Friday, October 7, 2011

The 99%- Here for a reason



Like many people, we've been wondering what Occupy Wall St. is all about. The constant refrain in the media has been "What's their platform?" "What are their demands?" "Do they have a good reason to be there?" So we went down on Wednesday to find out.

This video is a product of an amazing afternoon spent with people from all backgrounds who want to see a more just and sustainable society. Their reasons were diverse, but their energy and excitement seemed singular. As people who spend most of our waking hours trying to help tell the world about social change, this seems like an opportunity of a lifetime. Yes there were punks, burnt sage and some signs on the crazier end of things... but what I saw was a group of people longing for meaning. If it takes time to tell this story, we're ready to play our part.

I'll leave you with this story of a woman we met... a laid off social worker. When we asked her to write down her reason for coming down, she sat for a long time just staring at the poster board. I asked if she needed help and she turned to me,"I've just seen so much suffering... so many kids and families.... it's hard to put into words."

Finally she wrote down "I'm here to stand in solidarity with others that give a damn."

And she did.