Though thanksgiving has become "turkey day" to many, its origins remain gracious and admirable. Etc, etc, Pilgrims and Native Americans working together to feed everyone they otherwise wouldn't have been able to.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Occupies nationwide celebrated by giving dinners to as many protestors and strangers as they could. Some of these dinners were bought with donated funds, others were made by volunteers in their own homes. More volunteers signed up everywhere to help serve the food, in a selfless show of support for the Occupy Movements.
But unsurprisingly, this Thanksgiving did not escape police action. Even on the one day originally revolving around the festivities of sharing food, the police found reason to arrest several people in different cities.
While I posted a comment earlier on an article by The Troubadour, saying:
And you know what? Since this day is supposed to be directed to ALL:
THANK YOU to the 1%. For giving us 99%ers something to fight back against & something to hold on to so we can change our world. For giving us something that sparked this amazing movement.
It is hard to find something to say thank you for to the Police in regards to their treatment of Thanksgiving.
In Zuccotti Park, police and protestors squared off when police asked a drummer to cease his drumming. As a couple hundred protestors surrounded the police, one yelled out "Why don't you arrest the drummers in the Thanksgiving parade?" More cops arrived after this, but surprisingly no arrests were made - the protestors made the decision to stop drumming.
Other cities were not so lucky. In Oakland, one person was arrested after another stand-off between protestors and police. The police refused to allow a truck driver to deliver a portable restroom to the protestors.
According to ABC:
In San Diego, four Occupy protesters were arrested between midnight and 2 a.m. Thursday at an encampment at the City's Civic Center Plaza, said Officer David Stafford. Three were taken into custody for sleeping overnight in public, while the fourth was arrested for spitting on an officer, Stafford said.
Okay, so. Spitting on an officer? Not cool. As for the other three? Why aren't you arresting the thousands of people camping out for Black Friday? If they are consumers and willing to give their money to the greedy corporations, they're allowed to sleep on the streets in tents, whereas if they dislike the corporate greed, they're not?
Oh yeah, we definitely believe in equality for all, right?
Does no one realize the irony? Does anyone remember that little, supposedly poignant pledge we all had to say every day for the first 12 years of our schooling?
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
More about an OWS Thanksgiving under the fold.
Occupy Wall Street protestors host Thanksgiving dinner in Zuccotti park, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011, in New York. Protestors used the holiday to give thanks alongside strangers at outdoor Occupy encampments nationwide, serving turkey or donating their time in solidarity with the anti-Wall Street movement. (John Minchillo/AP Photo)
Image and caption from ABC News.
Quoted from the Herald Sun's article:
The atmosphere was a far cry from the tension during the night of the camp clear-out by riot police or the violent scuffles that marred subsequent street demonstrations around the nearby stock exchange.
One group sat around a guitarist, singing Bob Dylan songs. Another cluster listened to a cellist play Bach, while a third group took in the upbeat sounds of a traditional fiddle and banjo duo.
More than 3000 meals were supplied to hungry activists and passers-by sharing in the unusual version of the US ritual, which always takes place on the fourth Thursday of November and recalls the gratitude of the earliest European settlers in America for their survival.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
And thank you to all the 99%ers who are trying to make our country what it could and should be: a country of equality, transparency, and opportunity for all.
The immigrants who made this country, that arrived at Ellis Island, came for the opportunity and freedom. Now OccupyTogether is trying to restore the meaning that our Statue of Liberty had for them.