Poets Also Occupy Wall Street

The mainstream media is going out of their way to make sure you haven't heard about a movement going on in New York City called Occupy Wall Street, but that has been slowly changing. And, although I don't see this movement as a revolutionary movement, I do think it's a great thing that is going on and it could lead to some very interesting things!

The other day, I was very excited to find out that poetry has now become a part of the #OccupyWallStreet movement. They started a poetry page on Facebook and it seems like they are organizing events and even established a Poetry Corner at Liberty Plaza where many people are camping out (for 12 straight days now).

Below is one of the short statements they have posted up:

"The poetry corner is now open on the northeast corner of the park. It is a public, democratic site. Anyone can organize a reading or event there as long as it is done through consensus with those present. This is leaderless movement. We would like to be the community we seek. Please respect everyone through the use of a vote. Ask for permission from others to speak. Listen to one another. Let everyone’s voice be heard. In doing so, we’ll perform not only poetry but true, participatory democracy."

Original Source: Harriet Blog

Lupe Fiasco: "I don't vote"

Just saw a YouTube news show called, "What's Trending," which highlights trending topics, "from global revolutions to entertainment and viral memes." Lupe Fiasco, who has over 626,000 followers on his Twitter account, @lupefiasco, was interviewed in this week's short segment.

In this very short interview, Lupe says some really cool stuff. First, he gets into the protest that occurred when his fans demanded that Lupe's label, Atlantic Records, set a release-date for his album. (Which is now out and pretty good).

He also, will no doubt, make people angry when they find out what he says about the president, "To me, the biggest terrorist is Obama, in the United States of America." He explains this statement by getting into why he thinks the Obama controlled government is the root cause of terrorism. But, Lupe has been critical of Obama for a long time, so this wasn't a surprise to me.

I was more impressed when he was asked by the interviewer, (Shira Lazar), who he was going to vote for in the next election and he said, "I don't vote." She seemed shocked at this statement and Lupe went as far as calling the process meaningless and he talked about why he takes that position. But my favorite part during that exchange was when Lazar asked him, "So, what if no one voted? What would happen?" His answer, "Who knows? Let's try it out and see what happens?" Great!

See the interview here: http://bit.ly/kYj8kP