Stop War and Racism Now” coalition in San Francisco, about his assessment of the current situation and its inspirations.
Press TV: Demonstrators in various American cities have protested unemployment, social inequality, poverty and other things, but how far will they really go to get their message across?
Richard Becker: I think what we are witnessing now is the expansion of this movement. What happened today in New York and reported by Press TV is very important; Many of those arrested are young activists.
More than 5,000 people joined today’s march, which is a qualitative jump in the number of people we have seen before, and many labor unions, especially the most important and grassroots labor union in New York, along with other organizations, are now joining “Occupy Wall Street” and They are planning for other activities in the coming days and weeks.
These protests are not only spreading to cities like Chicago, Boston and San Francisco, but also to small towns. A number of small towns in California today participated in 24-hour activities in conjunction with what’s happening in New York City, and I think that’s true of the entire country. Therefore, from the point of view of the people’s movement in America, this is a very important and encouraging development.
Press TV: What is your assessment of where this demonstration will lead?
Richard Becker: I don’t think it is possible to say now; Because this movement is still the first work and the first of its expansion and it can go in different directions.
Undoubtedly, this (movement) was inspired by what happened in the Arab world during the last 8 to 10 months, and of course in Wisconsin, where a huge demonstration took place in February. And there’s been a lot of news about the relationship between what’s going on in the Middle East and what happened there in response to the attack on public sector unions.
So I think this is the most interesting moment. The “Stop War and Racism Now” coalition finds this very encouraging, and we are participating in these activities and hope that this will turn into a truly massive movement.
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