BROTHERS AND SISTERS UNITED – AT 8:09 A.M. ET:  What has so moved me about the "Occupy Wall Street" protests is the cameraderie, the trust, the friendship, the sheer humanity, as the New York Post joyously reports:

It’s a den of thieves!

Occupy Wall Street protesters said yesterday that packs of brazen crooks within their ranks have been robbing their fellow demonstrators blind, making off with pricey cameras, phones and laptops -- and even a hefty bundle of donated cash and food.

“Stealing is our biggest problem at the moment,” said Nan Terrie, 18, a kitchen and legal-team volunteer from Fort Lauderdale.

“I had my Mac stolen -- that was like $5,500. Every night, something else is gone. Last night, our entire [kitchen] budget for the day was stolen, so the first thing I had to do was . . . get the message out to our supporters that we needed food!”

Crafty cat burglars sneaked into the makeshift kitchen at Zuccotti Park overnight and swiped as much as $2,500 in donated greenbacks from right under the noses of volunteers who’d fallen asleep after a long day whipping up meals for the hundreds of hungry protesters, the volunteers said.

“The worst thing is there’s people sleeping in the kitchen when they come, and they don’t even know about it! There are some really smart and sneaky thieves here,” Terrie said.

“I had umbrellas stolen, a fold-up bed I brought because my back is bad -- they took that, too!”

Security volunteer Harry Wyman, 22, of Brooklyn was furious about the thievery -- and vowed to get tough with the predatory perps.

“I’m not getting paid, but I’m not gonna stand for it. Why people got to come here and do stupid stuff? All it does is make people not wanna come here anymore,” Wyman fumed.

COMMENT:  Yeah, I'd say that robbing people blind could discourage new people from coming.  Look, I'm sure most of the people down there aren't thieves.  But this kind of thing always happens.  Young, naive, and immature idealists are ripped off by those in their ranks who have other motives.  It happened in the sixties as well. 

The demonstrations are being hyped by a sympathetic press, but I really wonder whether they have the kind of steam they claim.  We'll know as the cold weather moves into New York.

October 18, 2011