Early Wednesday evening I got to see the Occupy Crowd in person. To change buses, I had to walk through Westlake Plaza and there they were, occupying cobblestone after cobblestone. Before I saw them, I saw parking enforcement trucks, and park maintenance trucks, and television news-mobiles with their swirly narwhal antennas parked bumper to bumper along the curb of Pine Street. As I rounded the corner, I could see private security guards lined up with their backs against the retail stores, and a crowd of easily 200 protestors. There were the usual ubiquitous Seattle drum circle sounds, but not any other discernible crowd activity. 4th Avenue isn't very wide, and cars were struggling to get around orange cones and safety fluorescent vested public employees and police on horseback. I could feel the tension in the air as I realized that the trucks, guards, and cops formed containment walls around the triangular space, and that they might press inward.
So I went up to the cavalry commandeering my transit stop, and asked about where to catch the bus. They directed me half a block away, where another safety vest guy flagged down my connecting bus.
According to local news, 25 people were arrested soon after.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
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