Photos by Amy Fields.
I stepped right off a bus into the throng of the march in progress. We had just chanted outside Chase and Bank of America and were shown where the credit union was.
Governor Gregoire has called a special legislative session for Monday, November 28th. She wants to make more cuts to “balance the budget” on the backs of the poor. Does this seem like a good idea? Or can we see an end to this nonsense. Maybe a general strike is needed. I’m sure lots of concerned voters will want to be there in Olympia for that special session! Sign up here , or go with your fave socialists, unions etc.
And before you go any further, here’s how they do it NY style: How To Make A Billionaire Blink
turning onto 5th Ave
marching up 5th Ave
no one felt too bad about holding up traffic
looking back on 5th Ave
occupy your money – leave big banks!
5th and Pine
sit-in at 5th and Pine
talking about banks and their plutocracidal tendencies!
I moved my money to a credit union – it was easy!
put your money in a credit union, instead!
bring down parasitic financial institutions!
you know and I know
mic check!
Diverting traffic. The police were pretty restrained, diverting traffic around the intersection. Perhaps they were trying to atone for beating, macing and arresting people the previous Wednesday during protests against JP Morgan/Chase chief bankster Jamie Dimon.
Watching traffic. Thank you, brave medical volunteers!
After 20 or 30 minutes, we were warned that the horse patrol would clear the intersection if we didn’t. The good folks of Occupy Seattle told us that there was pizza, comedians, music and dancing at the plaza.
pizza sounded like a good alternative
courtesy of Pagliacci’s
lots of signs of things going wrong
1st comedian -Travis Simmons aka The Big Funny
I tried not to get in the way of the performers and the crowd. Some artists were easier to take multiple photos of, like this next guy. I thought it interesting to see different stages of his jokes:
comedian Nigel Larson
comic 2.2
comic 2.3
comic 2.4
comic 3 and crowd
comic 3 with crowd and buildings
Comedienne Barbara Sehr was next – a personal favorite – she cracked me up! Oh no, you didn’t say that!
Barbara Sehr 2
comic 5 – America’s Got Talent Alumnus Jen Seaman
comic 5.2
comic 5.3
comic 6 – this guy was pretty funny, kind of a loose cannon. Can anyone fill this one’s name in for me?
comic 6.2
crowd enjoying comics
crowd with building
crowd with trees
This costs money, please donate to Occupy Seattle!
the sound crew
the sound crew 2
visualize general strike!
It was nice to see servicemen there
singer
dancers
dancers 2
dancers 3
scarf dancer
scarf dancer 2
a bankster
A band started to play. I was walking away, but the beautiful, echoing voice of the singer and the accompaniment brought me back. I’m glad I went back. These guys were really good, they were wailing.
They’re called Surrealized. These photos are not in sequence – I just tried to tell a little bit of the story. I couldn’t stay for the whole set. See link to their Facebook page below.
Surrealized Facebook page here
Surrealized 2
drummer with building
drummer with building 2
multi-instrumentalist
wailing!
trumpet and building
trumpet and buildings. See that big wall there? I think this plaza was designed acoustically to be a good performance space. And you’d have to say these guys were using it to its best advantage. Very nice!
father and son dancing (?)
mother and son (?)
bicyclist riding to honor military families
update and donation bucket
riding to honor military families 2
bicyclist with passers-by
Amyeighttrack's Blog 
July 6, 2012 at 5:38 am
banks and their plutocratic tendencies…….the credit union?……sounds like a bank to me.?………….just cant help wondering how long it takes the credit union to display plutocratic tendencies……….
July 6, 2012 at 5:30 am
i was not going to comment here but now i changed my mind….i dont quite get this occupy thingy…….you say you wanna revolution,,,you better free your mind instead………………………….i just dont see anyone with any realistic alternatives to the free enterprize concept (yes i know its debatable just how “free” it is)………i think some of em may have taken a little too much acid….as i did when i was younger….so no im not judging……………but dont mind me i live in a really weird country that is filled with a whole bunch of really radical ideological leftist marxism crap and rhetoric which may be destroying any future we have here………..its a bit like living in the nineteenth century…………..absurd backwards ideas here…………..makes one have to have sceptical ideas about leftist socialist type thought………………
July 7, 2012 at 11:27 am
Pan, firstly, thanks for your comments. Whatever their point of view, so few people ever do comment. Yours really got me thinking in order to come up with a reply, so – good comments.
Next: what your comments about your own country brought to mind for me was that your country has already seen tremendous change since 1993/94. Tremendous change does not come about without lots of upheaval. I think that your country may still be settling down, adjusting since then. It doesn’t mean that it will continue to be turbulent indefinitely. Perhaps more things still need to change? Be a voice for moderation, for working those things out.
As for here, people finally became outraged at a system that brought so much misery to so many by so few – the greedy controllers of wealth, who just keep getting wealthier while the rest of us keep getting poorer.
As for free enterprise, you’re right – it’s never been free. The deck has always been stacked. That’s how many of us feel – we who’ve seen and felt the effects of it.
As for the credit unions, any effort to tear down the power and influence of the big banks and money institutions can’t be bad. They need to be kicked to the curb.
January 11, 2012 at 9:00 pm
Hi Amy,
Happy New Year! I hope everything is going well for you. Great pictures of the demonstration. I was surprised to see one of Scarf Guy or, as I think of him, The Oldest Hippy In The World. I used to see him at Bumbershoot and Folklife, and wonder if he lived in a retirement home. He’d make an interesting interviewee.
Do keep on posting – I look forward to your stuff. And it keeps me in touch with Seattle.
All the best,
Paul
January 25, 2012 at 10:34 pm
Thanks, Paul. I admire your ability to poke a little fun when someone is taking themselves too seriously. I’ve learned a lot from you. So I appreciate your thoughts. Thank you for the encouragement!
No, I don’t think he lives in a retirement home, but I love your thought of him as The Oldest Hippie In The World. I’m pretty sure he would take that as a compliment! It’s a great idea – he would be a good one to interview!
Blessings, Amy