The encampment shortly after sunrise |
I arrived in the park about 7 AM to take part in a rumored protest in the financial district. Walked through the area with a friend to discover only a very small group in front of the bank at Bay and King - with a million cops and reps frem what appeared to be every media outlet in the country lying in wait. Sorry guys... :p~
Today was punctuated by a series of interesting if at times taxing personal conversations. Following an incident the previous night that almost saw a 'disturbed' visitor deliberately steered into the arms of the police (in the apparent hope they would drag him off to the local psych. ward) a committee was struck to address how to respond to people experiencing crisis - Yrs. Truly was invited to participate.
The camp has already taken the positive steps of creating safe space for women and people trying to recover from addictions - I'm thinking maybe something similar in the form of a quiet, safe space where someone can relax, talk with someone, listen to music, meditate, what have you. Troubled or traumatized people also need to be safe from the 'helpers' and the cops who generally do much more harm than good...
I'm hoping to introduce not only ideas from the Survivor community but also some of the great work that has come out of the anti-globalization movement. The notes from the first meeting that I was given to review did contain a fair bit of conventional thinking but I appended my own comments... I hope they will be taken seriously.
Getting ready to march to Ryerson |
This was by far the most exciting development to date and confirmed my hope this burgeoning movement would begin to develop the understanding and respect it would need to sustain itself over the long haul.
First Nations women lead the march back to the encampment |
Later, at Bay and King... |
Dundas and Yonge |
Plans are in the works for further demonstrations tomorrow, including a demand the TTC restore Wheel-Trans service to the encampment (apparently they are refusing to pick up/deliver people to this site, making it impossible for some people with physical disabilities to join us). As well, apparently a student walkout is being called for Friday afternoon.
Stay tuned - this thing is starting to go places in a serious way.
Graeme
Blogging from the media tent in St. James Cathedral park, Toronto