Six protesters were arrested on Thursday, Sept. 30 at Chase Bank in the Financial District of San Francisco for demonstrating their feelings on the injustice of the recent housing foreclosure crisis.
Protesters were punished for exercising their voices about the current political system, which they say involves corrupt lobbyists and partisanships.
What had started on Wall Street as the “Solidarity of the 99%”—a political movement that publically draws attention to the fact that 99 percent of American’s income is below the top one percent—quickly reached major cities to mirror the same protests also known as “Occupy Wall Street.”
The movement commenced on Sept. 17, the day more formally known as the “Day of Rage.”
Since then, angry activists have gathered at financial institutions around the United States on several occasions to protest the growing number of housing foreclosures.
Protesters in San Francisco began at 555 California St. at the offices of Goldman Sachs and progressed through the banks in the Financial District including City Bank, Bank of America and Charles Schwab.  Demonstrators marched shouting, “Banks get bailed out, we get sold out.”
Protesters on Market St. expressed their determination and enthusiasm for their cause by setting up temporary homes on the sidewalk with pizza and coffee, chanting, “Why is life a bitch, because they don’t tax the rich.”
Among those arrested was Brenda Reed, who voiced her opinion inside Chase Bank to the Bank CEO saying, “You have put me through hell, and devastated my health.” The banks are trying to foreclose Reed’s home of 38 years.
Reed is one of many Americans facing this unfortunate reality.  There are hundreds and thousands of people across the United States that have witnessed the loss of their homes to bank foreclosures.
According to Realty Trac, the foreclosure notices have increased each month in the United States by 200 percent. California was hit the hardest with default notices up by 55 percent.
Protests are continuing all over major cities in the United States and have received attention from celebrities including Susan Sarandon, Russel Simmons, Alec Baldwin and Roseann Barr who have all been activists during the United States’ economic dilemma.
Musician Lupe Fiasco has been an active supporter of the protests, donating tents and food to those on Wall Street.
Mark Ruffalo tweeted, “The corporate world with its record profits could stand to be reigned in a little bit, after all we did bail their asses out.”
American demonstrations that call attention to Wall Street are being adopted by other countries around the globe. “OccupySF,” “Occupy Wall Street” and many more are calls to action that are similar to the Arab Spring, a revolutionary wave of protests occurring in the Arab world.
What had started out as only a couple dozen protesters a month ago has grown because of social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook.
This past weekend, 700 protesters were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge.  Despite the protesters’ practice of non-violence in their attempts to make a difference, police officers still continued to make arrests.