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Hi y’all!
Today reminded me how powerful we can be with just a few people. The #WeCantWait action was small, thanks to steady rain that lasted right up until it was time to begin. We still took the streets in an impromptu march even tough we only had about 5 people.
After we spoke with Obama For America (look for more on this tomorrow), we dropped in on a neighboring bar, Rio Rita’s. A woman was fascinated with our livestreamer & medic Corey’s gas mask. We let her try it on, then used it as an outreach opportunity. Her face lit up when she found out we were part of Occupy. By the time we finished our drinks, tables at the Patio were talking about the occupation and our issues, just by virtue of our presence.
Our chant today was ‘We Can’t Wait! Take the Streets!’ It wasn’t just a message about queer workers’ rights, but an expression of our eagerness to act. There seems to be a new resolve in Occupy Austin to focus on action again, regardless of our numbers, because even small actions are so effective and the Occupy “brand” is so very compelling.
Whose streets? Our streets, whether we have 5 people or 500.
Today’s video is by the occupy-supporting, unique musical act Wheelchair Sports Camp.
What’s on your mind? This is today’s open thread.
6 Comments
Austin. Tell me, is 6th Street still cool? I haven’t been there for decades. Graduated from Texas, though.
The Obama For America offices are actually on 6th Street, but on the part east of IH-35. This is actually the neighborhood to be in these days, full of food carts and funky, more relaxed places to drink.
6th Street proper is still enjoyable, but new noise regulations have hurt it. It’s one of those awful cycles — the popular clubs attracted developers, who built expensive condominiums, whose Yuppie occupants insisted that the clubs were too noisy and got new regulations passed…
The idea that a small group can have impact connects nicely to a discussion I was having on Twitter with an activist in Lebanon. We had been following each other’s news on Bahrain and then she posted a wonderful Def Poetry video which let me to share the following with her from an old post of mine … the last line could sum up what y’all did in Austin today perhaps?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ptwo7S6xqE&feature=youtu.be
Wow that was very moving, Siun. Thank you for sharing it!
Kit – my family is looking forward to taking the streets again in the coming weeks. We’ve been tied up with a lot of extra-curricular stuff for the kids, choir for the elder and softball for the younger. Both of these activities wrap up this week.
I’m excited about the future of Occupy right now. When school is out and the weather is fair people will start to gravitate towards the groups again.
I hope you are right, that summer will continue to swell the interest in activism and action in this country, and hopefully the Occupy movement. In the meantime, locally we seem very focused on coalition building, and lately feeling like we’re going to act whether we have the numbers or not — lot’s of small, frequent actions keep the Occupy name out there, keep the powers that be on their toes, and encourage people to join.
See you this summer!