Two separate marches joined together atop the Broadway Bridge and followed the tail end of the Portland Marathon back to camp headquarters, also the finishing line for the marathon. An exceptionally well-organized event today, on the part of activists, city officials, police, and marathon organizers. Even more so considering this all came together - peacefully - in less than three days. See the report from the Oregonian here
I've participated in two massive demonstrations since Thursday. I don't fully know what is happening in our city, but the energy is palpable. Someone in the crowd held a hand-made sign today that read "We should do this more often". I doubt he was alone with that idea.
Conversations of all kinds were taking place during our 3.5 hour march, covering several miles of Portland's downtown area. There were the hard stories - unemployed, not enough money, saddled with debt, frustrated with politics and lack of corporate accountability. But then there were also rays of hope, offering glimmers of true inspiration simply not encountered in mainstream dialogue.
There's talk of organizing communities so that neighbors become more familiar with one another and can offer assistance during hard times. Ideas about moving money en mass out of large corporate financial institutions and into local banks and credit unions, as a way to not only curtail the power large financial corporations have over our lives, but also to breath life back into Main Street - and keep the money local. There are even bold proposals to absolve all student debt; to "bail out" students and young workers instead of B of A and Citigroup.
Let's keep talking about solutions!
There's been an awful lot of criticism aimed at the Occupy Movement regarding its lack of specific demands. As if this new movement was supposed to present a senate subcomittee hearing-ready proposal on day one! Ha!
In my opinion, the very process of citizen organizing and concerned communication is a vital precursor to any specific proposals. In short, a lot of people are upset, and they're just now beginning to get together to talk about why. "Occupied" spaces offer one very suitable venue for just that.
I say give it time. The products of true grassroots democracy will be worth waiting for.
I think Ted Rall makes a valid point in this article, published October 3rd by Commondreams.org:
"Americans' pent-up demand for a forum to express their disgust is so vast that they are embracing slapdash movements like Occupy Wall Street, which reverses the traditional tactic of organizing for a demonstration. People are protesting first, then organizing, then coming up with demands. They have no other choice. With no organized Left in the U.S., disaffected people are being forced to build resistance from the ground up."
Check out the sign on the right... brilliant!
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