Today the annual Christmas tree was placed in Monument Square in Portland, Maine. The tree is a 55-foot blue spruce donated by a local resident who planted the tree over five decades ago. The other trees in the square are already decorated with thousands of lights, creating a beautiful sight for the holiday season. This year is particularly special for my family and me; Our one-year-old son got to visit the square with his daycare class to witness the annual event. I'm sure he was very excited to see the large crane hoist the tree up into the air. I was also able to watch from afar because the square is visible from my office window. I saw the little legs of my son and his classmates flailing back and forth in excitement as the tree was slowly dropped onto the brick walkway. I wish that I could have seen his face.
However, there was another presence in the square: Occupy protesters, holding signs, chanting and beating drums.
I found it strange that they chose this particular moment to stage a protest in Monument Square. There hasn't been much Occupy activity in the square since the early eviction and relocation to a nearby park. Perhaps they figured that the mass of people and media who came to see the Christmas tree would be interested in their message. Or perhaps they have a problem with the city spending its money on holiday decorations. Or maybe maybe it was about religion and church/state separation.
Regardless of their reasoning, the people who came to see the tree were not interested or amused. They did not come into downtown Portland to see Occupy protesters; They came to see the f@$%ing tree. As someone who supports the goals of the Occupy movement, I was very disappointed. In a way, it reminded me of the Westboro Baptist church's anti-homosexuality protests at the funerals of fallen soldiers. Wrong time, wrong place. Granted, there is no time or place for homophobia. But the analogy popped into my head when I saw the protesters.
And worst of all, I think it actually hurts the Occupy movement. Tonight's local news will feature coverage of the tree arrival as well as coverage of the protest. I think most viewers are going to be turned off by the timing of the protests and the message will be ignored. And I just hope that none of protesters spoke negatively about the tree to the local media.
I know my rant is a bit silly; It's just a goddamn tree. But let's try to gain support for Occupy, not turn people away.
Happy holidays everyone!