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DARIEN, Conn. – The first day of the Occupy Darien demonstration got off to a slow start at a wet Tilley Park in Darien on Wednesday morning with about 10 protesters coming out for the event.
Cole Stangler of New Canaan was the first to arrive, carrying a sign that said, “End the Wars, Tax the Rich.”
“I think this is the most important social movement of the last 30 years,” Stangler said. He has not participated in any Occupy Wall Street events because he has been studying abroad. “I’m trying to support it in any way I can. It’s important to protest in places like Darien, which is really the belly of the beast where the inequalities are so dramatic.”
Bennett Weiss of Newburgh, N.Y., has been involved in several protests, including the Rally for Economic Justice in New Canaan this fall. He brought out buttons to commemorate the Occupy Darien event as he stood in the rain and talked with other demonstrators.
“It makes sense to protest here against the extreme concentration of wealth, where the wealth is most concentrated," Weiss said.
Speakers for the first day of the event included Donald Longbottom of the First Congregational Church of Darien, Trudi Goldberg of the National Jobs for All Coalition and Stamford attorney Julia von Schilling.
Tommy Fox, a veteran of several Occupy Wall Street protests, came from New York to take part in the event. He blamed the low attendance on the wet weather and lack of coordination between event organizer Margaret Rague and occupiers in New York. He said he has been trying to spread the word, and that more people may show up Thursday.
Are you going to check out Occupy Darien? Tell us in the comments below.
Comments (19)
Four loser hypocrites mouthing foolish Marxist dogma now qualifies as a news story? ...Really Daily Norwalk? This is truly the most pathetic excuse for journalism I've witnessed in some time. The Daily Norwalk attempts to promote an otherwise "non-story" here. These people are prime beneficiaries of market capitalism living on Connecticut's Gold Coast in DARIEN! The irony of it makes my hair hurt. As if that were not absurd enough, we are then treated to comments like:
"Okay, so the guy who's your boss, who presumably makes more money than you--would you say he works even harder than you?"
Such statements parrot Marx's Labor Theory of Value, as if effort were the only factor which determines value. What about quality, scarcity, and utility for starters? Such lazy thinking is no more than ignorant propaganda on parade. Shape up Daily Norwalk.
All of you who are so sure you got to where you are by your extraordinary hard work, are leaving out the fact that it was the taxes paid by the 99% (it wasn't your paltry capital gains taxes) that paid for your schooling, built your roads, secured your home and belongings by paying for fire and police protection and a host of other things that helped you get there.
I want to ask you one question--if you're earning a good living, and are comfortable, would you say that you work hard for your money? Do I hear a yes? Okay, so the guy who's your boss, who presumably makes more money than you--would you say he works even harder than you? Let's say he makes twice as much money as you do--does he work twice as hard? No? Well, if not, why not? I thought hard work and money went hand in hand.
How about the guy who cleans the toilets at your office? Hard worker? I guess not, because he probably makes minimum wage. A job like that must be pretty easy and fun to earn so little money.
All this garbage about how "I work hard so I deserve every penny I get" ignores the fact that the tax laws in this country have been set up to favor the wealthy since Ronald Regan was president, and it's only gotten worse. It's THAT, not your laudable hard work, that got you where you are today, and it's THAT that the OWS movement wants to end. At least admit that much and stop congratulating yourself.
Collectively my family pays about 48% of our income in taxes. So we work from January 1 through June to pay for government programs that we don't use other than schools while too many others pay little for the expensive services they use continually. If we are all in this together, why should anyone's 'fair share' be zero?
It's always refreshing to hear from people who never travel on the interstate highway system and live 'off of the grid'. Beware of USDA inspected food!
If Stangler and his family want to pay more to the government, the Treasury takes donations. Write the check if you think government is the answer. I'm not rich but pay significant taxes which seem to go to support well-connected cronies of both parties and the poor. That's it. They do nothing but take from the productive to give to takers at all levels. Occupy K Street if you want to support a real cause.
I agree that much of the problem lies in washington, and Occupy K Street is a good cause to support- perhaps if there was some gov't reform, your taxes might be put to better use. I think why Stangler and others are protesting is simply to bring the discourse to the front page, shedding some light on some of the corruption in politics, which receives a lot influence from wall street. No reason he cannot support the movement in my eyes though.
How can he support punishing the wealthy when he has no idea how difficult it is to achieve? OWS does not just advocate higher taxes on the wealthy but wealth redistribution. They assume that the wealthy did nothing to earn their gains. They think nothing of devaluing all the hard work and conscientious life choices that went into financial success. They assume it is all ill gotten and that is arrogant, self-entitled and repugnant. This kid has no business supporting OWS because he is so ridiculously over privileged how could he possibly understand how much real work and sacrifice goes into achieving what he has simply been given. If he did, he would maybe understand why people like me do not want to have any more of our hard work confiscated by a government that simply wants to give it away for political gain to those who exist to live off the labors of others.
Sometimes wealth is not that difficult to achieve, especially if you choose your ancestors carefully. The issue is to think carefully about where you want your tax dollars to go.
How much do we spend in Iraq and Afghanistan/day?
Military outsourced companies like Halliburton pay it's security personnel $1000/day. We basically pay mercenaries more than we pay teachers and nurses. Don't you find that devalues "all the hard work and conscientious life choices that went into financial success"? Tax $$$$ for a mercenary army? And many of these mercenaries aren't even American. Do you want your money outsourced to countries that don't want our presence, or do you want to build a better America?
At least i'm not a racist, you blind tea party neofascist
that is so well said. Graduate of Columbia?
Did your meds stop working? How did you get racism and fascism out of wanting to work hard, achieve something and not have politicians take it away to give to their cronies? Or do you just have no intelligent response so you go back to useless knee jerk platitudes?
To all of you OCCUPY movement protesters: "Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent--the Lord detests them both" Proverbs 17:15 (NIV) This covers the Old & the New Testament and pertains to ALL of us--even non-believers. God Have Mercy on us this holiday time-Rev. Barb
I am confused at these comments, why can't a wealthy person ask for higher taxes on himself? These three comments are petty and unnecessarily spiteful. What does any of that have to do with the message being proclaimed here. If anything it is a testament to the movement- that we see privileged kids aren't brainwashed into believing in the image of an infallible American economic and political systems.
Also the name is Stangler, not Strangler
Hey Mr. Joe2nathan:
Simple question: what do you pay in taxes on a % basis of your gross income putting aside what's required for social security and medicare?? i look forward to your reply
I am confused at these comments, why can't a wealthy person ask for higher taxes on himself? These three comments are petty and unnecessarily spiteful. What does any of that have to do with the message being proclaimed here. If anything it is a testament to the movement- that we see privileged kids aren't brainwashed into believing in the image of an infallible American economic and political systems.
Also the name is Stangler, not Strangler
Perhaps we should protest Mr. Strangler. I guess that is why Margaret planned her folly for the holidays, that way all the rich college students could be here for it.
I'm glad that boy was able to return from gallivanting abroad to protest the environment he was raised in. Rough Life.
Apparently Mr Strangler (back from studying abroad!) went to Brunswick and is now at Georgetown. Real 99%er there. How pathetic. Take full advantage of all the comforts of privilege and trash it for the sake of posturing. Someone should take away Daddy's credit card, stop paying his tuition and make him get a job.
You don't have to be a 99%er to work for justice. I applaud what Stangler is doing.