ok, so i went to city hall today- sunday- to check things out. as i got off the 7th/metro subway. there was a group of protesters on the platform, approx. 75ish... they were fired up & spirited, loud and young. there was an exchange going on with the police.. who seemed to be making everything as difficult as they could for the protesters, but at least they were not arresting anyone. the escalator was shut off, so walking up those extremely long stairs took a commitment just to get up to ground level.
as i approached city hall there were approx. 300ish people milling about. the scene was very mellow.. various tents & sleeping bags. mostly young people... some not so young, families, democracy-now types etc. people were in very good spirits and very helpful to one another. everyone understood they were all in this together. they were serving free food and cake! free water, (keep your cup if you want more!) and there were a few booths with organizations like
REVOLUTION BOOKSTORE, (i love them!) on hollywood blvd.
I was told the first day protest, (october 1st) had 3000 people and they marched thru downtown LA with no incident. i was also told that on the first night sleepover, the police made everybody leave the lawns. therefore people were forced to sleep on the sidewalks.... it did not deture anyone from staying. late sunday afternoon people had gathered to listen to each other speak. it was very tribal. one person had a bullhorn. you would write your name on a clip board, wait for your name to be called, and then be allowed to speak for as long as you like.... somewhat.... i was impressed with what people had to say. the young people really explained their causes, they were passionate and articulate in their opinions. almost everyone in the group had experienced some form of police brutality, (including myself) during their lives. i found that a very sobering fact-
MOST OF AMERICAN WORKING CLASS HAS EXPERIENCED POLICE BRUTALITY.
OCCUPY LOS ANGELES is a continuous vigil located @ city hall downtown LA. they plan to be there indefinitely. i encourage everyone to check them out, stay awhile, donate food, chat with people, protest, let your voice be heard. btw... many protesters are very cute!
MORE CITIES HAVE COME ON BOARD-
OCCUPY ORLANDO-
OCCUPY BOSTON-
OCCUPY ASHVILLE- NC
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