Last Friday, at an Occupy Evanston protest, I met a man who is fed up with our political system, furious at big business, and frightened about what the future holds for his teen-age son.
But he wasn’t taking part in the protest -- in fact, he wanted nothing to do with the demonstrators. And herein lies the conundrum facing the Occupy movement.
We got word that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor would be at Northwestern last Friday, to deliver one of the speeches he’s been giving lately (or choosing not to give) on income inequality (I think he’s for it). Members of the nascent Occupy Evanston and Occupy Northwestern organizations called for a protest to Cantor’s appearance, and I headed over with Democratic Party of Evanston Board members Samantha Reed and Heike Eghardt. It was a lovely day to visit the NU campus – perfect weather for an exercise in democracy.
Toni Gilpin (signless) flanked by DPOE member Nancy Bruski (l) and DPOE Board member Heike Eghardt (r). Board member Samantha Reed snapped the photo.
It’s not always easy, though, to be heard these days – assemblies are often contained or confined to spaces where no one will hear voices raised in protest, and this was no exception. We weren’t allowed to linger near the east side of the Allen Center, where Rep. Cantor was to speak; those who came to represent the 99% were obliged to gather at the back of the building, far from where the Congressman would enter the building. He wouldn’t even see the protest from his car – he was obviously coming in from a different direction. If the crowd had numbered in the thousands, perhaps the chants would have carried into the auditorium, but given our turnout that was unlikely. There were perhaps 100 people there. The megaphone on hand wasn’t working very well. Even if you were part of the demonstration it was easy to miss what was being said.
