May Day Protests Keep the 1% On Their Toes [PHOTO]

By harmonleon May 2, 2012 11:28 am Posted in Features, Lifestyle harmonleon g+ page

People are plain pissed off. The 1% received a strong wake up call on May 1st, as hundreds of thousands of angry protesters took to the streets – demanded an end to income inequality, housing foreclosures, and calling for greater immigrant’s rights. The Occupy Wall Street movement breathed new life into its campaign against corporate excess with a series of May Day protests across around the globe. [lead image by FOX News}

LA Times

The protests’ aim was to bring business to a standstill – with the movement’s most anticipated day of action in months. While impassioned protests were far less violent than the demonstrations that erupted last fall, clashes with police did erupt in San Francisco, Oakland, and Seattle.

Masked protestors march through downtown Seattle moments before they began to destroy storefronts during May Day demonstrations

Le Chat Noir Emeutier

Storefronts were smashed, cars vandalized, police resorted to teargas and pepper spray; firing “flash-bang” grenades to disperse protesters – who were wrestled to the ground while arrests were made.

NY Daily News

Though scores of arrests were made in several major cities the May Day protest was far less violent than some of the scenes witnessed last fall when the Occupy movement was at its peak.