Saturday, October 1, 2011

Occupy Wall Street


Because you couldn't really get around it, and I'm not one to miss out on public expression of discontent, hope of a fair democracy and a need for a revolution. Also every once in a while I like to be part of a big group of people. Maybe it's a biological thing, I don't know.
The protesters were not allowed to use loudspeakers, so they communicated in a sort of echo. The person with something to say, sometimes one of the 'leaders' (Even though they kept declaring that there were no leaders) and sometimes one of the random protesters, would say it, and the people around them would repeat it loudly for the people around them. It was touching to see people who all had iphones in their hands constantly, for twitter, film and texting, had figured out a way to communicate messages to a huge amount of people in such a simple and primitive way. Some of the signs up in the air were straight out non sense ('Hitler's bankers!'), and discussions with the people that held them were mostly useless (I asked why bankers were nazi's according to him, and the man said they were worse than nazi's, because all millionaires were Jews. On a side note; he had about three teeth left in his mouth.) and there was an overall lack of humor on them which was disappointing. Politics are in constant need of a good pun. At least a nice alliteration. But the amount of generosity people showed and the interest and overall togetherness was moving. Something was happening-even though what exactly wasn't always clear. Not yet a 'movement,' but definitely in motion. Everyone was using cameras and filming everything that was happening just in case something was about to become history. And who knows. Today a group of five thousand people tried to occupy the Brooklyn bridge. The police started arresting people almost immediately. At the Manhattan side, the police stood in front of the entrance so no one could enter. Someone had put a camera in a plastic bag, and attached it to twenty colorful balloons. They held it by three separate strings so they could control where the balloons went, moving across the crowd.

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