More Long Beach Economic Struggles Bared

Occupy Long Beach events at Bluff Park, downtown, Cal State Long Beach and Long Beach City College have provided a mobil town square where first time marchers are sharing middle class losses by helpless, homeless, jobless and frightened Long Beach residents.

"I'm outraged that my family of three paid more in taxes in 2010 than Exxon, Bank of America and Citicorp combined," Tamara Philips, wearing a t-shirt that read, 'Can you hear me now?', said at a weekend march downtown. She was speaking into a megaphone in a relatively new role as protester.

Only days earlier, she'd made one of her first appearances, politely introducing herself as a middle-aged married mother who's small business had to lay off employees, then close shop, then the family lost it's house to a crumbling economy. She was before the Long Beach City Council a week today (Tuesday), and asked if members would please work with Occupy Long Beach to help people struggling in the city.

The next night by candlelight, she reread her speech at Bluff Park. By Saturday, Occupy Long Beach's largest single gathering, Philips was on a megaphone, her voice having gained force in just days.

"I want nothing less," she said to a street full of people, "than a government by the people, for the people."

Apart from trying to figure out how to break down those desires into reachable goals, such speakers present a sobering take from unseasoned protesters not used to the picket line. None of the speakers were identified in the video of the march along Ocean Boulevard. But several have said they're rally newbies. They've evidently been seared enough by circumstances to go on camera for march organizers who they knew would be posting online.

Amid signs funny to foul, a few more poignant ones echoed the expression stated when the country teetered on financial disaster--and banks were famously said to be 'too big to fail." (Then many got big government/taxpayer bail-outs).

One sign for Occupy Long Beach read: "Our Dreams Are Too Big to Fail."

Without attempting to gauge what number is represented by, or what meaning the Occupy Long Beach turnouts represent, here are some locals who can be found on this video:

*One woman said that her family received its third foreclosure notice Friday, that they hoped to make this payment, and that school district cuts are so severe that one of her high school age children had no math teacher the first two weeks of class.

*A man described being homeless from January to June during which he lived in an abandoned maintenance structure on the rooftop of a downtown Long Beach high-rise without water, heat or power.

*A woman described herself as having been unemployed four years--since she and her partner's real estate business died after the market "took a dive....We lost the car, we lost the house....We are the 99%."

* A Millikan High 10th grader with a British accent who said he'd been watching TV pundits bickering for months but Saturday, was pleased to be at the rally to see people "standing up....and I want to be a part of that."

One Occupy Long Beach organizer, Jai Dion Hudson, who can be seen on the accompanying YouTube, said he met with many of an estimated 400 people who turned out Monday at the city's two colleges for either rallies or organizing visits. Long Beach State is the most populous CSU campus in California. [YouTube will be added if we get it].

"I talked to literally 400 plus people (seriously) today between CSULB and LBCC," Hudson e-mailed. "They want the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 reinstated for protection from banks.* And they want extraction of oil taxed to pay for education. And a lady said elementary school teachers get paid $30,000 [and]she wants that raised. I don't know if that's true or not yet.... And the firemen don't believe there pensions should be taken away. Undocumented workers want their taxes to benefit them outside of work...."

That was just what was vented at Occupy Long Beach Monday.

*(The Glass-Steagall Act was an attempt by Congress to reduce conflicts by banks blamed for self-serving investments many blamed for a role in the 1929 stock market crash; it was reportedly eroded in the 1980s, according to this Ken Burns PBS series)

Patch wants to share as complete a picture as can be offered of all views, and as long as it is civil we will post it so please comment.