Monday, October 24, 2011

A Front Row Seat at Occupy Wall Street

Yesterday I traveled to the southern tip of Manhattan to see for myself exaclty what the Occupy Wall Street non-violent protest was all about. Whether you are opposed to, or in support of the protester's message their energy, commitment, and passion are inspiring.

Near the Zuccotti park entrance is the Wall Street's biggest -The Bull - symbol sculpted in bronze. It;s sort of poetic given the protester's message.

 I was truly suprised and delighted by the peaceful energy I encountered entering the park. One of the protest participants makes a different Lego design evey day to captures the event.
The same protester also created this QR code out of Legos. If you click it, it will take you to his Facebook page where he has photos of all of the designs he has created in the 38 days he has lived there.

People are actually living on card board boxes, under tarps, covered in blankets. If that isn't commitment I don't know what is.

On the south side of the park various flags each with their own message

Near this chalk board which is used for making the daily schedule that includes, sweeping, serving food etc. is a buffet with largely vegetarian and organic produce and even homeade  apple pies.

This protester asks for donations so he can take his message on the road

 I was also suprised by the plethora of artists "in residence." In addition to this modern deconstructed poster were photographers, musicians and dancers.
In the center of the park is a shrine adorned with a wide array of meaningful objects.

This protester is an executive with a top Wall Street bank. As he put it, "just because I work here does not mean I agree with the way they do things." His poster includes the head shot of a Bloomberg news reporter who has a hard right view of things.

Just west of Zuccotti park is the new 911 memorial and the Freedom Tower which will be 50 feet taller than the World Trade Centers. It is a supreme architectural achievement and a perfect symbol for what is so great about this country.


Powered By Blogger