Occupy Wall Street: support gathers, so do funds

Support for the month-old Occupy Wall Street protests has been constantly growing, so is the donation made to the movement.The protest is said to have already collected funds worth $300,000 in its bank accounts. Nearly $300,000 in cash has been donated through the movement’s website and by visitors to Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park, said Bill Dobbs, a spokesperson for Occupy Wall Street. Meanwhile more and more celebrities are lending support to the protests. Kanye West and Russell Simmons visited the protests in lower Manhattan on Monday. They followed visits from documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, actress Susan Sarandon, actors Mark Ruffalo and Tim Robbins, comedian Roseanne Barr, rapper Talib Kweli and “Gossip Girl” actor Penn Badgley. Their involvement suggests broadening cultural support for the protests, which take on Wall Street companies and denounce what the demonstrators see as corporate greed. Protesters have been camped out in New York’s financial district for 3½ weeks, and crowds have gathered in cities including Washington, Boston and Los Angeles, as well as abroad. [caption id=“attachment_109416” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“A protester holds a sign during the ‘Occupy Toronto’ march in the financial district in Toronto. Reuters”]  [/caption] “I’m so impressed by what I’m seeing here,” Moore told protesters at one of the demonstration sites. “It’s not just the hundreds or thousands that have come down here to Liberty Plaza, it is millions of Americans who have suffered as a result of the decisions made by the people in these buildings.” On Tuesday, protesters marched past the homes of wealthy residents, singling out buildings where media mogul Rupert Murdoch, banker Jamie Dimon and oil tycoon David Koch have homes. They decried the impending expiration of New York’s 2 percent “millionaires’ tax” in December. When Barr attended, she gave a speech in which she proposed “a new capitalism, one not fueled by wars, one that doesn’t pass out its wealth to handful of white guys and call that free trade.” Simmons, the hip-hop mogul, last week dispensed 500 bottles of water to protesters, calling them “sweet kids.” Sarandon, the Academy Award winner who often lends help to left-wing causes, offered some advice on how the protesters could organize themselves and urged people to participate in the political process. She called the protests “incredibly moving.” “I don’t know that much about Wall Street, but if I was running a business and I made that big of a mistake and lost that many people’s future, I don’t think I would get a bonus or even keep my job,” Sarandon told reporters. “So something’s wrong.” Because a focal point of the protests is to highlight the growing gap between the rich and the poor, some have questioned whether wealthy entertainers who are among the top 1 percent in income have a place in the protests. The protesters claim to represent “the other 99 percent.” Critics have cited that West ranked No 3 on Forbes’ list of top earners in hip-hop. The rapper didn’t make a speech when he attended the protests but simply walked through the throngs, who warmly greeted him. Disdain for Wall Street is far from unique to any income bracket, though. President Barack Obama has called the demonstrations representative of wider feelings. [caption id=“attachment_109419” align=“alignright” width=“250” caption=“Occupy Los Angeles protesters march in the Protest Against Corporate Greed. Reuters”]  [/caption] “I think people are frustrated and the protesters are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works,” he said last week. The blog Celebrity NetWorth has listed what it claims are the top 10 richest celebrities supporting the protests. Others have pointed out the corporations some of the supportive celebrities endorse. Yoko Ono, Alec Baldwin and Jane Fonda have voiced support for the protests. Baldwin is a pitchman for Capital One Bank. Baldwin has used his Twitter account to rebut criticism. Responding to claims that he was hypocritical for being anti-capitalist and a wealthy actor, Baldwin wrote, “No. They just want regulated capitalism.” Ono tweeted: “I love OccupyWallStreet As John said, ‘One hero cannot do it. Each one of us have to be heroes.’ And you are. Thank you.” When Badgley attended the demonstration last week, he acknowledged some awkwardness in his celebrity status as a sign-carrying protester. “I mean, listen, it’s cheesy … but I want to do whatever I can,” Badgley told the website Capital New York. “Let’s be honest: I’m on … ‘Gossip Girl.’ … It’s absurd that celebrity power is what it is, but, like, use any tool you have, you know?” AP