Recent Uploads tagged letstalkaboutit

Injustice Can't Be Stopped By Inaction

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:47:19 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

If you've ever been wrongly jailed...

incarcerated by a lie...

or false allegations...

a victim of 'what's supposed to be' the 'justice system'...

you'd never forget it.

As long as you live.

Those who pervert the 'justice' system for personal or political reasons are the most inhumane and heinous individuals walking this earth.

A very smart attorney once told me 'there is no justice system.'

He happens to be a prominent civil rights attorney.

And he's right.

The best we could ever hope for is 'a fair system.'

This guy spoke at the demonstration at Daley Plaza tonight.

He gave a really rousing talk about occupying Anita Alvarez' office across the street.

He was pointing to it when I popped off this shot.

Anita Alvarez is the Cook County State's Attorney.

I've seen a good bit of unfairness in what's supposed to be the 'justice system.'

I don't know if it's Anita's fault...

but the system isn't fair.

Look at when DNA testing freed all of those men from death row in Illinois.

DNA tests said that they couldn't have been the murderers.

Yet they were convicted and awaiting execution by the state.

That alone tells you that something's wrong.

This man's energetic rhetoric was well received by the crowd.

People want a change.

I think most of all they want things to be fair.

Girl In the War

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 06:05:38 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

She bakes cookies for those on the front lines.

With love and optimism and a smile she hands them out in the cold.

To the people standing for change.

They're like a soft sweet hug.

She's doing what she can.

And what she's doing is beautiful.

Because we're all in this together.

Josh Ritter ~ Girl In the War

I'm Proud of the Youth of This Movement

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:38:06 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

These kids could be sittin' on the couch gettin' high and playing Nintendo.

But they're carrying protest signs and demonstrating on the street.

Because they give a shit.

Because they want things to be different.

I don't agree with everything that they say.

But man... I respect their effort, their passion and their motivations.

And they do have some pretty amazing ideas.

They've been out there twenty four seven for almost forty days now.

That alone is a powerful statement.

It's been cold and rainy at times.

The wind coming off of the lake can get a little bit nipply.

But they remain dedicated to the movement.

I don't care what political persuasion they come from...

if I was a politician I'd be praising these people for standing up to make their voices heard.

It's an American tradition.

Covering the movement in a not so objective way for quite a while now I've observed one disturbing thing.

For almost forty days these people have occupied that corner.

Across from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Across from the Chicago Board of Trade.

Right on the sidewalk in front of the Bank of America.

Almost forty days and forty nights.

They're ready for a serious conversation about the future.

Has the Mayor stopped down to talk to them?

No.

Has the guy who runs the Federal Reserve Bank come out to have a talk with these people?

No.

Has the Chicago Board of Trade sent emmisaries out to give the group their side of the story?

Nope.

The way I see it it comes down to this.

A large group of people have assembled right in front of your house.

Yeah they're bangin' on drums and carrying signs...

but I've never seen one example of disrespectful or discourteous behavior within the group.

Don't you think a person of reason would walk out there and talk to them?

Maybe try to address their grievences?

Even if you think they're wrong or misguided... show them some love and help them see the light.

Mayor Emanuel... why don't you stop down and have a talk?

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago... you work for the people... I think... why don't you come across the street and tell us what's going on?

Board of Trade... what can you tell them?

Bank of America... you should come out and talk.

A bunch of people have been camping out in front of your offices day and night.

They're not a mob.

They're decent people.

In a decent society you'd come out and talk with them.

How 'bout you join in the conversation?

Paul Dempsey ~ Man of the Moment

If They Don't Fight For Their Future Who Will

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 07:03:38 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

I've got to give a lot of these younger kids credit.

They know how whack the future's going to be unless they do something about it now.

Opportunities are slim.

They're trying to figure out what it is that they can do to make this a better world.

They deserve it.

They deserve a chance to make a better life.

They weren't the ones that messed everything up.

