Several hundred members of the protest group Occupy Atlanta gathered in downtown's Woodruff Park Friday evening to voice opposition to corporate greed, the war in Afghanistan and a grab bag of other grievances.
The unstructured group is an outgrowth of a groundswell of protests in hundreds of cities around the country, from Manhattan to Newnan, growing from the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations that began last month.
The protests were timed for the 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan, with demonstrators mounting banners and handing out fliers urging passersby to resist the war.
The Occupy groups were uncertain whether the day’s activities would result in a march or an effort to settle ina downtown park the same way Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan has been colonized for the last several weeks.
Jimmy Raynor, manning a table handing out Workers Weekly newspapers and wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt, said he was at a recent Occupy Atlanta assembly, but the participants didn’t reach a decision on a planned action for Friday.
“They were still discussing it when I left,” said Raynor, 60, a printer. “They’re big on discussing.”
In fact, some members of the group have expressed impatience at the “consensus” building process. But Raynor, a member of the Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition, admired their tactics.
"I’m impressed,” said Raynor. “They’ve got a lot of energy. Even though they’re learning on the fly, they’re taking care of business. This is an example of an idea that has become a material force. It started in Egypt or Tunisia, and now it’s finally reached Atlanta.”
At mid-day Friday the downtown workers taking lunchtime picnics on tables near the park's fountains outnumbered the protesters. Errin Calhoun enjoying a sandwich in the park with a friend, said the protesters should do more to reach those walking past them. “They seem to be talking among themselves."
Calhoun, 21, also said Occupy Atlanta needs an agenda. “They need to specifically ask for something,” said the Cobb County resident. They say, ‘I am the 99 percent who refuse to remain silent’ . . . About, blank? Silent about what? If they want to be effective they need to knock things out.
“There are ten thousand million billion trillion things you can do about unemployment better than standing out here and holding a sign.”
But Darlene Jones-Owens of Carrolton, said her presence – and the presence of the Occupy representatives in hundreds of cities around the country – all send a powerful message, and accomplish much. “We’re here to say we’re not asleep, we see your gluttony up there, and we’re not happy with it.”
The gatherings have drawn criticism from a variety of sources, including U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor who called them “mobs.”
They have also drawn praise from experienced organizers including union leaders and long-time activists. U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, said Friday in a statement “their activism is inspiring.”
One effect of the gatherings is to draw newcomers into activism who haven’t participated in any kind of protest in the past, including those who seem unlikely activists. "I'm surprised," said Carter Thomas, 21, "how many people there are [in Occupy Atlanta] that we don't know."
An example would be the mild-mannered and well-dressed Britts, of Tucker. John Britt, 76, a retired accountant, said he’s done little in the past but watch other demonstrations on television. But something told him to come downtown Friday.
“It seemed like it was time to do something more than sit in the chair and watch,” he said. While a workshop from a group called Copwatch offered instruction on the rights of those being questioned by police, Britt and his wife Suzanne, 71, talked about the lack of national leadership to combat unemployment
“It’s the middle class that’s been losing,” said Suzanne. “Nothing has been done and something needs to be done.”
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