Several hundred people gathered on The Diag at the University of Michigan last evening to organize for further protests in support of #OccupyWallStreet.
It was a diverse crowd and may appear to some as being somewhat disorganized. But they are taking the right steps to move forward.
People in orange shirts like this fine fellow collected names and contact information for things like Transportation, Food & Water and “Tech” (which I have signed up for to help publicize their events.)
Because they were not permitted to have electricity, speakers utilized the “Human Microphone” technique utilized successfully in the Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York so that everyone could be heard:
One by one, speakers got up to speak to the gathered crowd.
When one fellow got up to blame the Obama administration for all the ills of the world, he was gently but firmly asked to step down. As he left, he shouted, “Your movement is a joke! 9/11 was an inside job!”
Eeep.
Another speaker asked the crowd to identify their political persuasion to see who we were. “Socialist?” A smattering of hands. “Communist?” A couple communists. “Capitalist?” A couple dozen hands. “Other?” Nearly everyone. It’s a diverse group, to be sure, this 99%.
Then there were signs, of course. Not a lot but nice ones nonetheless.
All in all, it was a good rally and one that is sure to spark further events. I’m pleased that they were taking the right steps to get organized and to identify people to help out with the effort moving forward.
A “General Assembly and Planning Meeting” for the Occupy Detroit event will take place on Monday, October 10 from 7-9 pm at the Spirit of Hope Church in Detroit (1519 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) The actual Occupy Detroit protest happens on October 21st at noon at Roosevelt Park at the train station. Visit their Facebook page HERE.
