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John Makely / msnbc.com
William Johnsen, 62, of Staten Island, New York, a Vietnam veteran and a lifelong activist, at the Occupy Wall Street protest in Zucottii Park.
Disabled Vietnam veteran William Johnsen has been attending the “Occupy Wall Street” protest for 3½ weeks. On Tuesday, he arrived there from a hospital where he receives treatment for a genetic condition that has triggered emphysema and liver disease. About the demonstrations, he said:
“Government and our other institutions of authority are so corrupt that we cannot trust them anymore. There is a rebirth of realization that it’s in our hands.
“As somebody who has walked thousands of miles for jobs, democracy and justice, this is the type of spirit that was lacking in so many of my walks that I’ve done alone reaching out to people.”
Noah Addis / Noah Addis for msnbc.com
Left to right: Gary Laison, his wife Diane Laison and Joan Kosloff, all of Philadelphia, take part in the Occupy Philadelphia protest outside of City Hall in Philadelphia on Wednesday, 10/12/2011. Amid the mix of students, laid-off middle class and blue collar workers, Vietnam-era protesters are also taking part in the "occupy" protests that are spreading across the country.
Gary Laison, 74, said:
"I think the kids like seeing older people there. I think the sense (that) they are not alone, that they are a part of this span of generations is important to them, and an important part of the whole process."
Related content:
- Full story about these protesters by msnbc.com's Miranda Leitsinger.
- Msnbc.com staff reports from protests in Seattle, Los Angeles and New York.
- 360 degree panorama from Occupy Wall Street in New York's Zuccotti Park
- All Occupy Wall Street posts in PhotoBlog.
Leave a Comment:
Sorry, you are NOT the 99%
Are too!
Representatives of the 99%. Feel left out...good. Move in with Rupert.
We endured these morons during the '60's and now they're back...and for the same reasons. It doesn't matter who, what or why they're there, they just want to "protest" whoever disagrees with them. Now, let me understand; unemployment is double-digits in many parts of the country, our greatest need is jobs, the current administration--the darling of the liberal left--is totally incompetent at creating them, the unions are just out to protect their turf, the one entity that CAN generate jobs in this country is corporate America, and....that's who they attack. Brilliant. Their message is anti-capitalist and anti-business and pro-entitlement, but so far they have blissfully ignored the true source of our economic malaise--the Obama administration and the tax-and-spend "Dim"ocrats in Congress. And where did they get the idea they represent the "99%" of this country. Talk about hubris! In a nation of 360-odd million people, their numbers are pitifully small and hardly representative of the overwhelming majority, more like the "1%" they truly comprise. They need to go back home to their parents' basements.