Amy Goodman: Pulling Accounts From the Unaccountable

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from truthdig:



Pulling Accounts From the Unaccountable

Posted on Nov 22, 2011
By Amy Goodman


Less than a month after Occupy Wall Street began, a group was gathered in New York’s historical Washington Square Park, in the heart of Greenwich Village. This was a moment of critical growth for the movement, with increasing participation from the thousands of students attending the cluster of colleges and universities there. A decision was made to march on local branches of the too-big-to-fail banks, so participants could close their accounts, and others could hold “teach-ins” to discuss the problems created by these unaccountable institutions.

Heather Carpenter, according to the federal lawsuit filed this week in New York, is studying to be a certified nursing assistant, working to pay for school as a counselor for mentally disabled people at a group home on Long Island. Her fiance, Julio Jose Jimenez-Artunduaga, is a Colombian immigrant, pursuing the American Dream, working part time as a bartender. They marched from Washington Square Park to a nearby Citibank branch, where she went to the teller to close her account, explaining her frustration with the bank’s new monthly $17 fee for accounts with balances below $6,000.

As described in the lawsuit, the teach-in began with participants “announcing the amount of their debt, discussing their student loan experience, and reciting sobering statistics related to the debt of college graduates.” The bank staff called the police, and Julio went outside to avoid any conflict. Heather closed her account and left as well. By that time, a large group of NYPD officers, including Chief of Department Joseph J. Esposito, as well as several plainclothes officers showed up. The police stormed into the bank, locked the doors and began arresting those involved with the teach-in.

Even though Heather was outside, a plainclothes officer identified her as a protester and told her to get back in the bank. She said she was a customer and showed her receipt. To her shock, as documented by video, Heather was grabbed from behind by a plainclothes officer who began forcing her into the bank. She screamed, but within seconds disappeared into the vestibule, surrounded by a dozen cops, where she was roughly handcuffed and arrested. Julio was roughed up and arrested as well—all for closing an account at Citibank. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/pulling_accounts_from_the_unaccountable_20111122/

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