Kids are graduating with college degrees and a pile of debt they'll probably never be able to pay back because they're lucky to get a job behind a cash register.

They've got time on their hands.

Time for revolution.

This guy's not a rock thrower or an anarchist... he's actually a pretty smart person.

He's not wearing that mask because he's going to commit a crime or do something stupid.

He's wearing it because it's a symbol.

In it he becomes everyman.

Right now the youth are concerned.

And that's a wonderful and inspiring thing to see.

If nothing changes though...

they're gonna get frustrated and angry.

Change is coming.

One way or another.

She Wants A Better World

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:01:42 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

She's young enough to feel like she can make a difference.

She's old enough to know that someone has to.

She carries a sign on a public sidewalk.

Does she deserve to be shot in the face with a tear gas canister by the police?

Because of what she believes?

Does she deserve to have a police officer toss a stun grenade her way?

Or have them threaten to unleash the dogs on her?

I'm so shocked at what's become of this country.

The media says they're just a rag tag bunch of kids.

Why does it seem like there's not a lot of distance between letting her speak her mind...

and having armed men hurt her?

The Chicago Police have been patient and respectful of her constitutional rights so far.

The Illinois State Police really seemed to want to come after her and her friends.

For speaking in a public square.

The Oakland California Police would have no problem shooting her with a tear gas canister in the face.

Maybe a rubber bullet.

Or forty grams of lead shot in a cloth bag.

All Americans regardless of political leaning should be alarmed.

What in the world has divided us as a people to this point?

As a society we are on the 'razors edge' and I don't think most of us can see that.

We are a nation divided.

And it's not even down the middle.

If someone hurts a police officer that person should be apprehended, arerested and tried for that crime.

If someone in a group throws paint on a police officer should it be ok for the police to shoot 'non-lethal' but incredibly dangerous projectiles into that crowd?

Is that all it takes for Americans to turn so viciously on each other?

We've got bigger problems than Occupy's even addressing then.

People join The Occupation for many reasons.

I can't think of a better reason than for what the Oakland Police did to Scott Olsen.

vimeo.com/31187119

vimeo.com/31155436

Captain 99%

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 10:31:25 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

Wouldn't it be nice if the people had a Superhero?

Last night was completely peaceful.

No one was arrested.

The drums are back.

The food cart is back.

At the 7pm General Assembly at 'The Horse' the group reaffirmed it's dedication to nonviolence and there was a lot of discussion about moving into the second phase of Occupy.

There were none of the tensions of the night before.

I think that might have been a warning to behave on this night.

Early in the day the group said that they weren't going to try and occupy Grant Park on Saturday night and that they didn't want anyone to get arrested.

That seemed to establish a kind of a 'truce.'

Hundreds of people demonstrated in the financial district and marched to Grant Park.

There was a lot of love and optimism in the group.

I spoke with some officers who assured me that everything was cool.

I told them about the behavior of the officers in the financial district the night before... how it was really pissing a lot of people off... how it really agitated the demonstrators.

They said that there was no order to crackdown coming from above.

There was no anger Saturday night in the mass over the way that we were being treated by the police.

The focus seemed to be on the future.

Speakers came from several states to talk to the group.

To talk about what they were doing.

To talk about where it all should go.

In some cities they're occupying vacant or abandoned buildings.

We all know we can gather en masse...

we know we can stand on a street corner carrying signs.

Now the question is 'what can we do?'

Enemy of the State

OC2

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 22:58:01 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

Let's put our heads and our hearts together and figure out where this thing's gotta go.

How about nobody gets hurt or goes to jail tonight?

We're all in this together.

We all dream of a better world.

There's a lotta love out there.

Peace.

The Rebellion is About to be Crushed

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:42:58 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

There were hundreds of demonstrators occupying the corner of LaSalle and Jackson tonight on the sidewalk at the Bank of America Building.

Tension saturated the protest.

The City of Chicago's had enough.

