Occupy Wall Street 6 Month Anniversary, March 17, 2012
Photo: Stacy Lanyon
I've been organizing up at school and with communities in Western Massachusetts addressing many issues being raised by the larger Occupy movement,with a lot of focus on the issues of higher education in this country. Coming down to New York was really important because it connected the organizing in Western Mass (which can be isolating) to the larger movement, as well as experiencing the momentum that exists here.
I came to the New York occupation for the first time on March 17th for the six month anniversary. I had wanted to get down since the occupation in Zucotti started. I followed what was going on very closely. The anniversary was amazing. It was a beautiful celebration. I think that in many ways it was a tangible creation of the undertones of the movement. It really reinforced the idea that life is a celebration hidden by the lies of the government and power in society. That sort of became my mantra after M17. I met amazing people, had great conversation and felt like it was a moment that defined Occupy as a way of life. The organizing and protesting is important, but even more importantly, it is about building the community and society that we want.
I came to the New York occupation for the first time on March 17th for the six month anniversary. I had wanted to get down since the occupation in Zucotti started. I followed what was going on very closely. The anniversary was amazing. It was a beautiful celebration. I think that in many ways it was a tangible creation of the undertones of the movement. It really reinforced the idea that life is a celebration hidden by the lies of the government and power in society. That sort of became my mantra after M17. I met amazing people, had great conversation and felt like it was a moment that defined Occupy as a way of life. The organizing and protesting is important, but even more importantly, it is about building the community and society that we want.
I met a bunch of great people. After the eviction and violent events of that night that led us to end up at Union Square, I just felt like I couldn’t leave, that I needed to stay and continue working with everyone down here. I stayed for the following week and started to feel more and more like I needed to really be a part of the work in NYC. I am waiting for this semester to be over, so I can really devote the time I would like to.
It’s important because we’re living in a country that’s based on lies and that is feeding us lies on a daily basis. We need to start challenging the way people just accept how we live in this country and point out connections for them, so they see how the greed and corruption is affecting their lives even if they don’t feel directly connected to it.
I hope that we can create a world where everybody acknowledges that we are people and that we should all have a life that isn’t dictated by very few who control all the money and have all the power. We should not be so individualistic and should care more about each other because through those connections, we’ll be able to build the society we want.
I hope that we can create a world where everybody acknowledges that we are people and that we should all have a life that isn’t dictated by very few who control all the money and have all the power. We should not be so individualistic and should care more about each other because through those connections, we’ll be able to build the society we want.