Joining the March

Yesterday we (Sandy & I) joined in a march in support of the Occupy Movement.  While we have a couple friends who argue that they cannot possibly BE 99%ers they are by definition in that category because they do not have $250,000 per year plus incomes.  Well, who knows, maybe they do but have been loitering with the rest of us for the last few years.

Anyway, we joined in a march across the I-5 bridge from Portland, Oregon to Vancouver, Washington.  It was all very civil and fairly well organized for such rabble as ourselves!  The two most favored chants for the day were:

"Banks got bailed out, We got sold out"

"We ARE the 99%"

There was Union support for the march and the plumbers and longshoremen showed up.  There were Postal Workers carrying support signs for the OWS movement as well as H.R. 1351 to save the postal system.  We did indeed march across the bridge and regathered at Ester Short Park in downtown Vancouver for a brief session of speechifying.

As we crossed the bridge many drivers and passenger from cars in the traffic (the vast majority, in fact) honked or waved support for us.  There were a few folks "flipping" us the universal sign of disrespect (I counted 4) but we smiled extra for them and waved respectfully back.  The number of trucks giving us a boost from their air horns was a very fine thing as well.

We had a good day of showing support in a very excellent way and a chance to meet a few people along the way.

Oh, and there was a lone Republican in the crowd trying to cause a problem but we all gave him the freedom to do what he wanted to.

The Slow Burn Revolution

The last few weeks has seen the resurgence of public protest over many issues.  The tar sands Keystone XL pipeline where over 1200 people were arrested in Washington D.C. while exercising their first amendment rights to protest was a kickoff a few weeks back.  Currently the Occupy Wall Street protest is a good deal more violent (perpetrated by the NYPD) than others that are going on.  I have been to four protests (some called rallies) of a smaller scale here in Vancouver.  None of these has received national media attention until there was violence.  The media then tried to say that protest is by its nature violent and should we allow it.  Allow it?

Wait, it is a right we have in this country to protest.  It is a right we have to have access to our representatives.  The summer recess by Congress had representatives going to their home districts and having various pay-to-access schemes going on to limit the representatives access.  Many in the Tea Party did NOT want to face the electorate and many did NOT want to hear complaints of their performance during the debt "crisis".  

This activist surge will continue.  It has been building for thirty years and is about to become more and more visible despite the major media trying to minimize it.  Hopefully it will not get more violent but the longer this goes the harder that will be to carry out.    

 

NYPD officer who did the macing... prior incidents.