Thanks so much for checking back in. And, it’s a habit of mine to always thank everyone at the start of a post. What can I say? I’m polite, get used to it. We kill you with kindness at “Amorphous Thoughts”. Before I get started, just one quick housekeeping item on the layout of the blog. The last 5 postings will now always appear on the homepage. You just have to keep scrolling through. Anything older than that, you can get to through the archives. Today, I wanted to touch upon the rest of my time at Occupy Syracuse (OS). We left off at me giving you the layout of the occupation, how they mirrored many of the things Occupy Wall Street are doing, and there was a march and rally happening on the day.
As I mentioned in the first post, I arrived at their setup around 8pm on Friday night and got a good look at how things worked. That night, I went to bed (if you want to call laying on concrete “going to bed”) at about 1AM. But, in those 5 hours there, I got to speak with others staying overnight and passers-by. And, in that, I saw the true value of what these occupations can do in small and mid-size cities. First off, we were ABLE to talk politics freely. I thought about this, and could not come up with another time where this is socially acceptable. Think about it: you can’t talk about it at a bar, at work, at a sporting event, you might even get in trouble bringing it up at Thanksgiving dinner. There might be some safe place where you can talk about it, where it’s not taboo. But, I haven’t thought of it yet. Although, at these occupations, it’s the sole reason we’re all there. It’s really torn down these fake walls we put up, and allowed people to look for answers. I noticed a sign at the location, that said (and I’m paraphrasing), “Don’t Let Them Divide and Conquer Us.” These protests have forced us to focus on what we have in common, instead of what separates us.
Let’s take a look at today’s major political parties. I can ask someone a question on where they stand on gay marriage, guns, religion, the environment, abortion, taxes, regulations, etc. And, based on their answers, I can tell which political party they will invariably vote for. Even worse, when they elaborate on their answers, I can tell where they get their news. Then, based on those answers, we are immediately divided and the conversation stops and nothing gets settled. But, it does not happen at the occupation locations.
In my time I had before heading going to sleep, I just talked to
people. The experience was wonderful in its simplicity. I spoke to a
gentleman, who was maybe 20-25 years older than I am (I’m 35yrs old for
any new folks). In our talk, I spoke of great websites I use as
resources, books I’ve read and documentaries I’ve seen. The whole time
he was writing everything down to research later. First time that has
ever happened to me. Family members don’t care this much about what I
have to say. Unlikely, that this would not have happened in a
pre-occupied world. And, I’m going to register “pre-occupied” as a
phrase. Don’t even try to beat me to it. Prior to the Wall Street
protests, this gentleman and I would have probably argued each of our
points, got upset, and then ended the discussion after not getting
anywhere. But, there is this new willingness to come together, learn,
seek solutions and find common ground.With this newly found common ground, I think you will also get a more educated voting public. At the OS, there is literature on voter registration. They’re reaching out to local unions to spread the word. And, this is where I think the value is, in some of these smaller occupations. There is even a Twitter account called, “OccupytheHood” that is getting at community outreach and educating/helping disaffected minorities. I feel that large policy changes will come from what is happening in New York and Washington DC. But if after that, you have a more engaged and knowledgeable public, that knows what to demand of lawmakers, then these protests become massive successes.
The other thing you learn, and probably the biggest thing, is empathy. Also in my time there, I met a couple of people with stories that would break your heart. It was the “We Are the 99%” Tumbler site, from yesterday’s post, brought to life. One person I met was unemployed, 5 months pregnant, and homeless. She spent as much time as she can at the occupation. Afterward, she would take the bus to the shelter she was staying at. She was also a college graduate with a degree in IT. And, of course, she did not have a health insurance. I meant another gentleman that needed heart surgery at a time when he was not working. The cost (hope you’re sitting down) was $500,000. He had to file for bankruptcy, because who has 500K lying around. Meeting these folks makes you see through the numbers. According to the American Journal of Medicine, 62% of bankruptcies in 2007 , were caused by medical debts. I knew the percentage was pretty high, but this was the first time I met an affected person. I can tell you, it is very different.
Another under-rated aspect of attending an occupation is that it’s
strangely relaxing. It’s tough to explain, but when you get there,
you’re just there. You’re not burdened by whatever stresses you have at
home. There is a really great energy at the meetings. You see and feel
the kindness of others. They feed you. You don’t have to clean. I
understand I’m starting to sound pretty lazy with those last two. But,
it’s tough to describe not having any worries, even for just a short
amount of time. If you haven’t been to one, I would suggest attending
and experiencing it for yourself. With over 1,300 cities taking part in
some way, I think we’re all within a few miles of one by now. I promise
you will find it tough to leave.
The march and rally were held early Saturday afternoon. To be honest,
I was surprised at what they were able to accomplish in 6 days. I
mentioned there was only local hero “Scoot” on Day 1. And, the
march/rally had between 100-150 people attend. The rally had some public
speaking (using the People’s Mic, like in New York). Here’s a clip, if you’ve never seen it done.And, in true democratic fashion, everyone was given an opportunity to speak, if they wanted too. There was one conspiracy theorist and he brought this sign. No protest is perfect, you always get a couple of nutters. As you can see in the pic, the group tried to calm anyone attending the rally.
There was also a Ron Paul sign hung in plain view. But, in keeping
with the spirit of the movement, they do not support individual
candidates. The march and rally itself was exciting. We marched around
and through the Downtown Syracuse area. Along the way, lots of horns
honking, thumbs up from people, messages of support, etc. I yelled a
bunch, lost my voice too. The chants were along the same lines as the
ones used on Wall Street. “We Are the 99%!” being the main one.
Following the lead of the New York folks is the common thread. These
occupations that have followed are like franchises of Occupy Wall
Street. They are “Mc Occupations”. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean that
derisively. It actually helps them create these communities everywhere
with a proven blueprint. I heard a crazy fact yesterday, that there are
occupations are every continent, except Antarctica. Ok ,so, they’re not
EVERYWHERE. But, they’re on every continent, that has more people than
penguins. You can’t knock what’s working.
I checked in on OS today and they are growing even further. There was
another welcome table set up, more tents, more signs. It was
encouraging and I’m going to pass by a couple of times this week. But, I
don’t think I will spend the night. Scoot and the others are way
tougher than me. If interested in any updates, keep checking in. And,
I’ll keep you posted on their progress. That will do it for today, thanks so much checking back in, see you soon,
James
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