Occupy Wall Street movement receiving mail and supplies from supporters across the U.S.
Sunday, October 2nd 2011, 4:00 AM
Kevin Hagen for News
Casey O'Neill, 30, of Oakland, Calif. unpacks boxes sent to the Occupy Wall Street movement in Zucotti Park Friday.Twice a day, the Occupy Wall Street movement gets mail - so much the protesters had to designate an official "mailman."
Well-wishers and kindred spirits from across the country have been sending cardboard boxes bearing food, medical supplies, clothes and blankets to the masses who have camped out near Ground Zero since Sept. 14.
"I want to thank you for the many sacrifices you are making to better this nation," read a note that Janet Bauer of Elk Grove Village, Ill., wrote to accompany her care package. She also threw in $30 in cash. "I'm a 51-year-old permanently disabled person who is unable to join you - but know my heart and hopes are with you."
What started as a loosely organized sit-in to protest the practices of Wall Street has grown into something much larger and harder to define - an ever-changing, ultra-democratic clamor for social change.
The protesters have built a mini-tent city in Zuccotti Park, at the corner of Broadway and Liberty St., but the mail they get shows the movement's spirit knows no physical boundary.
Some of the mailings may have been inspired by the events of last Saturday, when the movement got an international media splash after NYPD cops arrested more than 80 people, and a high-ranking member of New York's Finest pepper-sprayed a bunch of women.
The encampment now feeds and shelters hundreds of people each day and has a kitchen, a library, zones for first aid and sleeping - not to mention a committee to put out the trash.
They have survived entirely on donations for more than two weeks, its leaders say. When a request for a specific item is posted online, the group's supporters nationwide are quick to respond.
"It's amazing. It just feels so wonderful to know that people are supporting us," said Casey O'Neill, 34, the protester who was tapped to be mailman. "What people send is useful, but knowing they support us enough to send this stuff is even better."
O'Neill makes two trips daily from the park to the nearby Fulton St. Post Office, where Occupy Wall Street opened a Post Office box.
The first of those trips Friday brought him back to the base laden with 19 boxes - a delivery from UPS. O'Neill expected the afternoon's haul to be even bigger, with shipments coming in from FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service.
Inside the morning's mail was anything an urban, politically inspired camper could want - socks, peanuts, dried fruit, several portable and solar battery-chargers, even a cordless electric kettle. Other packages held whistles, baby powder and a few coffee urns.
"Sent with love, encouragement, positive vibes and hope," read one note from St. Louis.
(http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com)
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