For almost a month now, the Occupy Wall Street movement has had its own thriving counterpart in Seattle. Our local chapter of the movement shows no signs of slowing down—if anything it is growing and spreading. Westalke Plaza downtown has played host to throngs of protesters wielding signs and waving at cars, asking them to honk for any number of causes. A man who asked to go only by Chris, a nurse at the King County jail, asked drivers to honk for American jobs. "I'm pretty safe at work because of my seniority, but I've seen an influx of new applicants who are reporting they've been laid off," said Chris. "I'm sick of watching average people get their opportunities taken away by greedy big business and politicians."
Having come down to Westlake after work regularly for two weeks now, Chris said his major concern for the movement's survival is harassment from police. "They have been standing around and intimidating us," said Chris, "they took all our signs claiming it was illegal to have them if people weren't holding them." Police declined to comment on the allegation.
One of the most tangible effects locally of the Occupy Seattle movement has been a massive influx of new applicants switching from banks to local credit unions. A Facebook group called "Bank Transfer Day" has called for a massive switch to credit unions on Nov 5. Currently, the group has 58,335 members.
A protester going by the name McSweeney paraded the fact that he had recently joined a credit union on his protest sign. "My family switched four accounts over from US Bank because we were sick of being 'eligible' for fines and hidden fees," said McSweeney. "I can't wait to write them a letter once the closure goes through explaining why we are done with their deceitfulness."
Hundred of protesters came together over the weekend to march on City Hall, including Seattle University senior strategic communication major Paige Ervin, who had been at the occupation regularly for almost a week when not in class or working at The Paramount Theatre. A Seattle U specific chapter of the movement discussed an official declaration of intent with a list of demands. "We're tired of seeing this happen with our so-called 'democratic government' was the common theme," said Ervin. "We educated new people too." Ervin participated in the student walk-out on Wednesday, which she said 25 students attended. She wishes more students had shown up. "I would love to see peers getting involved—I feel like if it had been better advertised more people would've come." A night of "1000 Umbrellas" is scheduled for Saturday to combat the policy mayor Mike McGinn set that umbrellas can be considered similar to tents, which means they are liable for confiscation. The Seattle U chapter of the Occupy movement will be meeting in the Hearth at 11 to head down to Westlake together.
The greater Occupy Wall Street movement is currently planning a national convention that would be comprised of elected committee members, ideally from each of the major cities where a chapter has protested. The hope is that the national group will be "a major force to be reckoned with on Election Day 2012." Clearly, the Occupy Wall Street group doesn't see longevity as a problem.
Below: Scenes from Occupy Seattle at Westlake Plaza
