What democracy looks like...
Tuesday, November 1, 2011 at 9:13AM 
I made this image a few days ago at the Occupy Wall Street demo in Zuccotti Park, NYC. I guess that the thermal blankets will have taken on a new significance over the last few days as the snow has fallen...
I was impressed by the demonstrators in the park. They took time to speak to passers-by and simply told their stories. Mostly, the narratives were of confusion. They had bought into system that promised them everything and was delivering nothing. Their savings, education and place in society all lost. Later, as they marched down Fifth Avenue they chanted to the spectators: "This is what democracy looks like..."
Back in the UK, the dilemmas of peaceful protest have come to the fore as Occupy protestors at St Paul's Cathedral are about to face legal action if they refuse to move their campsite within 48 hours. Three of the St Paul's clergy have resigned over the issue - the church is caught between the wish to support the poor and the closure of the building due to the protest.
Meanwhile, on a train journey across Scotland yesterday I was intrigued by a fascinating clash of symbols.
The Capitalist business suit and the Christian fish.
Could this kind of reconciliation be a response to the problems at St Paul's Cathedral?
In meus we talk about love AND money.
Is this what it looks like? I'm not so sure...
Or is this a democratic response?
What are your thoughts?
Reader Comments (2)
This week and last I've been taking a course on spiritual growth and photography. Thanks for this blog where, through photography, you are raising questions of deep importance. I'll be photographing a protest #occuplyDE this Saturday. I've been impressed with the process the organizers use for making decisions, which resembles Roberts Rules of Order in some ways and the Quakers' way of reaching consensus in others. I pray that adherence to non-violent practices will prevail as the weather gets colder and patience of some municipal governments runs thin.
Many thanks for your comments! I'm hearing a lot about spirituality and photography - I hope the course went well...
And... I hope I can continue to use photo-dialogue to stimulate debate about some of the important issues we face. The organisational methods the Occupy protestors are using are interesting: a leaderless consensus that is facilitated via social media (from what I can tell...) I'm really fascinated to see how this works out - given some of the messages from the 'Arab Spring' these methods are gaining traction - and I hope they are able to transfer to more obviously peaceful causes.
Today, there was a critical shift in the St Paul's debate with the Cathedral taking a much more instrumental and conciliatory approach - I'm waiting for more news.... (Aha - just heard legal action against the protestors is suspended...)