With signs and heads held high, La Crosse citizens of all ages marched the streets of the city in support of the ‘Occupy' movement, and in protest of the direction of our country.

Protests that have reached all over the world, from Rome, to Cape Town, to New York City, finally found their way to La Crosse on Saturday, Oct. 15, on the movement's "Global Day of Action." Protesters referred to themselves as "the 99 percent", in reference to the 1 percent of Americans that control around 40 percent of the nation's overall wealth (the actual percentage of wealth varies from source to source).  Global citizens are mad and are taking to the streets to protest corporate greed, economic disparity and the influence money has on governmental policies.

Mobilizing in Cameron Park, the protests coincided with the fourth year of an LGBT march. While ostensibly for different causes, both events come from a similar root cause: an attempt to create awareness due to a lack of perceived respect.

"I feel it's a great injustice that the people who caused this economic catastrophe went unpunished," said Iraq war veteran Larry Wopat. "A small number of people are making exponentially more money, but for most, costs are out of control. We need to get money out of politics and have policy influenced by the majority."

There is no one single thing that has driven the protestors to this point. "It's an accumulation of things," said La Crosse resident Brie Breckel. "The foundation of the protests is what we want our society to be. Do we want the resources that make our country great to be taken from us and then sold back to us for more than we are making?"

Breckel saw a correlation between these protests and the ones that rocked the state capital during the budget crisis. "It's very connected towards the Madison protests. These deal with a larger picture while Madison was just the tipping point," said Breckel.

Bill Motzel, a La Crosse alumnus from the early nineties and owner of Sigma benefits, helped facilitate this event. "We saw posts on the Occupy site and started working together. This thing came together organically. No one is in charge; we are all just happy to help," said Motzel.

Motzel's reasons for joining the protests are more personal than some of the protesters. "I've been battling an improper city foreclosure for two years. The government attempted to take my home illegally. I've kept it so far, but it has destroyed my credit." He was joined in the protests by several of his children.

These protests have become a hot news item in recent weeks, but not all protesters feel as if they have been covered fairly. "It took a while to get through to the mainstream media," said Motzel. "The mainstream media has an interest not seeing this happen. The only solution is to make enough noise so they can't ignore you. More people feel this way than you realize." Wopat agreed and said, "I feel that corporate media, particularly CNN and Fox, haven't covered it well."

Most criticism of the movement has come in the form of questioning their overall objective, saying that it lacks a specific agenda for protesting. "We are raising awareness. We are protesting corporate greed, inequality, and want campaign finance reform," said Emily Faith, another facilitator of the protests. "We are not going to watch as corporation turn this country into a plutocracy," said Faith. In spite of dissatisfaction of the protestors, the event remained peaceful throughout, with many drivers honking in support. While the protestors did not get their request for a permit filed on time, they received police permission to exercise their right to assemble so long as they remained nonviolent.

The protesters don't know if their voices will be heard or if change will be enacted any time soon, and they don't necessarily care. "We'll stay here indefinitely," said Faith. It doesn't change the message they are trying to send. "I don't care about our chances to create change," said Motzel. "It's the right thing to do. We are all here for different reasons, but everyone feels disenfranchised, and they are not going to sit down and take it."

The protests are expected to continue daily at Cameron Park.