VANCOUVER – Corporate greed and global economics were the catalysts behind protests in New York City that saw more than 700 people arrested over the weekend. The “Occupy Wall Street” protests are now spreading across North America, but not many people know the call to action originated in a quiet Vancouver neighbourhood.
Adbusters, the organization behind the protests, is a small multi media company with a big voice has done its business for 20 years. It represents the counter-culture movement and bills itself as “a global network of artists, writers and activists who want to advance the new social activist movement of the information age.”
It speaks out against corporate creed, big tobacco, multi-nationals around the world, and the three per cent of the population that controls most of the wealth.
Adbusters publishes one of the most successful anti-establishment magazines in the world that is reader-supported and has a circulation of 120,000.
Over time, it has launched many consumer campaigns, but none bigger that the centrefold in its July edition: a call to action to the masses who are tired of corporate greed, a challenge to average Joe to gather on Wall Street September 17 and bring a tent.
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It’s a corporate greed protest that has spread to other North American cities and has been building for weeks. The protests have been mostly peaceful, even though New York police arrested 700 over the weekend.
On Monday, New Yorkers paraded with fake dollars, eating them as they march symbolizing America’s corporate greed.
The demonstrations have spread to Chicago, Boston and LA and will soon be moving across the 49th parallel to here. An “Occupy Vancouver” website is already up promoting an October 15 date.
“In a couple of weeks it has grown ten fold, because the unions have joined in,” says Kevin Kelso “Occupy Vancouver” protest co-organizer.
The Vancouver protest will begin at the Art Gallery and move down Howe Street, our version of Wall Street, and like in New York, organizers here are inviting demonstrators to bring tents.
“If we are successful with that, we think we can have a global change that throws out the one per cent of global elitists who are in charge and maybe restore what government is supposed to be, which is by the people for the people,” says Kelso.
Adbusters, which made the first call to action, is reluctant to claim credit for the anti-greed movement. They turned down an on camera interview with Global News on Monday.
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