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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Occupy L.A. Teen: We Haven't Gotten What We Wanted

Alyssa Nakamoto |
October 3, 2012 | 8:57 p.m. PDT

Contributor

Long You, Occupy L.A. participant (Alyssa Nakamoto).
Long You, Occupy L.A. participant (Alyssa Nakamoto).
Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, 18-year-old student Long You said he and his friends missed out on resources in education, such as SAT prep and extracurricular activities that are available to students in areas such as Beverly Hills and Westlake. 

As a result, You said this makes people inherently separated by socioeconomic class, rather than by content of character or intelligence, which ends up creating the "1 percent."

The Occupy movement originated in New York, as many citizens banded together and protested the fact that the 1 percent make a quarter of the nation's income per yearPeople gathered on Wall Street to protest against bankers, some of the individuals that make up the 1 percent. The movement rampantly spread all over the world, including Los Angeles. Occupy L.A. started on Oct. 1, 2011, as protesters set up camp in front of City Hall.

As Occupy L.A. celebrated its one year anniversary Monday, You joined the general assembly that gathered at Pershing Square in downtown L.A. He has been part of the Occupy L.A. movement from the beginning.

You said that the 99 percent have been left out of America's banks for too long. Furthermore, he said the 99 percent are not receiving equal treatment because bankers are given more weight in society than American citizens.

"That's not a government," he said. "It's a dictatorship."

 

You called for education equality, income equality and a higher minimum wage.

 

After two months, police shut down the Occupy L.A. camp in front of City Hall. You was also there for the end. After Occupy L.A.'s camp was removed from City Hall's lawn, You said that the movement has died down a bit. But on the one year anniversary, he wanted to send the message that the protesters are still here. 

"We haven't gotten what we wanted," he said, "but we'll still fight for what we believe is right."

Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage on the Occupy movement here.

Reach Staff Reporter Alyssa Nakamoto here.



 

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