The police were walking amongst the crowd.

The demonstrators were told to move their things...

the food cart...

signs on the sidewalk...

the drums.

It was like a little game.

The cops would tell them to move it...

or keep moving themselves...

and people would move the stuff around the corner.

Then the police would tell them to move it from there.

The officers were stern about anyone crossing the curb into the street.

I got one of the cops alone and I told him...

'I smell a crackdown.'

He looked me in the eyes and he only nodded his head up and down a few times.

Though the protestors chant 'whose streets' and reply 'our streets'...

the message is being conveyed quietly but effectively.

These streets belong to the City of Chicago.

And the City is about to take them back.

Two things were the physical center of the occupiers...

the food cart where people could grab something to eat or drink... a bottle of water or a cup of coffee...

and the drums.

The drums used to sound loudly day and night.

They gave the whole movement a real pulse.

First the police apparently arrested a couple of people for playing them...

then they said that they couldn't be left on the sidewalk.

In their absence there is a nervous silence.

Whoever determined that the drums should be taken out was genius.

I never gave so much thought to something like the sound of a drum.

But observing the situation tonight I realized that they gave the people a certain power.

That power is largely gone this evening.

And the warmth, sustinence and comraderie of the food cart has been taken away too.

A casual observer might not even notice the crackdown.

It's subtle and well thought out.

A longtime observer of the movement would see the impact immediately.

A sense of doom settled over the group even though the chanting and sign waving continued.

The drums were gone.

Here and there as people gathered in clusters and conversations spilled out onto the sidewalk I couldn't help but notice...

this is a time of crisis for The Occupation.

Though perhaps there was a certain wisdom in a 'leaderless' movement...

now there is no direction to turn to respond quickly and strategically in a strong and unified manner.

The movement began as a proactive and spontaneous demonstration of the grievances and frustration of so many people.

Now without a leader to make quick and strategic decisions it can only respond in a weak and fragmented way to the crackdown by the City.

It has become reactionary.

Here and there people are lobbying others to one course of action or another...

Some say the group needs to resist with greater intensity...

others want an out and out fight.

One demonstrator in an ominous sign had a gas mask strapped to his side at the ready.

Because the movement is openly democratic and all major decisions are voted on publicly at the General Assembly meetings each night at 'The Horse' in the park...

the group is largely incapable of surprise.

The days of the occupation are numbered.

And I believe in the end they could be counted on one's fingers.

The police have had more than thirty days to plan a strategy to rout the occupiers.

And when the police make their move the occupiers will be crushed with overwhelming force.

They will split up and they will be defeated in a matter of minutes.

A battle is not a time for democratic manuevering.

To win a battle a group must be cohesive, united and of one mind.

A victorious army is a product of many becoming one.

Without a strong and capable leader this will never happen.

Those with a propensity for violence and mayhem will sieze the opportunity in the chaos and lash out in the moments before defeat is total and their actions will become the legacy of the group.

What an amazing thing to observe on the ground in the middle of it all.

I see it in the eyes and on the faces of the people who come to have their voices heard.

I see no imminent victory.

Really I'm surprised the city has demonstrated so much patience.

I suppose everyone thought that the weather would be the thing that ended it all.

I'm sure the officials who are gonna have to give the orders hoped the same.

The higher ups are watching.

With the G8 and the Nato Summits coming up in May of 2012 there is a feeling that the City isn't handling this too well and that there's gonna be a prevalence of disorder and chaos then.

Get ready for the 'dry run.'

The end will come swiftly.

The protestors will be arrested and dispersed with precision.

Sure...

some windows will get broken.

Things will be thrown.

Yahoo's will lash out and do stupid shit.

But it's gonna all be over in a couple of minutes.

Occupiers...

it's time to make a move.

And it's gotta be a good one.

How can you avoid a crushing defeat?

Regain your proactivity and get ahead of this.

It's coming whether you're ready or not.

