Monday, April 16, 2012 - Oklahoma City
Oklahoma Governor Fallin meet privately with ALEC officials at the Govenor's Mansion today. About 50 Occupy Oklahoma City/Tulsa/Norman supporters were there to greet the ALEC officials with chants of "shame" when the officials left the mansion's grounds and walked to their cars.
The two dozen ALEC officials that were leaving the Governor's Mansion in groups of 2 or 3 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm were genuinely suprised to be greated by 50 protester's chants of "ALEC GO HOME", "Shame", and "Power to the People". Some of the ALEC people just waived to the protesters and just generally ignored the sidewalk protesters.
Occupy Norman's twenty-something spokesman Grant DeLozier recited a list of ALEC initiatives that aim to limit government services such as education and health care, curtail voting rights with Voter ID laws, Corporate Prisons, Stand Your Ground laws. Norman is the home of the well-known University of Oklahoma. He was assisted by twenty-something Occupy Oklahoma City activists Bronwyn Agnew, Oklahoma City, and Sean Lovell formerly from Athens, GA, now from Oklahoma City.
Three college-age Occupy Tulsa activists Samuel Molik, Maxwell and his bearded friend drove 2 hours to get there. The Tulsa Occupy guys said that their Tulsa fall 2011 encampment gathered about 50-80 participants and lasted about a week before the Tulsa Police ended it. Some were arrested in the Tulsa police action.
In attendance was politician Bert Smith, a Democrat running for the Oklahoma Congerssman Tom Cole's seat in Norman.
There was signs of Oklahoma's Mottor: Labor Omni Vincent (Labor Conquers All), Politicians for Sale, Pictures of Governor Fallin with For Sale stamped on it, and an American Flag that was proudly waived by a protester. There was 3 International Socialist Workers members and about a half-dozen Change Oklahoma supporters in attendance.
A local CBS Station KWTV Channel 9 covered the protest for about 30 minutes.