SEATTLE, Washington (Isabelle Zehnder reporting) -- Occupy Seattle protesters gathered Friday at Seattle's Westlake Center to protest what they see as corporate and personal greed.
Supporters of the Occupy movement say they specifically target Black Friday because they believe rampant consumerism is bad for the country and keeps the one percent in power at the expense of 99 percent, Komo News reports.
“We’re not against Walmart, we’re against corporations that don’t respect American workers,” said one protester. "We want Walmart to be better, for each of the 1.4 million workers and associates in this country.”
Many shoppers braved Black Friday crowds in hopes of finding bargains. Some shoppers said they’re proud to spend what they can and hope it will help to bring the country out if its financial doldrums.
“It keeps a lot of people employed, and I think the economy needs it right now. I think we need to support our retailers,” said Dede Backstrom of Seattle.
Some people said they don’t have a lot of money to spend this year, so they are forced to look forbargains. They said they’ll do what they have to in order to stretch their dollar.
Police were present at the Westlake Center all day Friday and fortunately there were no reports of violence.
Unlike Los Angeles where one woman used pepper spray to get an edge on other shoppers in a rush for Xbox game consoles at a Walmart store there. Up to 20 people were injured.
Follow this news writer:
Comments