There will be no decisive victory.

How can you transition from this phase into the next?

It's not gonna happen by accident.

It's time to think.

It's time to act.

The noose is tightening and you're being surrounded.

Look at the thuggish behavior of the Illinois State Police last night at the Thompson Center.

Nothing will be accomplished by holding your ground in front of an army that is overwhelming in physical strength and numbers and would perhaps even relish the opportunity to 'tune you up' en masse.

In the face of all this... in the immediate moment... without a dramatic and super-numeric show of support in the form of thousands of reinforcements your epitaph has already been written.

If tommorow more than three thousand show up and link arms and hearts and souls with the movement then everything I've said is off the table... at least for some time.

Sources within the police department say that they could not handle two thousand mass arrests.

Unless there are that many ready to call their bluff it's time to go to 'Plan B.'

Since there is no 'Plan B' someone's gotta do some quick thinkin'.

If the authorities were smart they'd give the group some victory in exchange for giving up the occupation at the present site.

But no one's ever accused the authorities of being smart.

A bully will always respond to any threat to his dominance in a bullyish manner.

Occupiers... prepare to get your asses kicked.

Or...

tone it down...

back off a little...

regroup...

move into the 'second phase.'

I have no idea what the 'second phase' is but it sounds logical.

I mean...

I'm all for standing up for what's right.

Given the right circumstances I could be convinced to dig in and resist until the end.

But wouldn't it be better to live to 'fight' another day?

Gahd I hope I'm completely wrong and I've totally underestimated the courage, the fortitude, the ingenuity and the determination of the group.

Now is the time for deep thought.

If a battle can be won...

I say win it.

If a battle is certain to be disasterous...

I say avoid it.

While the group remains in its present form and sufficient strength...

what should be considered is what the legacy of these five weeks will be.

What victories have been won?

First the dissatisfaction of a large number of people has been demonstrated... and their desire for change has been heard far and wide.

Everyone can see around the world that significant numbers of us are not happy with the way that things are going.

Second...

that the same people are willing to get off of their couches... move away from their televisions and take action to make our world better, more just and level the economic 'playing field.'

Third...

and it's my opinion that the greatest of victories that this movement has succeeded at is driving the discussion of a nation for almost two months.

I think the most amazing thing has been the sheer numbers of people who came to the occupation site and talked to each other about what the world should look like in the future.

This in itself is probably the greatest victory of all.

It means so much.

The way I see it there are two paths at this point...

imminent annihilation of the movement in a crushing defeat by the authorities...

or a strategic and proactive restructuring of the group and it's mission.

Personally... I dig the second path.

I'm not in the mood to be spittin' up all the mucus in my lungs after suckin' down a few too many breaths of tear gas while a Chicago cop tunes me up with the business end of his billyclub while he's all dressed up like a hockey golie.

That shit would give me bad dreams for a while.

Lets keep our core strong... our base vast... our support intact and our occupiers free and healthy and regroup for the winter.

The orginaization can be structured into more local cells under the umbrella of a central organization...

meetings can take place... more supporters recruited... a greater organization achieved over the coming months...

and in the spring or even here and there in the meantime the movement can be called on to pop up with little notice and demonstrate effectively for what it believes to be critical to our future as a group and a people.

It's time to go 'guerilla.'

What began as a peaceful and non-violent movement should grow into a transition as a peaceful and nonviolent movement.

Let us remain true to our principles.

We have shown great commitment, restraint, cohesiveness and respect for the laws and customs of our society even as we criticized it and made clear our desire for great change.

We can make something of that.

Something great.

If without thinking we walk into a battle that cannot be won we will have squandered the support of so many, the victories achieved and the hard work and sacrifice of thousands who believe that the future needs to be rethought and our world changed for the betterment of all.

Or at least the 99%.

