Saturday at Civic Center Park; Exploring the Truth about Occupy

by Sarah Borden

 It’s hard to do anything these days without hearing about the Occupy movement. Everywhere there is news of the Occupy tents being torn down by police, or Occupy sympathizers setting fires. But what no one seems to be talking about is what the Occupy movement is, what exactly they stand for, and what actually happens at these protests, which now number upwards of 2000. According to the OccupyTogether.org website, “On September 17th, men and women of all races, backgrounds, political and religious beliefs began to organize in nonviolent protest. These men and women represent the 99% with the goal of ending the greed and corruption of the wealthiest 1% of America.” Occupy Denver is having an especially hard time of it, receiving more police attention than protests in other cities. With a chill in the air, I decided to spend a day in the park to witness firsthand who was supporting the cause, why protestors were out there, and the relationships with the police as well as within the community.

When asked by his friends what it’s like at the Occupy protests, John with the Party Party (a political party that started as a joke that’s starting to build some serious support) would tell them, “It’s definitely an eclectic group of people … it’s kind of like humanity. There’s some really cool people, there are some crazy people, there’s some really smart people, it’s just people.” Critics of the movement point to dissension within the community, protestors conflicting with each other about what it is that’s wrong, and what needs to be done. But the goal of Occupy is a simple one: clean house. Its purpose is to unify those that know that something is wrong with the system. There is no specific legislation that they’re trying to pass, no negotiation to be done with corporations or politicians.

In unifying people who share the common sense that something is amiss, the movement has served to create a physical place that is a marketplace of ideas. At the park there are all types of people walking around, handing out fliers, singing protest songs, or simply having conversations. Does everyone agree? No. But the more people talk about what is going on, the more the movement succeeds.

General Assemblies happen every day at 3 pm and 7 pm in front of the Capitol building at Civic Center Park in Denver, but there are also movements in Greeley and Fort Collins. The fantastic thing about these assemblies is that it not only provides a forum where a wide range of people have a chance to address a live audience about political and economic issues, but where they also have a chance to speak freely without fear of personal judgment.

Speakers address issues from multinational corporations to Wall Street, to the Federal Reserve, to local businesses and newer forms of energy. One speaker proposed the idea of moving to local forms of currency like the kind found in Ithaca, New York.

Dwayne Hudson has been on-site for over a month and loves being able to speak publicly. “We’ve got to connect some dots to make people think about how this action here has rippling effects across the globe … that this may be happening to you, but this company or this bank that you invest in, they help promote that, not just here but abroad. And if you don’t want that condition for yourself, then don’t put it on anybody else.”

For as many people that were there and that are living there on a 24/7 basis, the entire area was really clean. There were several people going around asking people to pick up after themselves, making sure that the trash was contained, and at least one person was raking leaves. There were several tables giving away donated food and jackets.

One girl who’s a member of the Family of Love, a group camped near Lincoln, said, “There are women and we need more. I honestly think that things would be a little bit calmer and more organized if you had more women.”

“We all just wound up at the protest because we were like, shit, people are getting arrested. It’s our time to do what we can. And in doing so we found probably the most active, intelligent, bright, talented, f@&king- awesome kids in the entire world, and we’re all able to inhabit this non-structure structure. For the time being, stick around, the police might come and raid us and beat us up today,” said Thor, another Family of Love member.

The Party Party shows up every Saturday, they bring food and water, and provide voter registration. On that day they showed up with bread, and received donations of other snacks like granola bars and apples. They also provide reading material including a leaflet on protester ethics, which include: be visible, not obnoxious, and cause first, ego last. John, an organizer of the Party Party, said that showing up at Occupy helps him feel more of an emotional attachment to his community, to Denver. He said, “Most of the community aspects are really good, but again you always have some negative with the positive.”

A lot of people show up just to distribute information, whether it’s pamphlets for the cause, directly against the cause, religious or cult-ish in nature. Some people have fliers, some have little booklets, and some have DVDs and websites. But not everyone wants to share their opinion. Many wear bandanas around their faces, masking their identity from the suspicious amount of video cameras present. Not to mention the presence of many, many cops.

The Occupy movement does its best to associate itself with non-violence. There have been some politically motivated crimes committed by people who have participated in the Occupy movement that the organizers vehemently disclaim any connection with. Nonetheless, the police have been a constant and looming presence in the park. The Occupy movement encourages participants to view the cops not as the enemy, but as potential recruits. Members of the Party Party experienced that firsthand. John recalls, “A couple weekends ago we were here and we were actually sat down and shot the shit with the cops for an hour or so. We were sitting on the curb and they were all lined up in front of us, and we were just talking to them and they were really nice people. One guy was so funny, it was obvious they were about to move in, putting on gas masks and everything, and the guy’s like ‘Get out of here, come back tomorrow, peace,’ and flashed me the peace sign … So I think a lot of them kind of question what they’re doing, and question what’s going on. We could definitely sit down and have a beer and agree on a lot of things. They are our prime recruits; they are small government employees pulling a pension. They are the 99%.”

Dwayne Hudson had a different attitude towards the police. “I think the police ought to be applauded for some of the stupid shit that they did that brought people to us, because it’s simple issues. We want to Occupy and we want to address our grievances. We don’t want to be pepper sprayed and tear gassed. Other states are allowing people to have tents to sustain this movement.”

Some participants have been less than welcoming to police, which other protesters find makes things difficult for progress. “Down here I’m hearing a lot of people yell, ‘F@&k you, fascist pig!’ and it’s like, listen as soon as you say that, they’re not paying attention to anything you say after that. You could be Jesus and they’re not going pay attention to you. …So it’s about bringing them along with love and compassion. It’s very much like Martin Luther King- non-violence,” said John. The Family of Love also stated that they are against starting shit with the cops for the sake of starting shit with the cops.

Luckily also in the area is CopWatch, an organization that stays out of picking sides either or, but always keeps an eye out if there is a police presence. Any sign of movement, and the CopWatch members start videotaping. The organization will show up at many large events just to make sure that the police behave.

That evening the cops did move in and make everyone move out. The mass media did a great job initially reporting wood smoke from an extinguished fire as teargas. Will that kill the movement? Hell, no. As one sign put it, Occupying is ‘In-tents,’ but it’s harder to kill an idea than making someone move their stuff. As John stated, “Civil disobedience is very important in these movements, but civil disobedience over what? Is it civil disobedience about tents, maybe not. But is it civil disobedience about a corrupt political system? Definitely.”

For more information on the Occupy movement, visit OccupyWallST.org, OccupyTogether.org, or OccupyDenver.org. To learn more about the Party Party, visit ThePartyParty1776.blogspot.com or find them on FaceBook. Don’t forget to check out the video on LocalMC.com of Thor’s song, “People are People.”

“The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. The trite subjects of human efforts, possessions, outward success, luxury have always seemed to me contemptible.” -Albert Einstein

Tags: occupy, fort collins, family of love

Category: Noco Music Scene