OWS - Winter

Winter is beginning to settle in, and it's not looking nice, to put it mildly. Having been born and raised in the Northeast, I am all to familiar with what Winter truly consists of up there. Here's a hint. Just because you live in a large city, does not mean you are immune to the brutalities these Winters serve up on a regular basis throughout the season. The image to the left shows a section of NYC in 2010. This photo was not taken immediately following a snow storm. This photo was taken about a day AFTER a snow storm. If you look closely at the road itself, and the sides of the road around the cars, you can see where the road has already been plowed at least once. You can also see, to the right of the image, where someone has taken a snow blower (likely within the hour before this photo was taken) in an attempt to further clear some snow. Oh, and by the way, this photo was taken in EARLY Winter of 2010. How do I know this? Because had it been taken mid-late Winter, the snow piles on the sides of the road would be at least twice as high.

So now that we have a good idea as to what Winter looks like in this area of our nation, let's check to see WHY. New York City is a port city. It's a virtual island mass sandwiched between New Jersey and the boroughs of NYC, predominantly Queens and Brooklyn. The only piece of land that is protecting the bulk of NYC from being slammed full force by a North Atlantic storm is..well, Ellis Island. Pretty much, that's it.

If you click this map of NYC to enlarge it, you will see something quite interesting. The Financial District is at the very lower section of the city. In other words, this is where Wall Street is. This is the first area of the city that gets slammed by a Winter storm, and takes the bulk of the hit for the rest of the city.

Now that we have this basic information out of the way, I'd like to remind everyone that Occupy Wall Street is still going strong. This means that hundreds of people are out in the elements, braving the on-coming Winter weather for their cause. I know full well the mind set of New Yorkers. Once they get something stuck in their minds, and drilled into their hearts, they're not going anywhere. Not budging. Don't even think about asking them to. That should have been quite apparent on 9/11.

I have also learned that there are two types of people you just flat out do not want to mess with when it comes to solidarity. New Yorkers, and Texans. I may have been born and raised in the Northeast, but I am quite literally the only member of my father's family that was. Everyone else was born and raised right in the heart of Texas. So, thanks to spending half my life between the Northeast and Texas...I have learned quite well (and rather quickly, I might add), these are two types of people you just do not, under any circumstances just shy of death itself (and even then, that's questionable, depending on the severity of the situation), you do not want to cross in the wrong manner. Just, don't. OWS protestors are predominantly New Yorkers. They aren't going anywhere until they're damn good and ready to, and even then...it's a 'maybe'.

We all know that the Wall St. tycoons are probably hoping that Winter hits hard this year. They're likely under the assumption that once the snow sets in, that the OWS movement will die off and just go away. I hate to tell them this but...I think they're dead wrong. Why? Because these people still don't 'get it'. Like many well-off folks during the 1960s protests, they believe that it's a fad. It will just go away, and they can get back to business as usual and not have to worry about 'those people' any more. Again, I think they're wrong.

Why? Because, as stated above, New Yorkers aren't going to just back down to Old Man Winter. They're going to need a storm from the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" to get them to go inside, and even then, there would be a few die hard folks out there with signs that read "Winter? Bring it!!". The concern I have, however, is not Winter itself, but for the OWS protestors who will be out there in the bitter cold, facing gale force winds that bellow up the streets (the buildings make a type of artificial wind tunnel...thus, the winds can get pretty nasty there) and snow piling up all over the place.


The protestors aren't going anywhere. Help, or not. Simply put, although the help is nice, they aren't asking for it. They're doing this on their own. However, help is always nice. As stubborn as New Yorkers are, they are also quite a bunch of supportive people when they band together. Just like any community is, only on a much MUCH larger scale. So, if you want to help the OWS movement, below is a link you can go to get information on how to help. Anything is obviously appreciated, even if you're in New York and just go give someone a hug and say "Thank you for this". Come to think of it...do that anyway if you're around any of the OWS protests. Hugs are always appreciated.

How to help: Occupy Wall Street

Remember, freedom isn't free. It's earned. And, in this case, it's being demanded...and long, LONG over due.