Stacy Lanyon

Occupy Town Square, February 26, 2012, Tompkin's Square Park

Photo : Erik McGregor

I feel like something has always been drawing me here.  In the process of doing these interviews, I keep getting reminded of a young Stacy, sometime in elementary school, standing alone in her bedroom, behind an imaginary podium, giving a speech to an imaginary audience about all of the reasons why we don’t need money and how it gets in the way of our progress. I don’t think someone planted that idea in my head. I think it was just in me. My parents certainly didn’t implant that, and I can’t imagine the affluent conservative community I grew up in had anything to do with it. Like many occupiers, I feel like I’ve been waiting for this all of my life. Shortly after arriving in New York seven years ago, I remember running across a Tibetan protest, and I remember telling myself that I needed to keep my baby camera on me at all times just in case I ran into any other protests. I was impatiently awaiting the start of something, something that I knew was coming and knew I was going to be documenting.

I didn’t jump right into the movement. I knew about it on day one. I thought it would last a few days like other protests that had come and gone over the years, and then when it did stay, I believe fear delayed my arrival. I finally made my first appearance at Liberty Square on October 15th, but I was too afraid to talk to anyone, so I just photographed a beautiful, peace-loving community full of courageous revolutionaries. It was what I had always dreamt of, but I didn’t feel like I would be accepted there. My whole life, I’ve felt like I didn’t belong anywhere, like people didn’t understand me, and I feared that this environment wouldn’t be any different. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It is the most loving, open and accepting environment that I have ever experienced in my life.

I continued to show up and take pictures briefly about once a week and sit in on a Think Tank, but it was the raid at Zuccotti Park on November 15th that really propelled me into the movement. I was able to overcome my resistance and bring myself to Liberty Square on November 16th for the general assembly, and what I witnessed was so powerful. The energy in that park was overwhelming. I knew I was among people who would not be shaken, and I was one of them. It took me another month before I was able to open up to building any relationships, but once I did, they grew strong and fast. I feel so fortunate to have so many beautiful and loving people in my life, and I am honored to be able to document what I believe is going to be the greatest shift toward true freedom and peace that humanity has ever seen.

The way we are living now is no way to live. There is so much suffering and so much fear. It leads people to do horrible things to one another, horrible things to themselves and horrible things to their environment. A lot of people don't even realize how much fear dictates their life. We have to find a way out of that. No matter how discouraging what we witness everyday can be, there is another way to live, there is another way to relate to each other, and we all possess the ability to find our way to that better place. We have to stop being so afraid of everything. I have to stop being so afraid. It is the biggest barrier to happiness. 

For a long time now, I’ve envisioned a different kind of world. In the past, I’ve tried desperately to convey it to people with little to no success. I have now found a very large global group of people who see what I see, and I think as we come together to reveal our visions, the power of loving community will make possible a great shift in global perception and help people to see the possibilities that lie ahead of us, to see the truth that lies hidden within us all. I see a world where our differences are respected, not only respected but celebrated. I see a world where people’s true natures are no longer stifled, and they are able to freely give their uniqueness to the world. I see a world where people realize how connected we all are. In such a world, the possibilities are endless. In this world, we will realize that everything we need is already provided for us, and with this will be the elimination of fear, which is what creates the greed that plagues our world. As we heal together, I believe this will encourage us to embark on the ultimate journey of healing ourselves. 

I cannot pretend to know exactly what this new world will look like or our journey finding our way to it. All I know is that it will be full of beauty and love. I've witnessed so much of this already in the last seven months. Our differences don't have to divide us anymore. At the core, we all want to love. We all want to be happy, and we want other people to be happy. That is our true nature. Everything else is our perception of what we need to survive, and that perception is seriously flawed because, in the process of trying to survive, we have destroyed our planet, destroyed ourselves and destroyed others. If we focus on love and community and acceptance of ourselves and others, all those perceived differences will work themselves out with time. I truly believe that. I'll let Rumi take it out for me. "We are all born by accident, but still this wandering caravan will make camp in perfection. Forget the nonsense categories of there and here, race, nation, religion, starting point and destination. You are soul, and you are love."


Interview by Stacy Lanyon

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