by justin strawser
SHAMOKIN - Fawn Eckman wants everyone to know the Occupy Wall Street movement is not about "bums and hippies," but about ordinary people.
"They were students, they were grandmothers, they were children with signs of their own, they were disabled veterans, there was a Philadelphia police captain in full uniform. I really saw a strong sense of community," the 41-year-old Ranshaw woman said Tuesday morning.
It was during a bus trip to New York City to tour a literary exhibit that Eckman took a two-hour break to visit lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park - renamed Freedom Park by the protesters.
While there, she met a variety of people and saw all walks of life, from teens and 'tweens with signs being watched over by their parents to students in knitting circles making gloves and other winter clothing. She even saw a gay couple being married in the park.
Eckman sympathizes with the movement, as she has lived on disability payments for five years.
"I've worked since I was 12 years old (at a family business)," she said. "I'm 41 years old, and I found myself disabled through no fault of my own. If I could work, I would. I have a lot of physical problems that don't allow me to work. If not for social programs, where would I be? You need to help other people."
The mindset of "it's your fault you're poor" doesn't always apply and is usually a way to pass the responsibility, she said.
In New York, she collected nearly a dozen pamphlets, flyers and other publications, as well as eight pins from hundreds being distributed, with phrases such as "Tax the rich" or "Freedom is a right, not an option" or "Damn right, it's a class war. We're finally fighting back."
She also proudly brought home a sign showing an altered American flag with the phrase "End corporate personhood" on the stripes and the stars replaced with corporation logos such as Dow, Google, Apple, Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola.
She spoke with a man who saw police grabbing, shoving and striking protesters during a raid the night before, and who saw pets being trampled in the chaos.
"These were very non-violent people. The worst they did was chant. It's unjust to display such brutality (toward them)," she said.
She believes the movement is essentially people fighting back after being victimized by corporations.
"We are working ourselves to death, and for what? They're draining people dry," she said, noting how unfair corporate executives are when they cut employees but fail to take a pay cut.
Although the solution to the problem isn't easy, Eckman said it could happen when the rich are taxed fairly.
"They're holding 90 percent of the world's wealth and they're not working for it. They control the wealth and the food supply. When the rich lose their sense of entitlement, maybe then something will happen," she said.
America is caught up in mundane things, like celebrities, while forgetting about what's important, an attitude she blames on certain media outlets.
"We're not getting real news when the big corporations own the news. The real news is in the streets," Eckman said.
Despite last's week massive police raid and media blackout, Eckman said the protesters are still going strong.
"People will die for their beliefs. They've reached a point in this country where they're not going to take it anymore," she said.