In Asia many carried signs demanding equal rights and social justice. In Europe many signs decried austerity programs. In N. America it was the banks and corporations that most focused on. These general issues, of course, were intermingled with the outcries of the more specific injuries that folks are suffering because of the inequities in resource allocation and class discrimination in their various locales and cultures.
Though our little gathering of occupiers in Powell River BC was at best symbolic it was fun. Mostly, like PR's demographics generally, our little gang was made up of retirees who, by virtue of our age, are survivors of the 60's protest movements. 'It was the best of times' in that we had many a passerby who honked their horns, waved, raised the peace sign and smiled broadly. 'It was the worst of times' in that it was discouraging to see none of the young people who so adamantly share their feelings on the OPR Facebook page actually showed up to show them on the street.
The few people who did stop to talk with some of our sign wielding grey haired group asked the same basic questions that seem to be being asked by folks both in the media and in general. "What do you want, what are your demands?", they asked. For many folks this lack of one or two key demands and non-existent organizational structure make the Occupy movement incoherent at best. But for me and others the Occupy movement has never been about specific demands. It's been about the issues of class awareness and inequality. It's about how the 1% have bought our governments and, IMO, the Occupy movement has already won a huge victory by instilling into the worldview of folks everywhere the 99% vs. the 1% meme. We are the 99%, that is the issue the unites our seemingly disparate worldwide causes from every Wall St. to every Main St. around the world.
