By now, you've probably heard: It's Day 20 of the Occupy Wall Street protests, and after winning labor union support yesterday, the movement saw its biggest turnout—around 10,000, according to Bloomberg, 23 of whom were arrested.
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Why are they protesting?
Melanie Hamlett, a blogger/author/actress/comedian who's been attending the New York protests, told the LA Times that "it all comes down to money."
Indeed: On Saturday, Oct. 1, Occupy Santa Fe held its own protest at a local branch of Bank of America, which recently announced new, $5 monthly debit fees.
Five bucks isn't that much--but BofA did get tons of bailout money from the American taxpayer just three years ago, and last night, BofA CEO Brian Moynihan only made the financial giant seem more callous when he argued that the bank has "a right to make a profit."
Fair enough. But the bank's decision to make that profit via its customers (now that, due to a little congressional meddling, it can't take as big of a cut from retailers on debit card swipe fees) is still pissing plenty of people off--and if it's not that, then it's a host of other economic, social and political problems that those in power seem unwilling or unable to tackle.
Or maybe they're just mad that the NYPD keeps beating people, whether they're from Fox News or not.
To stay informed, visit the Occupy Wall Street website or watch the protests via live feed here:
To participate locally (another protest is planned for this Saturday), visit Occupy Santa Fe's Facebook page.
Updated 1 pm: Today, "We Are People Here" Santa Fe--formerly known as Democracy at the Crossroads--donated 12 special pizzas ("OccuPies") to the protesters. Look how cool:
