Saturday, October 8, 2011

What I Saw At the Revolution, Part 4

I saw a fair amount of video cameras about Zuccotti Park. Here's a sampling. 










With all these people walking around taking pictures, including me, I wonder if the protesters feel like they live in a fishbowl or an aquarium as we all circle around and snap them or film them. I remember feeling that way a  long time ago at a different event. Certainly there are those that enjoy the theatrical or sensationalist aspect of this, but most of the protesters ignored us or just smiled.

What I Saw At the Revolution, Part 3

Ever since I first heard Robert Palmer sing the Andy Fraser-penned "Every Kinda People" I have subscribed to the idea. Here are some of the many folks that were at the protest or passing by. 

This guy stood silently. His sign said enough. He did speak to some passersby and reporters. 

A young woman decorated the sidewalk.

Many were still asleep when I first arrived.


This man played his drums softly for what seemed like an hour.

People all over were writing or painting signs.


Some slept lying down, others bolt upright where they sat.



One person's solution to not having a shower nearby.


A young woman with a large-format camera.

Another drummer warming up. He and his friends would get going later in the day.


People walking through and checking out literature and displays.



This young man glared from behind his ski mask at all who walked by including me as I changed my lens. So I immortalized him here.

The woman with the hula hoops was one of the highlights of the day.

Sleeper cells?

The hula hoop woman got a lot of people involved. More about her later.

What I Saw At the Revolution, Part 2

In a previous post I mentioned that I spoke with a man about how the protest space, the occupied Zuccotti Park, was organized. Here are some more photos taken observing the different facets of the protest.

When I arrived at about 10 A.M., these guys and half a dozen others were lined up on the Broadway side of the park. Tour buses went by often, and the tourists would wave and snap photos. Some cheered.

Also on the Broadway side of the park was where a lot of meetings took place. Just about any time I walked by this corner a crowd was assembled for some reason.

Police flank the Broadway side of the park. They were on all sides of the park, watching. I never once saw a confrontation of any sort.

This is a gray-water system for cleaning up the dishwater. The treated water was used to maintain the plants in the park.

Signs along the Liberty Street edge of the park.

A police tower on the corner of Liberty and Trinity. I do not know if it was manned or not at the time, or if it was put there specifically for this event or not.

An information board.


 The information center. Anyone could stop here and get an idea what was going on - who was there, why, what events were going on, where's food, how can I help, etc.


Near an ersatz library, a map was displayed with pins in all the cities where similar protests were occurring.

A sign on the flowers asked people to walk around them. I saw only one spot in the entire park where a few flowers were trampled. There was a sign there apologizing for the mess, stating that the police did it. I have no idea if that is true.

A press office.

The cig-rolling committee.

Every 20 feet I saw someone sweeping. Later, I saw someone cordon off an area, mop it, dry it as best as they could, then re-open the area.


Avaaz (which according to their website means 'voice' in several European and Middle Eastern languages) had a presence here. A small generator powered their display of a website on which people spoke about about the issues in solidarity with this protest.


This QR code was at the information desk. I don't know what it scanned to.

The information booth was well-staffed all day.


I was encouraged to take what I liked from the food line, but I did not. There were boxes and boxes of supplies behind the people serving, and more rolled in on a cart from Liberty Street as I walked away.