Thursday, October 13th, our actions against the big banks got personal.
On Wednesday, while calling people for the big march at the end of the week, we talked to one guy who was especially excited to come. “Are you going to march on U.S. Bank?” he asked. “Yeah, why?” “Well I got a few words for them. I just got a foreclosure notice from them.”
That is how we knew where to take our action on Thursday.
Back to U.S. Bank, to get them to stop the Sheriff’s sale and to work with him to renegotiate his loan. We had a large group in the bank lobby demanding that management come downstairs and talk with us. While this was going on inside, I went out on the sidewalk to pass out fliers.
A lot of the people walking by stopped and told me how encouraged they are to see us doing this. How they are glad that someone is finally standing up to the greedy bankers and wall street traders. A number of people specifically thanked me — and us — for being there.
Even people working at the banks have told us “you know, you‘re right.” All week, security guards and the bank tellers have told us under their breath “I don‘t want to lose my job, [who can blame them in this economy] but I agree with you.”
I got into conversations with people who work in finance. A couple were not friendly (X-rated). But more of them told me how the financial system is broken. One guy, a financial adviser, spent five minutes saying “how messed up everything is” and how “our country and our economy has lost its way… We have lost our morals. Greed has taken over.”
I‘ve been out talking to people all week, and it is clear to me that something big is happening. The Tea Party, although destructive, narrow-minded and off-base, was, in some ways, a response to these same economic pressures. But the mood is shifting to point the finger at the real culprits with Occupy Wall Street and our Minnesotans for a Fair Economy actions that have grabbed people locally.
Every day, new people want to do something about it. People on the street tell me they are going to get involved. Some were active when they were young. “I lost my way and now I’ve got to make up for lost time” said one older gentleman in a suit. Others have never been active. For both, there is something driving them to take a stand. People are angry about the economy, they are starting to figure out who is to blame, and they are ready to take action.
As for the one guy who is facing foreclosure? By the end of the day, U.S. Bank notified us that they have assigned him a loan counselor to work out a deal. That is a real victory for people power.
Jess Alexander
Jess Alexander is an unemployed electrician and a leader in our work to build a new economy.
