Yesterday was my third visit to the protests in downtown Manhattan, just blocks from Wall Street; and I can tell you, things have changed since I first went there on Sunday, October 2nd. Is this a movement? Fuck yes. So what's different in the last few days?
More over the squiggly thingie.
First, let me get the vanity shot out of the way. The guy in the shades? That's me. The awesome sign wasn't my idea, unfortunately, but I can tell you I haven't been photographed, since I stopped modeling, as often as with that sign.
So what was new last night? Or different? First of all, the size of it; my guesstimate for the full crowd at Liberty Square, Foley Square and on Broadway - the Canyon of Heroes - is about 20,000.
Second, the people who were there. Up until now, Liberty Square has been largely filled with the young and the restless, so to speak; last night, the New York political class came out.
Meet Doug Forand. Doug is one of the legendary political strategists in the State of New York, a former boss and a good friend. He is, in short, a Very Serious Person™. If Doug calls you, you will take that call, no matter who you are.
You can get some idea of the sheer size of the crowd from the following; what you won't hear is the tremendous noise an assemblage like that makes without even trying. It's a uniquely thrilling thing to hear 20,000 of your fellow citizens yelling loudly, as one. That's a bit of step up from a few people camped out on a minor patch of municipal real estate, I'm sure you'll agree.
Some other faces you may know, perhaps in person, perhaps merely because of their phenomenal Progressive activism. First, my good friend (and partner in crime, in his own words) Phillip Anderson of the Albany Project. Also a Kossack, of course, along with many others sprinkled through the crowd.
Next, Liza Sabater; also one of the major Progressive online voices in this state, Drupal genius and mother of two. Aside from being criminally prolific on Twitter, she blogs at Culturekitchen and God alone knows where else.
This man, I have no idea; he introduced himself, and I'm notoriously bad with names. That said, I need that t-shirt.
What I also think we're seeing are new alliances, like these fine folks. Maybe it's a bit of special pleading, but I firmly believe that HIV and AIDS are Progressive issues, tying in everything from LGBT equality to healthcare to poverty to the way our society treats people of color.
Back after the 2004 election, one of the Big Issues™ was Progressive outreach to people of faith. Well, here you go.
So is this really a movement, or just a transitory irritation of the body politic? Put differently, what comes next?
The truth is that I do not know; nobody does. But this much seems clear: the question of economic justice, of America as an opportunity society, a more fair and equal nation, is now firmly back on the national agenda in a way it has not been in decades. Everyone, I think, has taken notice of these young people across the country saying 'enough'. The unions. The President. The Daily Show. The various pigfuckers on the right. The amazing people who put together over two hundred solidarity events across the country.
Maybe it's worthwhile looking at history when we examine our present. The French Revolution started for many reasons, but chief among them were the grotesque inequality of French society and the political distortions they imposed. In many ways, it started as a riot over the basics of life: bread and shelter.
Sound familiar?