"Our Weapon Is The Truth": Occupy Columbus rally aims to show unity with protesters on Wall Street, so much for the camp-out but they continue

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Occupy Columbus rally aims to show unity with protesters on Wall Street, so much for the camp-out but they continue

When 71-year-old Sara Dawson told her children she’d be coming to the Occupy Columbus rally today, they asked if they should have bail money ready.

“I’ve been waiting 25 years for the U.S. to wake up,” the Columbus native said. “We’ve been buying our elected officials, not electing them.”

Dawson said the power of the movement is its nonviolence. Sign-bearing demonstrators came and went from the crowd in front of the Statehouse throughout the morning, but the group numbered about 50 to 90 throughout the day, peaking at more than 100 around noon.

Protesters had a variety of demands and grievances, disparaging such things as corporate irresponsibility, outsourcing, student-loan debt and the media. The group sought to show solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City, according to its website.

Occupy protests worldwide

Occupy Columbus politely told “no” to camping in city parks

Occupy Columbus participants stand outside the Statehouse Monday. This group is a local version of the national group that has been protesting corporate greed on Wall Street.

Occupy Columbus has been looking for a place to, you know, occupy.

But it won’t be the city’s parks.

This evening, three very polite young men asked the Columbus City Council to consider letting protesters camp in the parks. They were just as politely told that the parks close at 11 p.m. For everyone.

Protesters are welcome to use the parks to exercise their right to free speech from the time they open at 7 a.m. until they close at 11 p.m., but then they need to leave, city officials said. City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr. said the city treats everyone equally, whether it’s the KKK or “anti-abortion protesters from Wichita.”

“I want to see a job for everyone that wants one,” shouted Kevin Keef, 53, of Palatine, Ill. “ (Wall Street) got their bailout, where is our bailout?”

Many passersby honked in agreement while a few shouted derisively, but Columbus police and State Highway Patrol officers, who maintained a visible presence nearby, reported no incidents.

“I think the success of the country depends on the success of this movement,” said Bob Letcher, 62, of Westerville. He held a sign — “Cornell PhD will teach/tutor for food” — which he said represented the need for education in the country.

The attention of the movement was briefly diverted as Richard Shaffer, a street preacher from Minnesota, began shouting and preaching at the crowd. He said he was on his way to the Ohio State University campus when he happened upon the rally.

“The word is not wasted. It is never wasted,” Shaffer said. “If it were a group of baseball players, I’d preach to them, too.”

Bethany Powell, 24, of Youngstown, an employee of JP Morgan Chase, held a sign that read, “Mean Corporations Suck.” She said she thought involvement in the movement was the best way to make a difference.

“It would be a bad idea for people who oppose the corporate model not to get involved in one,” she said, “You need to have people in the corporation who believe they should be responsible. My ideas will be the ones they keep as I move up.”

The group plans to hold a “general assembly” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday Downtown at the amphitheater in Bicentennial Park to organize future events.more

Occupy Columbus Protestors Continue Demonstrating Downtown

Some Occupy Columbus supporters said they will not give up their efforts to denounce corporate influence in government, despite dropping temperatures.

“Every night people are driving by here blowing their horns,” said John Dorn of Occupy Columbus. “People drop off tons of food all the time; we know we have the public’s support out there.”

Some demonstrators said they plan to be in front of the Statehouse as long as they need to be.

“It breaks my heart that there are so many people in my generation who are in this position,” said Stephanie Dean, an Occupy Columbus supporter. “They are unable to achieve their dreams, buy a house, start a family because they don’t have the money, and they don’t have the government support to do it either.”

Another protest was planned outside City Hall Monday at 5 p.m. and on Tuesday morning at the Statehouse, Reaves reported.

In addition to City Hall and the Statehouse, Occupy Columbus supporters said they will continue their protest on Oct. 24 on The Ohio State University campus where they hope 3,000 Facebook followers will occupy the Oval.