Yikes! Somehow yesterday, I got caught up in the passion of the moment at Occupy Wall Street, and volunteered - for what, I wasn't exactly sure. A small merry band followed our recruiter from Liberty Plaza, and gathered in an empty office suite where about a dozen organizers were waiting with plans for the direct action. They were prepared with everything from low-tech torn cardboard and markers, to hightech a/v equipment for documentation and interviews, plus electronic gadgets for on-the-go communication. While a large contingent marched from Zuccotti to gather in front of the Federal building, the six of us who had agreed to participate in civil disobedience spent some time getting to know each other, while we reviewed the strategy, what to expect, and the inevitable legal consequences.
We entrusted all loose possessions other than identification to the jail support group. Next, we each made our individual signs with whatever message we personally wished to convey, to be later repeated in a mike check during the action. Of course, mine said "Industrial Civilization = Eco-pocalypse". When the word came to mobilize, a little cat and mouse up and down subway stairs ensued, as we wended our surreptitious way, trying to conceal our folded signs inconspicuously, through passageways beneath the distant thunderings of drums at the rally. Abruptly we emerged in position, directly opposite the Stock Exchange. Do I look nervous? Oh indeed, I was! But so was everybody else. Oddly, we were four suburban women around my age - I called us the Matron Brigade - and two more experienced 20-somethings.
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