{"id":4943,"date":"2011-10-17T00:00:14","date_gmt":"2011-10-17T00:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sitron45.wordpress.com\/?p=2461"},"modified":"2013-02-25T03:39:26","modified_gmt":"2013-02-25T03:39:26","slug":"suite-occupy-little-rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.southerner.net\/blog\/2011\/10\/17\/suite-occupy-little-rock\/","title":{"rendered":"Suite: Occupy Little Rock"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"OLR\"<\/a>

Arkansas’ State Capitol reflects in a button worn by a protester. (Photo by Sitton)<\/p><\/div>\n

Movement the First: To Protest or Not<\/strong><\/p>\n

It started with a spark.<\/p>\n

A Canadian spark no less, when the Adbusters Media Foundation<\/a> came up with an idea to Occupy Wall Street. That spark started the occupation in Liberty Plaza Park Sept. 17, America\u2019s Constitution Day.<\/p>\n

At first, few paid attention. But the movement gathered steam and the spark spread to cities across the country and then around the world<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During the time of year normally reserved for the state fair, the spark made it to the Natural State.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

I stayed up too late Friday night with one of my best friends. He would leave Saturday morning for three weeks of drill with the Arkansas National Guard, which has orders to be ready to go to Afghanistan at a moment\u2019s notice … they just don\u2019t know when they\u2019re going. He\u2019s already been to Iraq twice and would just as soon not see the site of America\u2019s longest war.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d told him I\u2019d planned to go to the march, to which he retorted, \u201cAs a participant or to cover it?\u201d I hadn\u2019t actually decided yet. So he asked me what was the goal, since he\u2019d heard it was just a bunch of rich kids camping out in New York. Why weren\u2019t they in D.C. instead, if they wanted to fix something with the government?<\/p>\n

As I explained, it\u2019s not the government. When 9\/11 happened, where did they aim first? At corporate America. That was a terrorist act; this seemed to be something more.<\/p>\n

We spent the evening debating whether a protest would actually work. I suggested if I marched in protest, my personal reasons would be to end the Federal Reserve and to get the military out of Afghanistan. Needless to say, we kept it up long after we needed to go to bed.<\/p>\n

As I lay down and set my alarm, I noticed it was nearly 2 a.m.\u00a0 That 9 a.m. start would come early.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

My alarm never went off Saturday morning. I did not notice I needed to move from the M-F setting to the weekend setting after having so many Fat Tires. I snoozed like a baby up until the moment the knock on the door pierced my dream.<\/p>\n

I got up and put on the tennis shoes I never wear unless I\u2019m planning to walk some distance. I\u2019d be glad I had remembered to bring them along.<\/p>\n

Stepping upstairs in my old house, I made coffee and had a cigarette on the back porch. The crisp air reminded me that I should have brought a jacket. Oh well. After fishing the phone out of my pocket, I realized it was already 9:10 a.m.; I was going to be late.<\/p>\n

But late to what?<\/p>\n

\"Protesters<\/a>

Protesters gather at Riverfront Park prior to the Occupy Little Rock march. (Photo by Sitton)<\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019ve attended a protest in Washington, D.C., but this is Arkansas and you just don\u2019t expect as much participation. I even laughed a little to myself as I got ready: it would be tough to have a true \u201cOccupy\u201d movement in Arkansas as few people would miss work to protest. So I guess it\u2019s a good thing they chose a Saturday, which would at least give some folks the opportunity to participate and show their support for the newest movement.<\/p>\n

Movement the Second: Protest Around the World<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

According to various accounts and my own admittedly rough estimates, somewhere between 400 to 600 people marched in the \u201cOccupy Little Rock\u201d protest on a sunny Saturday, Oct. 15 in the Capitol City.<\/p>\n

As I walked up to Riverfront Park around a quarter to 10 a.m., I saw more people gathered than I expected. (My initial estimate was about 300-350 people. In hindsight, not everyone started at the park.) Protest organizers bellowed through bullhorns to be certain to pick up the fuschia, green and yellow cards that explained what to do if arrested. The cards provided Miranda Rights and reminded the protesters: “Remember the police are not our enemies.”<\/p>\n

\u201cBut try to avoid being arrested,\u201d cried one voice.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The group reads the preamble to the U.S. Constitution prior to marching. (Photo by Sitton)<\/p><\/div>\n

Though it took two takes to get through it, the organizers steeled their charges by a call-and-response reading of the preamble to the Constitution, i.e.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, the march began with two distinct rally cries as it meandered through the River Market. The first \u2013 \u201cWe are the 99 percent; You are the 99 percent!\u201d \u2013 would be heard throughout the day. The second \u2013 \u201cBanks got bailed out, We got sold out!\u201d \u2013 would provide the rally cry at the different financial institutions along the way.<\/p>\n

People gawked from the windows of the River Market establishments as the group came marching through. Since the protest operated under permit, everything and everyone stopped to let them by.<\/p>\n

\"Protesters<\/a>

Protesters stop in front of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce. Organizers told the group that the movement would need the support of the chamber. (Photo by Sitton)<\/p><\/div>\n

The throng first paused in front of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, where it continued to pick up additional marchers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not here to alienate these people,\u201d one of the organizers announced. \u201c We need their support.<\/p>\n

The movement responded with a new chant: \u201cHuman need, not corporate greed!\u201d Granted, it wasn\u2019t quite in unison, but sounded more like chants at Razorback football games when no single director exists, causing a cacophony of sound echoing in the district that brought downtown Little Rock back to life.<\/p>\n

If it wasn\u2019t enough that the chant wasn\u2019t together, an additional chanting \u2013 \u201c200K is not OK\u201d \u2013 made it hard to focus on the speaker urging everyone to buy American instead of foreign-made products.<\/p>\n

Then the throng moved again, completely filling Clinton Avenue and starting a new chant: \u201cThe people united will never be divided.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"(photo<\/a>

(photo by Sitton)<\/p><\/div>\n

People standing in front of the Peabody Hotel watched the mass pass. Some looked at the marchers as if they were crazy; others filmed the proceedings with cellphones and camcorders. Were they going to show their children?<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The crowd stops in front of the Stephens Building, which houses Little Rock’s branch of the Federal Reserve. (Photo by Sitton)<\/p><\/div>\n

Across the street from the Old State House where Bill Clinton celebrated winning the presidency in 1992, the group stopped in front of the Stephens Building, which houses Little Rock\u2019s branch of the Federal Reserve. Many signs in the group suggested America should \u201cEnd the Fed<\/a>,\u201d an issue that seems to cut across party lines.<\/p>\n

During this stop, I took a good look around to see who it was that was actually protesting the banking industry. I saw a mix of all ages, races and presumably religions. Whole families gathered together in protest. Grandparents stood next to young business-looking men and women with their children by their side. Women pushed toddlers in strollers. This was more than just a group of hippies and college students.<\/p>\n

They all gathered to focus on the front of the Stephens Building. Organizer Adam Lansky led chants with his bullhorn aimed toward the windows of a building where most employees weren\u2019t working this weekend. Andrea Ross came from within the crowd to read the movement\u2019s \u201cManifesto\u201d from her cellphone to the intermittent cheers of the crowd.<\/p>\n

\"Adam<\/a>

Adam Lansky holds the bullhorn while Andrea Ross reads the Occupy Wall Street manifesto to protesters.<\/p><\/div>\n

(Note: It took a little digging when I got home, but here\u2019s the same thing<\/a> she read:)<\/p>\n

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