6:45 AM Thursday, October 6, 2011
Up working for an hour. Occupation begins little more than 2 hours. Be on site by 8:00 to meet with food Working Group. Ditch my Bowler hat and can-top wrist band and neck bling. Evidently was on TV yesterday—and pics in paper. With press there in force they’ll be looking for identifiable images to label as ‘leaders.’ WE HAVE NO LEADERS… no matter how often you tell them they don’t get it.
1000 people came to the general assemble at Arch Street Methodist Church. Filled to standing room. The long difficult meeting night before—with only 60 in attendance… how could this work?
It worked.
Went through a potentially divisive agenda and made decision after decision—by consensus, chose City Hall for occupation, Thursday October 6 (today)… ONE day for all the logistics involved. Broke into Working Groups (committees) outside after. Meeting was over half hour early… ended by singing Solidarity Forever.
Turning point, when deadlocked between Love Park, Rittenhouse Square and City Hall, asked for a break—every turn to your neighbor and talk about this for ten minutes, give voice to what you think—and they gave voice, oh they gave voice, a sound like a great rush of wind, like a waterfall, the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard, strangers deciding together, searching for that wisdom that is greater than any one of us. It was beautiful, beautiful…
40 minutes to eat and be out the door. A personal grocery cart with poster boards tarps an upholstered cot mattress put out for pick-up outside the shop on Passyunk. Have blocks of too but will have to have someone with car to pick them up.
People gathering at 4 points to walk to City Hall. We have Dilworth Plaza north to south.
Nibbles from the Powers, making nice, making use… this will be the beginning of a more difficult challenge, more trying than pepper gas or jail cells. Philly not New York. “I’m the 99% too” Mayor Nutter is reported to have said…
Up working for an hour. Occupation begins little more than 2 hours. Be on site by 8:00 to meet with food Working Group. Ditch my Bowler hat and can-top wrist band and neck bling. Evidently was on TV yesterday—and pics in paper. With press there in force they’ll be looking for identifiable images to label as ‘leaders.’ WE HAVE NO LEADERS… no matter how often you tell them they don’t get it.
1000 people came to the general assemble at Arch Street Methodist Church. Filled to standing room. The long difficult meeting night before—with only 60 in attendance… how could this work?
It worked.
Went through a potentially divisive agenda and made decision after decision—by consensus, chose City Hall for occupation, Thursday October 6 (today)… ONE day for all the logistics involved. Broke into Working Groups (committees) outside after. Meeting was over half hour early… ended by singing Solidarity Forever.
Turning point, when deadlocked between Love Park, Rittenhouse Square and City Hall, asked for a break—every turn to your neighbor and talk about this for ten minutes, give voice to what you think—and they gave voice, oh they gave voice, a sound like a great rush of wind, like a waterfall, the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard, strangers deciding together, searching for that wisdom that is greater than any one of us. It was beautiful, beautiful…
40 minutes to eat and be out the door. A personal grocery cart with poster boards tarps an upholstered cot mattress put out for pick-up outside the shop on Passyunk. Have blocks of too but will have to have someone with car to pick them up.
People gathering at 4 points to walk to City Hall. We have Dilworth Plaza north to south.
Nibbles from the Powers, making nice, making use… this will be the beginning of a more difficult challenge, more trying than pepper gas or jail cells. Philly not New York. “I’m the 99% too” Mayor Nutter is reported to have said…
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