Enough!

When it seemed like the protests against the greed of Wall Street barons were entering an impasse, the imprudent decision by the authorities of the city of Oakland, Calif., to forcefully clear out those who were camping in the city’s central plaza gave new energy to the movement. On Tuesday, March 25, the police raided 165 tents in which hundreds of people from the most diverse groups, ethnicities, social classes and ages were staying. The police aggression produced a unanimous reaction of support for the victims, among whom, were various veterans of the Iraq War who survived the adversities of battle, but not the grenades of their own nation’s police. One of them was seriously injured and remains hospitalized.

The call for a general strike in support of the movement and in protest of police aggression gathered more than 10,000 people, who last Wednesday walked from the city center to the Port of Oakland. During the next 24 hours, the activity of one of the three most important ports in the U.S. was paralyzed, along with the activity of a good part of the city. The surreptitious absence of dockworkers from their workplace was one of the keys to the strike. As one of the workers declared, “We cannot support the strike as a union, but nothing is stopping us from supporting it as individuals.” It is worth adding that since 1946, there has not been a general strike in this city. The response from other branches of the movement was swift: In Los Angeles, Chicago and New York there were marches and rallies as well. In the latter city, some dozens of veterans of the Iraq War marched in solidarity with their comrade who was injured in the fray in Oakland.

The question is: What’s next? There is no unanimous answer for a movement whose motives are so diverse: education unattainable for thousands of young people, poor quality health care services, environmental degradation, corruption among officials, corruption in the financial system, disproportionate enrichment of the few, poverty, inequality, unemployment … It’s clear that it will not be easy to find a remedy for the grievances suffered by 99 percent of society. Regardless of the course this movement takes and the diversity of its demands, it is clear that there is one goal in common: It’s necessary to end a system that produces wealth for a few, poverty for most and in addition, is destroying the planet.