Portraits from the Revolution

Interviews with the Protestors from Occupy Wall Street

Robert Couteau

• Publisher: Dominantstar
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780996688802
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Geopolitics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

"Chapters explore not just each individual's actions, but their backgrounds, reasons for participating in Occupy Wall Street, and their experiences, and offers criticism of media reporting of the movement's history, intentions, and approaches.From how participants decided to react to violent antagonism against the Occupy movement to the social and political ramifications of not just Occupy but the elements it opposed, these interviews capture participants from all walks of life, from teens to full-time workers, and turns the newspaper reports into a series of personal vignettes about Occupy's deeper meaning." -Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review

Interviews with the Occupy Wall Street Protestors, 30 September 2011

In their own words, here are a few of the dedicated men and women who have sacrificed their time and energy to provoke change in America.

While the major media continues to put words into their mouths and to spin the story every which way, this is the only lengthy text interview of actual participants that is currently available online.

Beyond any political analysis or interpretation, the most notable thing about all this is the unique atmosphere that has been created in a small park in New York. As you descend the broad marble steps into the partially sunken esplanade, you feel as if you’re entering a place far away from the hectic, frenetic, anonymous atmosphere of the city. The sincerity, devotion, and generosity of these young protestors is contagious. This is the Woodstock of our time: on a much smaller scale, yet one that will certainly grow as it spreads across the country.

By incarnating the spirit of a more just and vital America, they have already accomplished something that no one can take away, distort, or destroy. This represents a new historical stepping stone, and it will serve as a focal point for all those who care enough to fight for real change.

– 4 October 2011

I arrived for my first visit to Liberty Plaza on Friday, 30 September: the fourteenth day of the occupation. Upon entering the park, I noticed two young women, Pearl and her friend Willa, seated on a mattress and politely answering questions from passersby.

Rob Couteau: Where are you from?

Pearl: Queens.

RC: And why are you here today?

Pearl: I’m here because I want to join the cause and to move toward having an actual democracy instead of an oligarchy: that the rich rule the majority of the people instead of the people ruling themselves. And that’s what’s happening. I’m not trying to be some sort of anarchist. I just want regular people like you and me – who actually have ideas and want to better the society – to have a shot at being on the top. Instead of, you know, you might not know much, but, if you have a lot of money, that’s how you get the success you get.

RC: How old are you?

Pearl: I’m seventeen.

RC: Is this your first protest?

Pearl: Yes.

RC: There are so many university students in New York. Where are they? Why aren’t they here? There should be tens of thousands of people here.

Pearl: There should be, absolutely. I don’t think the country wants to admit that there’s a serious problem. And other countries know what’s going on; other countries are supporting us. But I think our country should really start coming together. There are other “Occupy” places. In D.C. for example …

RC: It’s in over sixty cities now.

Willa: Yes. Also, we’re young. We have many more years that we’re going to be here. And it’s going to be getting worse and worse unless we do something.

Pearl: And we don’t want it to get worse. We want it to get better. When I graduate college, it’s going to be one job to every twelve people, and that’s because of the economy. That’s because of the people that are actually ruling the country. They have no idea what they’re doing.

RC: The media has criticized the fact that there’s no clearly defined goal in this protest, but I think that’s the beauty of it. It’s a shaggy dog. And everything that you guys have done that was supposedly “wrong” has turned out right. For example, you didn’t have a permit to march. The New York Civil Liberties Union offered to help you get a permit, but nobody responded. And, as a result, Officer Bologna pepper sprayed a girl named Kaylee Dedrick, along with a few other young women, and this galvanized more media attention. The fact that there’s no clearly defined goal is actually creating an instant coalition. What do you think?

Pearl: Yes, certain things that happened that weren’t so great actually did help to put this whole thing together. People have been coming just because they heard about the pepper-spray incident. They think it’s wrong, and they want to support us. They want to be part of something.

Willa: There are a lot of things that should be protested, because there are a lot of things that are wrong right now. And it’s good to be open. Somebody who doesn’t care too much about the economy but really wants equal rights for everyone can come down and not feel like they don’t belong here.

Pearl: Yes, because it’s a big thing that everyone wants to accomplish. We’re not going to keep anybody out just because they’re representing something different. If you have a certain cause, you can come here and, hey, you’re going to be one more person on the march. So, we’re not turning anybody away.

RC: In terms of strategy, how about opening up a second site in case the police clear this site out?

Pearl: If this site gets too crowded, they’re going to move it onto another block, and they’re just going to do the same thing. But we’re not going to leave, and we’re not going to stop. We’ll just move on to the next place and continue the peaceful community protest that we’re trying to do. We’re trying to be self-sufficient, self-sustaining, and peaceful. There are no drugs allowed here. If you’re going to do drugs, you’re going to have to do it somewhere else. Everyone is in a united consensus about that.

RC: What’s your strategy if and when agent provocateurs show up and create violence and give the police an excuse to crack down, as happened in Seattle?

Pearl: I think every person here is on the lookout for that. If we see that someone’s acting out of line, we’ll ask the police to escort that person out. So, nothing major has happened. There have been a few people, but they’re easily pushed out.

* * *

Next I approached Zain, a tall wiry African American man in his late thirties, who held a sign that read: “Wake Up!”

RC: I love your sign. Everyone seems to have been asleep since the days of the last great protest marches in the late Seventies.

Zain: Everybody’s been asleep since the beginning of business incorporation. And turning people into numbers. That’s when everybody went to sleep. Currency is pointless. We have enough resources to live on this earth peacefully and to be abundant. All we need is the earth; a couple of seeds; some water, and people. And we have that.

RC: How long have you been down here?

Zain: I came here yesterday, but I’ve been following it since they started, on September 17.

RC: Where are you from?

Zain: I was born in the Bronx. I came down from Middletown, New York.

RC: How long are you going to stay here?

Zain: Indefinitely.

RC: Good for you. Anything you want to add?

Zain: Just wake up, love, think about what’s important, and let go of the fear.

* * *

Phil was dressed in a hooded black robe and a white rubber skull mask. He stood beneath a tree holding a scythe, garbed as the classic messenger of death.

RC: Why are you here?

Phil: Despite having a full-time job, I sympathize with what’s going on. For the last ten years, the economy has been in real trouble. More and more, people are getting laid off. Jobs are being shipped overseas. Our currency is devaluating at a rapid pace: almost at a weekly pace. And jobs aren’t coming back from overseas; that’s for sure. Also, there are only a few people that are benefiting with the economy that we have, and the rest of us are being put in the back seat.

RC: That’s why it’s the ninety...

Table of contents

• Interviews with the Occupy Wall Street Protestors, 30 September 2011
• To Crush a Butterfly on the Wheel of a Tank. Marching with the Occupy Demonstrators on 5 October 2011
• A Pratt University Art Student, a Volunteer Librarian, a “Grandmother for Peace,” a Teamster and an Ironworker. What Do They All Have in Common?
• An Interview with William Scott, Author of Troublemakers: Power, Representation, and the Fiction of the Mass Worker