Thank you for celebrating your birthday in such a breathtaking and classy way. Â It was also fiendishly clever, considering how many Verizon workers were marching with us.
The most amazing thing about walking about a quarter way over the Brooklyn Bridge and then looking back was not that we made that bat signal happen. Â It was that we were extending the occupation to everyone in the city and everyone who was coming into the city from Brooklyn. Â And they took up the invitation with gusto, cheering and honking from their cars. Â Not at *us* but for themselves. Â They got to be part of a most wonderful day. Â I will never forget it.
The occupiers of Zuccotti Park are very brave people. Â I suspect that they knew that they needed to sacrifice themselves. Â And in that sacrifice, they brought everyone together. Â We all grew up thinking that we “could say whatever we want” because “it’s a free country”. Â Admit it, you used to say that in the playground to your friends turned suddenly enemies (but you made up over a shared popsicle). Â But saying anything you want, whereever you want, has dire consequences these days. Â It can also bring out the courage of your friends. Â I sprinted from Union Square to Foley Square with thousands and thousands of students who were surrounded by police but managed to occupy the streets anyway. Â Then I stood for hours with the most cheerful bunch of musicians, local 802. Â It was a pleasure to spend the evening with Aurora and her friends.
But the “bat signal” will be hard to top. Â Projecting the aspirations of humanity on a symbol of corporate overreach was a stroke of genius. Â And there I was, on the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time in my life, cheering along with the cars down below who were amazed and delighted to be a part of it all.
This is not the beginning of the end. Â This is the beginning of the beginning. Â The occupation of Zuccotti Park was a transient event. Â The occupation of our hearts will live as long as we do.
Subvert the dominant paradigm.
Happy Birthday to all of us occupiers no matter where we are.
Filed under: General | Tagged: bat signal, Brooklyn Bridge, occupy wall street, sacrifices, zuccotti park | 43 Comments »