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<p><i>Picture the Homeless was invited to this big protest of the Wall Street Bail-Out, scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. We wrote the following statement and sent it out to our listserv, and it was subsequently reprinted in a number of online venues - including the Huffington Post! If you can make it to the action, look for the big blue Picture the Homeless banner...
When poor and homeless people ask the government for help, they're<br />told that low-income housing and living wage jobs are not a government<br />priority because this country is built on "personal responsibility"<br />and people need to "make better decisions.
When giant banking corporations are on the brink of total collapse<br />because they have made a systematic series of bad business decisions -<br />because they can - the government gives them a trillion dollars. The<br />Administration even wants to include multi-million dollar "golden<br />parachutes" for the corporate executives who MADE those bad decisions.
When a homeless mother and her children seek shelter from the City and<br />are they turned away because "they have other housing resources" but<br />have to sleep in the emergency room at Lincoln Hospital because they<br />really don't, the City and the media paint her as abusing the system<br />and their tough stance is spun as encouraging self-sufficiency.
Where is the "personal responsibility" for the rich? Why is democracy<br />and freedom confused with the free market when we talk about the poor<br />but the rich get State sponsored corporate bail outs and tax breaks?</p><p>Why is it that when WE demand health care, education, housing, and<br />real jobs, the government is too cash-strapped to help out - but<br />they've got trillions of dollars for unjust wars and corporate<br />communism?
On Thursday, September 25, at 4pm, Picture the Homeless will be<br />joining a giant protest in the Financial District alongside what we<br />hope to be the thousands of you reading this, against the trillion<br />dollar buyout of the banking barons. Meet us in the plaza at the<br />southern end of Bowling Green Park, which is the small triangular park<br />that has the Wall Street bull at the northern tip.
When: 4pm – ? Thursday, September 25.<br />Where: Southern end of Bowling Green Park, in the plaza area<br />What to bring: Banners, noisemakers, signs, leaflets, etc.<br />Why: To say we won't pay for the Wall Street bailout<br />Who: Everyone</p><p>Hope to see you there!</p><p>--<br />--</p><p><i>From the call to action:</i></p><p><i>"By having it late in the day we can show these thieves, as they leave<br />work, we're not their suckers. Plus, anyone who can't get off work can<br />still join us downtown as soon as they are able.</i></p><p><i>There is no agenda, no leaders, no organizing group, nothing to<br />endorse other than we're not going to pay! Let the bondholders pay,<br />let the banks pay, let those who brought the "toxic" mortgage-backed<br />securities pay!
On this list are many key organizers and activists. We have a huge<br />amount of connections – we all know many other organizations,<br />activists and community groups. We know P.R. folk who can quickly<br />write up and distribute press releases, those who can contact legal<br />observers, media activists who can spread the word, the videographers<br />who can film the event, etc.
Do whatever you can – make and distribute your own flyers, contact all<br />your groups and friends. This crime is without precedence and we can't<br />be silent! What's the point of waiting for someone else to organize a<br />protest two months from now, long after the crime has been<br />perpetrated?</i></p><p><i>We have everything we need to create a large, peaceful, loud<br />demonstration. Millions of others must feel the same way; they just<br />don't know what to do. Let's take the lead and make this the start!</i></p>
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