Thousands took to street in a protest "Occupy Chicago" on Saturday.
The protesters chanted "Show me what democracy looks like""This is what democracy looks like".
Early Sunday morning, however, more than 130 people were arrested. The Chicago Police Department made the arrest at Grant Park where the Occupy Chicago home base is.
There are voices demanding to stop arrests. "I am worried about them who were arrested," said Phil from Mount Prospect, IL. The protesters chant "Whose streets""Our streets". MoveOn.org, in an email message, sends out the message to the city mayor:
"Banks got bailed out" "We got sold out"
"We are fed up, we're not going to take it no more"
"We are the 99%"
"People of Chicago come and join us"
"How we gonna fix the 10%""Tax, tax, tax the rich"
“This corporate greed has got to go.”
"People or the profit""Occupy Chicago"
“One! We are the People! Two! We are united! Three! The Occupation is not leaving!”
"The people united""We never be defeated"
"People over profit"
I went downtown on Saturday to be there where the Occupy Chicago is holding a march. I met and had the chance to talk to people here and there. Some of the people are sympathetic to Occupy Chicago, some had heard of it, some were staging argument against -- me, I suppose. He said, unemployed are not looking for work and trying get money for doing nothing. A lot of people from broad political spectrum -- and profession. I met a person, who works for -- a rich family. She is a Chicagoan and kindly directed me how to get to Grant Park. A couple of Canadian people told me that they are for the movement. They said "that's interesting" and said that the Canadian media is favorable to it. Those who were around the bar tend to be ignorant about Occupy Chicago -- they even could not tell me where the train station was. Many are from outside Chicago. Finally the police personnels told me where the protests. The protests that there were turned out to be, somewhat different from what I expected. A small group of people, overall ten or so, where making speech how police is wrong. Across the street, there was a band playing music -- rather a good one -- and the police were surrounding them. They held out some signs in front of them.
I was about to go home when the sound of the clamour from a distance was heard right in the financial district of downtown Chicago. The police personnels were walking toward the source of the sound. Then there they were, thousands of people there marching, chanting "we are the 99%". I took some photos there then made a phone call to Ann in Boston and told her that where I was right in the middle of the protest Occupy Chicago. They chanted "Show me what democracy looks like" and they answered -- this is what democracy looks like.
Ann was asking what the messages were there. I told Ann that there was the Reuters article on Occupy Chicago which says there had been the money flowing from the 1% as well -- that the messages might not be so clear. They were then saying "banks got bailed out, we got sold out". The noise was such that it was hard to talk on the phone. As the procession goes, however, the messages became more clearly heard.
The messages are mostly about the right to protest itself. "Whose streets?" then they answer "Our streets". The signs say something about the First Amendment. “One! We are the People! Two! We are united! Three! The Occupation is not leaving!” the chant went on. Then they proclaimed proundly, "We are the 99%" "People of Chicago come and join us" calling out to people in Chicago. "How we gonna fix the 10%?" then they answered "Tax, tax, tax the rich".
“This corporate greed has got to go.” "People over profit" "The people united" "We never be defeated"
I was walking alongside the procession holding with my camera out, until the procession reached Grant Park. There they stopped. I ran to catch my train. What I read the next morning is that more than 130 were arrested trying to camp in the park early Sunday morning.
The protesters chanted "Show me what democracy looks like""This is what democracy looks like".
Early Sunday morning, however, more than 130 people were arrested. The Chicago Police Department made the arrest at Grant Park where the Occupy Chicago home base is.
There are voices demanding to stop arrests. "I am worried about them who were arrested," said Phil from Mount Prospect, IL. The protesters chant "Whose streets""Our streets". MoveOn.org, in an email message, sends out the message to the city mayor:
Rahm Emanuel, stop the mass arrests of protesters in Grant Park. Respect their right to peacefully assemble, and allow them to have a base to protest from. Don't let this end like 1968.
"Banks got bailed out" "We got sold out"
"We are fed up, we're not going to take it no more"
"We are the 99%"
"People of Chicago come and join us"
"How we gonna fix the 10%""Tax, tax, tax the rich"
“This corporate greed has got to go.”
"People or the profit""Occupy Chicago"
“One! We are the People! Two! We are united! Three! The Occupation is not leaving!”
"The people united""We never be defeated"
"People over profit"
I went downtown on Saturday to be there where the Occupy Chicago is holding a march. I met and had the chance to talk to people here and there. Some of the people are sympathetic to Occupy Chicago, some had heard of it, some were staging argument against -- me, I suppose. He said, unemployed are not looking for work and trying get money for doing nothing. A lot of people from broad political spectrum -- and profession. I met a person, who works for -- a rich family. She is a Chicagoan and kindly directed me how to get to Grant Park. A couple of Canadian people told me that they are for the movement. They said "that's interesting" and said that the Canadian media is favorable to it. Those who were around the bar tend to be ignorant about Occupy Chicago -- they even could not tell me where the train station was. Many are from outside Chicago. Finally the police personnels told me where the protests. The protests that there were turned out to be, somewhat different from what I expected. A small group of people, overall ten or so, where making speech how police is wrong. Across the street, there was a band playing music -- rather a good one -- and the police were surrounding them. They held out some signs in front of them.
I was about to go home when the sound of the clamour from a distance was heard right in the financial district of downtown Chicago. The police personnels were walking toward the source of the sound. Then there they were, thousands of people there marching, chanting "we are the 99%". I took some photos there then made a phone call to Ann in Boston and told her that where I was right in the middle of the protest Occupy Chicago. They chanted "Show me what democracy looks like" and they answered -- this is what democracy looks like.
Ann was asking what the messages were there. I told Ann that there was the Reuters article on Occupy Chicago which says there had been the money flowing from the 1% as well -- that the messages might not be so clear. They were then saying "banks got bailed out, we got sold out". The noise was such that it was hard to talk on the phone. As the procession goes, however, the messages became more clearly heard.
The messages are mostly about the right to protest itself. "Whose streets?" then they answer "Our streets". The signs say something about the First Amendment. “One! We are the People! Two! We are united! Three! The Occupation is not leaving!” the chant went on. Then they proclaimed proundly, "We are the 99%" "People of Chicago come and join us" calling out to people in Chicago. "How we gonna fix the 10%?" then they answered "Tax, tax, tax the rich".
“This corporate greed has got to go.” "People over profit" "The people united" "We never be defeated"
I was walking alongside the procession holding with my camera out, until the procession reached Grant Park. There they stopped. I ran to catch my train. What I read the next morning is that more than 130 were arrested trying to camp in the park early Sunday morning.