"This is What Democracy Looks Like"
By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 11, 2011 1:45PM
For a day, at least, the message was clear.
Thousands of protestors took to the streets to rail against the people they hold responsible for the current economic climate during evening rush yesterday. They marched to the Art Institute's Modern Wing from five different starting points, a coalition of 19 neighborhood advocacy groups and labor unions called Stand Up Chicago. The Modern Wing was where a reception for the Mortgage Bankers Association was held last night. Attendees to that reception watched as protestors stormed to the doors of the modern wing, shouting "We are the 99 percent" and "This is what democracy looks like."
The protestors at Occupy Chicago also took part, but Stand Up Chicago had planned this march for months. In press releases Stand Up Chicago promised up to 7,500 people participating in the march. From both the perspectives of Aaron Cynic and myself there weren't that many on the streets -- the Police Department estimated the crowd at around 3,000 -- but it made the mass-up at the Modern Wing no less impressive.
The message yesterday was clear: Stand Up Chicago was through with the bailouts of superbanks, deregulation and tax breaks on the wealthy they believe are the reasons the country is where it's at today. Sticking to that message is something the Occupy Chicago braintrust should have been paying attention. And maybe they have, if their list of demands they released late last week is any indication.
The protests were largely civil. One union member man from Alabama was arrested for punching a cop. 24 others were cited for being in the roadway. Aaron reported four teachers arrested for civil disobedience.
As the Reader's Steve Bogira noted yesterday the protests come at an interesting time for the American progressive left. I'm in agreement with Bogira that the future of the Occupy protests depend on some sort of hierarchical structure, something the left has long been loathe to adopt.
Aaron, who's spent more time at the Federal Reserve building downtown since the protests began 19 days ago, has a more optimistic view of what they're doing. The Occupy Chicago movement is trying to work out their demands with every participant who's present, all members, in the most democratic way possible. Beyond that, they're interested in doing things in solidarity with people, but not being co-opted.