Log In | Register
The anonymus folks were there too.
Today's delema: NO LEVEL PLAYING FIELD.
14' tall Ms Uncle Sam, 'Rae from the Bay' with Activists on Stilts.
Says it all, doesn't it?
I really liked this sign.
Drummers, dancers and bloggers in front of City Hall.
"Suits" and Students takin it to the street together.
Still early but you can see the cultural, age and economic diversity.
The Mounted HPD. Great Guys (meant in a non-gender specific way)!
The Medics were the first group to show up.
We mostly chanted: "We are the 99%!"
"This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."
I use this quote at the beginning of this article because we, the Occupy Houston Organization, were few. Only 300 by 'media' estimates, and 400 to 500 by Organizer and HPD* estimates. The first group to show up around 7:30a at the starting location, Market Square Park, were the "medics". I put this in quotation marks because I cannot verify if any or all of them had medical certification. Mostly, throughout the day, they looked for people who needed help. Such as people in wheelchairs, parents with small children, people on crutches, anyone in need of water, even the 14 foot Ms. 'Uncle Sam' on stilts.
The next to show up were the mounted Police. Viewing them through the 'mist of the morning' (which was a misting a/c system used by the food vendor for their seating area in the middle of market square) created an ancient feeling of 'battle ready' that made my pulse hum. Artificial or not, it made for a great photo and minded me of the St Crispen's Day Speech by King Henry in Shakespeare's Henry V. The HPD were truly awesome throughout the day and seemed to act more as facilitators and mediators rather than the heavy handed militia that our Movement saw in New York.
Following the Police escort were so many people in groups, pairs or singly that it would be difficult to chronologize them with any accuracy. To say that we were a diverse group would be understating it. There were mothers and fathers with children who the marchers near-by paid special attention to regarding their safety. There were Business People and several Ethnic Cultures represented by their Dress. One couple in South American garb were especially picturesque; she with her brightly colored skirt and blouse, her graying hair in a long braid that fell down her back to below her knees, he in Black 'suit', white shirt and broad-brimmed hat, also black. There were young people of all variants, some college kids, some young working kids, some unemployed; this latter group having, perhaps, the most invested in the efforts of this movement. There were middle aged and old, healthy and disabled. All here for one purpose: to loudly voice our objection to the Corporate takeover of our Government and the Financial ruin that has been brought about by that usurpation.
As the group amassed we learned through a system of vocal relays that the march/occupation was organized so quickly that we did not have time to get a license to march on the roadway or use electronic voice magnification. So our movements and sycnchronized chanting was purely by human relay.
If you have been watching this movement on TV then you will have seen where one person speaks and it is repeated by each group in a choral-like fashion radiating out to the perimeter of the group. Not entirely efficient but it had the added benefit of building camaraderie between the Marchers. As we proceeded to the JP Morgan Chase Building, we chanted "They got Bailed out! We got sold out!" and "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Corporate greed has got to go!" but mostly you heard "We are the 99%!"
After the protest at the Bank, we proceeded to City Hall, Hermann Square Park. This area of land with it's reflection pool was donated to the City for the specific use by the citizens of Houston. The Organizers of the Movement declared "We have Officially Occupied Hermann Square Park and City Hall". A roaring cheer rose up from the crowd, and again I was reminded of what the Democratic Process truly looks like.There were drummers and dancers, speakers and those who were just there to represent the Democratic Process.
You will hear much about what we are and what we represent in the next weeks and months as we refine our agenda. Most of it will be either sensationalized or marginalized whichever Corporate America dictates. What you see in the 'news' is what you are allowed to see, so I would allow that we take a page from the Arab Spring and use Social Media to fill in the redacted information. We, The Occupy Together Movement, will continue to get better at messaging in the weeks going forward, but here is a short list of what we aren't and are:
- We are NOT the "Tea Party" for the Left nor are we funded by some shadowy PAC. This is a truly organic movement and there were people from ALL political stripes present. We civilly discussed issues just like we want our Representatives to do and guess what we found out? We had MORE ISSUES IN COMMON than we had differences. We ALL want Corporate Money OUT of our Government. We all want OUR voices to be heard by our elected representatives.
- We are not violent, there was not ONE incident even when some idiot showed up with a sign that said "It (the economic crisis and joblessness) is NOT the Banks (sic) FAULT. It is YOUR fault! Hard work pays off!". Although he was the only dissenter, he was not mobbed, but he was engaged in dialogue. The police were not violent either, so it just goes to show you that the Mayor and Chief of Police, have a great deal more to do with how the Movement is interacted with than does the region of the country.
- We are not a "Protest". Oh, sure, we are against the excesses of Banks and the deregulation of our Government in general, but we are a Movement, not a protest. We are FOR things like: more jobs, whether they be private or public sector, we are FOR improving the economy by Banks paying "Bailout" dollars back or LENDING to small businesses so THEY can hire more people, we are FOR the PEOPLE having more voice in our elective process than CORPORATIONS, we are FOR getting the deadwood OUT of Congress that is stalling the Government from doing it's ONLY job and THAT is, of course, to work FOR the People.
- We are NOT going away for this organic movement is the true frustration of a people who built this country seeing it being subsumed by the avarice and corruption of an elitist 1%
This article, such as it is, is just to wet your appetite. To entice you to participate in OCCUPY Movements in your City or nearby. To get a real feel of what it was like, please watch this, it is about 9 minutes long but truly inspiring.
