by Bruce Wilkinson
Bank of America is bad for America! Since the 2008 Great Recession was orchestrated by the ‘too big to fail’ Wall Street banks, citizens have stepped forward as the true leaders who reject the too big to fail premise. Too big to fail is too big to exist. On #F29 OWS Shut Down the Corporations on #M08 OWS Breaks Up Bank of America!
Last year thousands came to Charlotte, NC, to voice their anger at the 1% Bank of America shareholders meeting. The shareholders and CEO Moynihan don’t respect the people. It is now clear that there is no chance for reforming Bank of America, it must be broken up. During this year’s shareholders meeting we are taking the protest nationwide.
A new Rasmussen survey shows that 50% of U.S. Adults favor a plan to break up the 12 megabanks, which currently control about 69% of the banking industry. Twenty-three percent (23%) oppose breaking up the largest banks, while another 27% are undecided.
Bank of America, with trillions in assets, won’t break by a few isolated protests. It won’t break by individuals moving their money to credit unions. It will break up by sustained collective will that infects the government, enlivens credit unions, revitalizes labor unions, enlists students and restores homeowners. Millions of pinpricks and a sustained demand: Breakup Bank of America.
The Achilles Heel that breaks up Bank of America is a sustained persistent stubborn picket at many of their 16,000+ ATMs and 5,600+ branches around the country. A picket can be as simple as 1 person with a sign in front of a BoA during business hours for an hour a week. People who picket can also put on educational events, flashmobs, marches, rallies, sit-ins, teach-ins, institutional divestment campaigns, government divestment campaigns, citizen lobbying, LTE’s, gorilla marketing, but a picket isn’t a one time event but a sustained effort that realizes that change may take a while and a stubborn persistent presence is absolutely needed.
On May 8th, the day of Bank of America’s 1% shareholders meeting, nationwide picketing will occur during open business hours at the Bank of America locations nearest by. Be there, dressed in a way that welcomes strangers’ conversations, carrying a sign that wins their support. Inform your neighbors, your coworkers, your friends, and ask them to join and support the picket.
In some cities, people will organize marches, some may do creative direct action and some might consider civil disobedience. Organized actions are enthusiastically encouraged but the common picketer, with the sign holding a simple truth, are the everyday heroes that will provide the persistence necessary for the long task of breaking up Bank of America.
May 8th, long live the picket!
