'Occupied Toronto' Day 3 - live from the encampment

The encampment shortly after sunrise

Been here since seven this morning and I'm seriously bagged. But it's been worth it despite a fair amount of physical, mental and emotional intensity.

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

On other things - a clear, positive evolution in the daily protest marches is becoming apparent and much more quickly than I'd hoped for. In the wake of an incident at the start of the occupation on Saturday (mentioned in an earlier blog post) The first Nations people who have joined us have stepped into a powerful role as leaders and guides, leading both of today's marches - the large group that went to Ryerson at noon, and the even bigger march back to the park that was led by six women with drums.  Likewise for a smaller but more adventurous foray into the financial district itself that took place in the late afternoon... more about that below.

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

Four-thirty PM - the second march of the afternoon departs the park. I followed on my bike about twenty minutes later to find a spirited group of about two hundred blocking the intersection at Bay and King Streets. Incredibly the cops have remained totally chill, simply closing off the street while we chanted, sang and used the 'human mic' to decide where to go next.

Later, at Bay and King...

The group next went north and east, marching over to Yonge St. and up to Dundas, where people sat on the road, bringing traffic to a standstill for nearly an hour. At one point a large number 99 (representing the 99 per cent) that was visible from the air was formed by people in the intersection; the news choppers hovering nearby apparently picked this up and broadcast it! Hundreds of curious onlookers gathered on the road to ask what was happening and chat with protesters and cops alike,

Dundas and Yonge

The only downside for me was this damned insistence by people on singing 'Oh, Canada'. We really need to start teaching these new folk some good protest songs! Their energy is amazing but this continues to be a pain in the ass.

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