Let's not let our friends be brutalized on the street and have our brothers and sisters choking on the tear gas... our signs and banners trampled by the riot police on horseback... and our whole movement summed up by that one video of a guy wearing a bandanna over his face as the tear gas flies and he throws a rock at the police.

We've worked too hard and come too far for that.

We're better and we're smarter and we're more grown up.

We have made our voices heard over the last five weeks.

Let's move into the future where we can achieve something lasting and powerful.

Let our legacy reflect the justice and equality and the better society that we seek and the intelligence and comraderie which with we sought it.

Together and strong we can change the world with our motivation, determination, intelligence and patience.

Fragmented and crushed the last we will be seen or heard from is on the news on the day of our demise.

This is the moment that will determine the future of our movement.

We need to be wise... stay strong... remain united and make the most of this moment.

We stand for something great.

We need to move forward with honor and strength and continue to challenge the status quo.

The moment is here.

Right Here Right Now

Friday-Love!

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:25:02 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

It's Friday again.

You know I dig Fridays.

It's been a crazy week.

I'm all recovered from last weekend and I'm ready to do it all again.

It's gonna be a good one.

Hopefully I'll be out shootin' Occupy in Chicago...

feelin' the love...

talkin' with some interesting people and takin' their pictures.

I hope you're feelin' the love...

I hope you are looking forward to an amazing weekend.

If you're around Chicago it'd be nice to see you out at the Occupy demonstration.

I think it's gonna be pretty interesting this weekend.

You get out there and start talkin' with people I guarantee you'll have a good time.

There's a lotta love out there.

People are excited and ready for change.

Whatever you do I hope the weekend is good to you and your soul.

Friday-Love!

Viva la Occupation!

My Weekend Anthem

A Long Time Coming

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:44:55 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

I saw this guy takin' a lean in the middle of it all.

He had a sparkle in his eye.

He seemed excited...

I mean really happy to be right where he was at that moment.

I walked up to him and took four quick shots.

I asked him what he thought about it all.

He said he was really proud of these guys and what they were doing.

He said that he thought this was a good thing.

The guy had that look...

like someone who'd waited a long time for this moment.

I agreed with what he said and we acknowledged each other as fellow human beings...

and I let him continue to enjoy the moment.

He seemed to have a deeply personal reason for wanting to be there...

it wasn't to hold a sign...

it wasn't to talk...

it seemed deeper than that.

Mary Mitchell You're Blind

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:59:26 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

Mary Mitchell wrote an article in yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times claiming that there is 'little diversity among ‘Occupy Chicago’ protesters.'

What I just quoted was the headline.

You can lose a minute and a half of your life by reading the article here... www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/8434782-452/little-diversi...

Although the article itself is worthless... it IS interesting that they've got a picture of the demonstrators in the upper left hand corner and MOST of them appear to be minorities...

which completely contradicts the story!

I think Mary Mitchell's gone bat shit crazy!

'On its face, it is difficult to see myself in the 99 percent these protesters claim to represent. They are mostly young, white college students, although a few middle-aged and senior citizens were in the mix' Mary Mitchell said in the article.

If you want to know the truth about what's happening within the movement I'll tell you.

Or better yet...

Getcherself down there and join in on the discussion.

Don't let these people lie to you anymore.

Too much is at stake!

Rise up within yourself and seek the truth.

They're not gonna feed it to you.

I don't know why Mary's take on The Occupation is what it is...

but it ain't real.

The movement itself knows that minorities are often the ones being hardest hit by the inequalities and the lack of opportunities in our present form of capitalism.

Shame on you Mary Mitchell.

Viva la Occupation!

A Principle Centered Movement

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:33:00 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

I've been on the ground shooting this movement since it was just a few days old.

People come and go.

Opinions are expressed and listened to and considered by the group.

Ideas wax and wane.

The movement's been criticized for not having a concrete agenda.

It's criticized for not having a specific list of demands.

Or publicly identified 'leaders.'

It's been called loosely structured and ragtag.

So what?

