Welcome to Lincoln, Nebraska, home of the Big Red (Go Huskers!) and Nebraska's Capital or the penis on the plains as we affectionately call it. We held our first major protest in Solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and the turnout was larger than I expected, around 500 people by my estimates, possibly more.
It started at 12pm yesterday and we gathered in front of the capital near Centennial Mall.
We got a lot of honks in support which surprised me considering how red the state is overall. One guy stopped and honked in cadence with our "We are the 99%" chant.
Then we headed up the street to march down our mainstreet (O Street).
I'd say we were spread out over a mile or so and the route took us north several blocks, then west on O Street and back south to the Capital.
We regrouped in front of the Governor's mansion.
This lady had a silly sign.
This was mine, I had a lot of people want a picture of it. Incidentally, I highly recommend some shameless dkos promotion if you attend any protests because I had lots of people ask what it was etc.
Finally, we gathered everybody back up and put some elderly folks in front and lined up to follow the sidewalk back around to where we started.
We had some great energy going, with people singing, dancing and playing music.
The guy with the bullhorn was one of the event organizers.
The street medic lady helped a lot too.
I never realized how much a bucket could sound like drums.
Then we headed to Centennial Park for the general assembly.
Here is where people got to voice their ideas to everybody, meet some of the organizers, volunteer for committees and discuss rules of the occupation for those staying overnight.
The ACLU had a rep on hand to observe.
Channel 10 11 conducted some interviews, including me which I totally didn't expect.
His report aired last night at 10pm and I am the (bald guy) last person speaking. He asked me several questions, but I'm glad he just included what sounded pretty decent as I was not expecting to be interviewed. You can read the article and view the video here
They were setting up a concert as things started to wind down. I think around 50 people were going to camp out for the night and another protest is planned for next Saturday. Fellow Lincolnites can find out more at Occupy Lincoln
So that just about sums it up. We barely saw any police and it was a very peaceful demonstration with lots of support from people passing by or encountered along the way. I'd certainly like to thank my fellow kossacks for showing us the way and hope our participation can help in the fight for meaningful change.