On Saturday September 17th, I heard cheers and shouts on the streets of my city in Lower Manhattan. I didn't know what was happening, but it sounded big. I walked towards it and thus began Day One of the peaceful occupation of Zuccotti Park. I had no idea that my entire life would undergo a tectonic shift just days later. I had no idea that I would be thrown into a mass movement now being connected by millions around the country and even the world. I had no idea I would be writing this diary two weeks later... On that first sunny Saturday, I saw 1500+ people marching then descend on Zuccotti Park, just 4 blocks north of Wall St. By the afternoon, I had already googled "protest" and "Wall St" and found an article on New York magazine's website explaining a group organized loosely by AdBusters magazine and a short video by 'Anonymous', the hacker collective group. #OccupyWallStreet sounded like a novel idea-- Use peaceful resistance by sleeping in public spaces to bring attention to the chasm of wealth in this country and the way it affects our national politics. When I first descended on the park, I saw factions of all different stripes. There was a group petitioning against capital punishment. Another who was passing out literature on 9/11. The Socialist Party had a card table; I think the Communist party did, too. There were Ron Paul supporters and at least one LaRouche supporter. I saw performance art and hula hoops and a myriad of Guy Fawkes masks. It was a carnival ...
Tags: occupywallstreet2
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