The revolutionaries that kicked King George outta here had to spend a lot of time in taverns and other places talking with each other and developing their agenda.

It probably took months or even years.

None of them agreed on shit at the beginning.

Except that they wanted change enough to take up arms and possibly give their lives for it.

Even at the end they were still bickering.

By some miracle they kicked George's ass all the way back to England.

Barely.

And the weather almost decimated them too.

I see so many similiarities in this movement.

It's the conversations and the discussions and the teach ins on the sidewalks and the plaza that are the beauty of what's going on.

The founding fathers went through the same thing.

When it was all done they wanted to make George Washington the King of the Colonies!

After all that bad shit they said about kings!

Even George Washington called bullshit on that.

He was a religious man and he said that there was only one true king...

but if the people wanted him as a leader he would 'preside' over the fledgling nation.

That's how he became our first President.

Why'd they dress up like indians... I mean Native Americans... when they went and dumped all that tea into the harbor?

And the 'civilized' British called us terrorists for not standing shoulder to shoulder in lines to fight... they looked with contempt on the revolutionaries hiding behind trees when they fired on them... they said that our style of 'guerilla warfare' was dishonerable!

I heard Benjamin Franklin... the same man who wrote, published and sold a book on flatulence called 'A Treatise on Farting' went to France towards the end of the revolution and he played chess with King Louis...

the first thing he did was knock the two kings off the board.

He told King Louis 'in America we have no need for kings.'

That was some balls right there.

And he was there to ask the King for some money!

I dig the founding fathers...

but there were some hypocrisies in their beliefs.

All men were created equal with certain inalienable rights they said...

except for those slaves they owned.

And no one even thought for a second that women should be allowed to vote.

Democracy can be an awkward thing.

But good principles are what the Occupy movement needs.

Solid and strong principles.

Forget a plan or a list of demands.

The movement will be mired down in discussing that for months.

And the media doesn't have that kind of attention span.

What we need to do is get together and identify the principles we stand for.

We do that and then everything will flow right out of those.

Lets start talking about principles...

not economic complexities or legislative 'solutions.'

What are the principles on which this movement stands?

I believe we all think that the economic 'playing field' needs to be levelled.

That special interests and big money control politics in the republic.

This country was founded on some pretty amazing principles.

We've lost sight of some of them.

Situations have arisen that the founders couldn't have foreseen.

Principles should be the very center of the movement.

Everything else will spring from right and just principles naturally.

Forget 'what' we want...

what do we stand for?

Where is our 'constitution?'

The answers we seek as a movement will come from the principles we identify as being true to our beliefs and motivations.

Let's put our hearts and our souls into it.

Let's make this a 'principle centered' movement.

Wisely chosen solid principles will be a strength unparalleled.

Viva la Occupation!

Mendee

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:52:58 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

I had just shot the Buddhists doing their 'slow march' and I sat down against one of the columns of the Bank of America where the Occupy Chicago demonstration's going on.

Mendee was sitting next to me and I turned the camera on her and shot a closeup.

She was cool about it and she started asking me a few questions about the photography I do and the camera that I was using.

She said she'd always been interested in photography.

I love sharing this passion with people and I handed Mendee my camera and told her to have at it.

She'd watched me shoot a few people.

Mendee's hooked on street photography now.

It was pretty cool to watch how she got into it... how it affected her... the high that it gave her.

She was off and running.

I watched her really get in there and shoot people close up.

She'd come back with the camera and we'd look at the shots she'd just taken and I'd give her some advice and she'd do it again...

She took some pretty good shots.

I told her to sell a kidney and pick herself up a D300.

She took a shot of one guy and he kinda blew up on her.

He told her that what she just did was illegal and he got really hot about it.

I told him that she had every right to take his picture and of course he disagreed quite forcefully and directed a little bit of anger towards Mendee.

I stood close by just in case the guy crossed the line but Mendee handled him really well.

She didn't need my help.

