As I said
yesterday, I took part in a historic day of protests, all organized around the Occupy Wall Street idea; protests took place in 951 cities in 82 countries.
In Portland the protest was more of an anti-war protest hosted and co-organized by Occupy Portland. It's true that in the news there have been complaints that the Occupy Wall Street movement's demands are unclear and too numerous, although I believe that by protesting corporate greed and the corrupt mismanaging of money by the world's rich the movement is protesting a wide range of political issues, ranging from the lack of a fair tax code to the bailout of Wall Street to budget cuts for vital government services such as education to a reduction in military spending. In face value, it would seem the protest sign that reads, "Bring our troops home now!" and "I'll believe corporations are people when Texas executes one!" don't belong at the same rally, and those who take Occupy Wall Street only at face value probably chalk this up to disorganization (and, sure, there are
plenty of examples of how the movement is can be unjustly disorganized). However, as the speakers at yesterday's even did a good job at showing, our country's obsession with the military takes money that could be used for constructive purposes - national health care (yes, we
can afford it!), education, welfare services and social security, and so on - is instead being worse than wasted. Wasting it would be bad enough, but even worse, the money is being used to destroy, destabilize, and murder. As one speaker put it yesterday, the military budget is about $750,000,000,000 every year," (that's just a bit over 2 billion dollars a day), "but the government tells us that they can't afford to pay for our teachers?" And, I might add, the wars
aren't making us safer.
The connection to Occupy Wall Street seems pretty clear to me.
On the subject of anti-war sentiments: one speaker, from the non-profit Iraq Veterans Against War, holding a sign that said, "War sucks! Sadly, I know," barely able to address the crowd through the heavy medication, said something like this (I'm paraphrasing):
When you meet a soldier who's come home from Iraq, don't thank them for their service. That's about the worst thing you can do. That only makes them think about how they had to go through all that for an illegal war we didn't believe in. Don't thank them for their service. Welcome them home.
Upon finishing his speech, the crowd shouted, "Welcome home!"
It's been a long time since I've been to a protest, not since I was at Dolores Park in San Francisco protesting the start of the Iraq war. I haven't been one to demonstrate the need to, um, demonstrate. But I'm so glad to have been a part of this Occupy movement.
Enjoy some photos!
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| The communal sukkah at Occupy Portland |
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| Occupy Portland has lived in this park for about a month now |
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| Men in suits protesting corporate corruption. In between them is a sign supporting Ron Paul that says, "Truth is treason in an empire of lies. Ron Paul 2012." One very valuable message one of the rally's speakers hammered home is that the kind of political change we're demanding won't come from Democrats. The corruption of the wealthy isn't a purely Republican phenomenon. Greed isn't restricted to just one political party. I don't think Ron Paul is the man to combat this corruption, but I really appreciate how the movement is accepting of people no matter their political background. Any Democrat, Republican, or third party voter is welcome to protest with us! |
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| People are greater than money. I like this sign a lot, but it got me thinking about the LGBTQ movement. Should transexuals be represented on that sign, or am I thinking too hard? Either way, when one political movement sweeps America others get pushed momentarily aside, as has happened for women's equality movements time and again throughout American history. I wonder if the same thing might happen now to members of the LGBTQ community. Though perhaps the movements won't clash because Occupy Wall Street isn't a civil rights movement and won't get in the way of the push for gay rights... I hope. |
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| This purple-suit guy had the loudest voice! He made that sign on the spot. |
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| The protest has always been family friendly |
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| And kids are major participants! |
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| Sign-making tent at Occupy Portland |
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| A protestor sits atop the iconic Elk Statue to survey the gathered demonstrators |
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| Protestors gathered in the heart of Occupy Portland |
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| More Ron Paul supporters. I followed this group around for about 20 minutes (plus, it's not very hard to walk ahead when you're in the thick of a crowd like that), and a lot of people voiced enthusiastic support of their signs. I was afraid the stereotypical Portland hippie would scoff at them but it never happened, and the atmosphere only remained positive. |
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| Might be a good idea. It's not like my Democratic vote is going to mean anything. |
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| Classic war sign |
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| A family of three protestors. The girl with the peace sign shouted, "What do we want?" - Peace! - "When do we want it?" - Now! - Her voice was so loud that everyone could hear her on the block, and she led us in chanting all by herself, her sister (with the "Books not bombs" sign) helping her out a little as we marched on. |
In Portland the protest was more of an anti-war protest hosted and co-organized by Occupy Portland. It's true that in the news there have been complaints that the Occupy Wall Street movement's demands are unclear and too numerous, although I believe that by protesting corporate greed and the corrupt mismanaging of money by the world's rich the movement is protesting a wide range of political issues, ranging from the lack of a fair tax code to the bailout of Wall Street to budget cuts for vital government services such as education to a reduction in military spending. In face value, it would seem the protest sign that reads, "Bring our troops home now!" and "I'll believe corporations are people when Texas executes one!" don't belong at the same rally, and those who take Occupy Wall Street only at face value probably chalk this up to disorganization (and, sure, there are plenty of examples of how the movement is can be unjustly disorganized). However, as the speakers at yesterday's even did a good job at showing, our country's obsession with the military takes money that could be used for constructive purposes - national health care (yes, we can afford it!), education, welfare services and social security, and so on - is instead being worse than wasted. Wasting it would be bad enough, but even worse, the money is being used to destroy, destabilize, and murder. As one speaker put it yesterday, the military budget is about $750,000,000,000 every year," (that's just a bit over 2 billion dollars a day), "but the government tells us that they can't afford to pay for our teachers?" And, I might add, the wars aren't making us safer.
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