Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Isobel

Children's March Against Police Bullying, December 10, 2011, Union Square
Photo: Stacy Lanyon

I had been really upset with what was happening in the country for a really long time, particularly the areas of health care and women’s rights. At the beginning of Occupy, I wasn’t involved because I felt like, “Oh, it’s great that these other people are doing this, but I don’t know that they need me.” Then, November 15th rolled around, and everyone got evicted, and I realized that they need everyone they can get, especially because people are being prevented from expressing themselves when they should have been allowed to by their first amendment rights. I went into work. I was interning at a paper making studio, and it turned out my boss was sick, so I came straight to Zuccotti, and I’ve been involved ever since.

It’s important because the real issues that are destroying the idea of America aren’t being reported in the main stream media. People don’t really pay attention. There’s been a bill introduced in Tennessee that says that you could be prosecuted for having a miscarriage. Having a miscarriage is one of the most traumatic things that people could go through, and suddenly you are hit with a court case. That’s ridiculous. Nobody is calling attention to things like that or how great the inequality between rich and poor is right now, the fact that General Electric’s taxes are around 2%. People need to know, and then people need to change it.

I want a world where people have to be responsible for their actions. Like I said about General Electric, they have to be responsible for paying taxes that are commensurate with what they are making. People who are not guilty shouldn’t be arrested, and people who actually commit crimes should be arrested. It's disgraceful that it took so long for an arrest to be made in the Trayvon Martin case. Having said that, I still don't think our current prison system is good; I think it needs a lot of reform and that prisoners should still have their dignity while they are serving their time. I would like a world of real equality where women, people of all races, people of all sexual orientations and gender identities have a more equal society. In some countries, it costs about $30.00 to go to the dentist. I would like to have everyone be able to just go to the dentist. A lot of people just can’t spend the money. 

Long term, I would like a peaceful world and a world where we can all just help each other instead of being so divided by belief or race or social class or income, a world with free education through college and even graduate school and with free or very low-cost healthcare. If America is truly a democracy, ruled ultimately by the people, then the people need to be educated and healthy. Also, since I’m an artist, I’d like to live in a world where there’s a lot of art and where all the arts are valued and taught in schools.

 Interview by Stacy Lanyon
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