On 11/11/11, over 70 people peacefully gathered in the
pouring rain under the clock tower on Railroad Ave. in
Shelton to demonstrate support for the Occupy movement
pouring rain under the clock tower on Railroad Ave. in
Shelton to demonstrate support for the Occupy movement
Corporations are not people!
We are the 99%
Local vets Occupy Shelton on Veterans Day
OCCUPY SHELTON! OCCUPY EVERYWHERE!Photos by John Cox Mason County Progressive
What a great day to be a citizen of Shelton!
ReplyDeleteLots of folks driving by honking and waving; no police with tear gas and rubber bullets trying to send us to hospital; participant ages ranged from 0+ to 80+, at a guess.
It was a great turnout, especially given the really TERRIBLE weather.
Stay tuned to this blog for dates of future gatherings and opportunities to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who occupy 24/7.
Keep it light!
One of the joys of being a waiter is getting to hear tiny fragments of conversations, generally with no context to make sense out of the nonsense. But sometimes I hear enough to know what the people are saying.
ReplyDeleteLast night I had a party of maybe six, all of whom had spent their day engaged in Veterans Day events. It was obvious that they were deeply offended that the Occupy folk had chosen Veterans Day to have this rally. I suspect they might have been offended by any event on that day which was not about veterans, though it was obvious that they were even more upset by the nature of the event.
One man, who seemed to have been a bit more insulated during the day that his companions, mentioned the rain and said something like "That should keep them home!" This was accompanied by exsultant, victorious fist pumping. He was disappointed to hear that the rain had not, in fact, kept any Occupiers home. "Well, I hope the 21 gun salute scared the stuffing out of them. Ha ha ha."
It was pretty clear that these folk had a deep-seated animosity toward the Occupy folk. I found myself wanting to ask them about it. I wish I could have.
"I certainly understand your being angry that they chose to do this on your special day. It's not like they didn't know. It was pretty clueless, pretty "tone deaf" of them, huh? But on the other hand, the whole reason we have soldiers and a military is not to celebrate itself, but to ensure out freedoms back home, right? That's what I keep on hearing. So you veterans ought to be bursting with pride that these upppity Americans with opinions (how quintessential is that?) are free to stand in the rain expressing theirs. Look at how effective you guys were in keeping us free! Good work!
But also -- I can understand your not agreeing with them. I know you are all conservative Republicans, and many Republicans seem to believe that the more money a corporation or person has the more special treatment it deserves. I understand that many who call themselves conservative think it good for big companies to have more access to power than us common folk. I think there are some who believe that corporate persons should have the right to vote. I get all that, sort of. But please explain to me the anger at your fellow citizens who are protesting what they deeply believe (even though they are, of course, misguided) to be grave miscarriages of justice and the American way? Why would you rather stand in solidarity, so to speak, with the super-rich who are screwing you into the ground, rather than with your fellow-citizens, even though you disagree with them?"
Oh my God; thank you for sharing this. It is hard to understand the animosity these folks express towards occupy; unless you consider their news source(s)... then it makes perfect sense!
ReplyDeleteI suppose we ought to say "Father forgive them, they know not what they do."
But I am not Jesus and I do not forgive their ignorance and anger at the occupy citizens' expressions of frustration; not when THEY wrap themselves in the American Flag and tout the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (both of which documents they have never read), while complaining about the occupiers gathering on Veterans Day.
Maybe they did not notice the deadly assault by police on two Marines, both Iraq Vets, in Oakland recently.. or perhaps they missed the presence of Vets in our gathering?
Fr. Sean Lotz, a well written piece here. Thanks for the effort in expressing and informing. Sean, if I may add to it, it's the "3T" problem that many people are infected with.
ReplyDeleteIf only more would Think Things Through like you just did, this country might be the "Greatest Nation On Earth" we've fooled ourselves into beLIEving it is.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s320x320/388027_122471504529568_111781555598563_125607_276145269_n.jpg
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fxbowRmzetY#!
ReplyDeleteThe New Progressive Age Has Begun
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/opinion/sunday/the-new-progressive-movement.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
Servetus, thank you for the two links above!
ReplyDeleteIn Portland it appeared that the 99% actually moved the police line backward... amazing!
I will take your 3-T advice to heart: Think Things Through. Simply simple.
Katherine, I suspect that most of the folk I was hearing from couldn't be said to have "missed" the veterans in the Occupy rally that day, since they certainly did not seem to have paid any real attention to what was going on in the first place. I doubt that they looked or really even noticed. And that's just sad. I think if one is going to be so angry at one's fellow humans, fellow Americans, fellow Sheltonians, one should at least have an informed idea of what they are all about and what they are actually doing.
ReplyDeleteAnd on a side note, congratulations to all who braved the cold and rain.