He said he was 'friends' with the 'First District Commander' and that the police were on the way.

The guy was really worked up.

I could envision him going for the camera so I took it from her and I told him that if he cooled off and asked nicely in a semi-respectable way that I'd delete his picture.

He just couldn't do that.

So I wouldn't delete them.

He told us the police would be there soon and he walked away and started some shit with other people.

It seemed like he was an agitator of some kind.

I know that he wasn't a part of the movement and I'd never seen him before.

I know you wanna see his picture...

Mendee wasn't discouraged... she was actually kinda hopped up about it.

I think that if that girl gets a decent camera in her hands you're gonna see some great street shootin'.

It was another night of great conversations with some really passionate people who wanna see the world change.

Viva la Occupation!

Erin Delany ~ Occupy Chicago Police Liason

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 07:42:23 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

I photographed Erin during a heated exchange with another occupier named Chuck.

Chuck was upset about the number of occupiers arrested at 'The Horse' on two Saturdays past.

Altogether there were almost 400 arrests.

For some reason Chuck felt that Erin was to blame.

He didn't think that the arrests did the movement any good and he was pretty vocal about it.

He's entitled to his opinion.

The movement voted on all of the actions that it's taken.

Everyone arrested made a personal choice to be arrested.

The group was warned both times that the park closed at eleven pm and that anyone remaining there would be arrested.

After the first round of arrests there was a significant outpouring of support for the Occupy Chicago movement.

It's my opinion that the arrests were a 'PR coup.'

Four hundred people chose to be arrested to make a political statement.

There's power in that.

To be arrested for a cause that you believe in, for a non-violent act of civil disobedience is almost a form of communion and those arrested take pride in that.

It brings a certain strength to the group.

It shows how strongly that four hundred people believe in the cause.

Thoreau would approve.

I'm encouraged by the organization that's sprung up as the movement's grown.

I am watching closely how the group will deal with the upcoming brutal weather.

I believe it's going to be the greatest challenge The Occupation's faced so far.

A 'make or break' moment.

It would be a shame to be defeated by the climate of Chicago.

Too much is riding on this.

Viva la Occupation!

An Ancient Natural Law

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:20:55 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

'Hatred never ceases through hatred in this world.

Only by love does hated cease.

This is an ancient natural law.' ~ The Buddha (Dhammapada)

The Buddhist Peace Fellowship showed up to support the occupation tonight.

When they got there they quietly gathered in a line and did this 'slow march' in kind of a circle on the sidewalk.

They didn't talk to anyone.

They didn't make a scene.

They marched the slow march and I saw them and I photographed this man.

I gotta say...

Buddhism's always appealed to me.

Just watching these guys do that slow meditative march brought a certain peace to me inside.

I pondered it.

These guys are on to something.

My conclusion?

If you want peace in the world...

you gotta start with peace within yourself.

Thanks for the love guys!

You can learn more about the Buddhist Peace Fellowship at www.bpf.org

Justice for Some

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:20:37 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

A lot of people feel left out of the process.

That's why they're taking to the streets.

It's been really interesting to watch it all go down.

I'll tell you what...

unless you've been there and spent some time with the movement...

you're not getting the real story from the media.

The discussion goes on.

Revolution Hurts

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:51:53 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

I am sore.

Tonight I'm gonna sleep so good.

Thank gahd for the work week.

I gotta get some rest.

Take a Stand

nobody@flickr.com (Viewminder) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 11:50:08 -0700

Viewminder posted a photo:

‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’

Edmund Burke

Everchanging

talking about it

nobody@flickr.com (Flo Catalano) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:46:57 -0800

Flo Catalano posted a photo:

Es en plaza de mayo... no se bien que decía esa escritura pero no pude evitar intervenir <3

Youtube Faces 2

nobody@flickr.com (Very Negative Eli) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:25:26 -0800

Very Negative Eli posted a photo:

black ink on paper, A3, israeli youtube videos.