Strategic Picketing
Protesting beach style: The new Occupy Galveston ditches the idea of sleepingbags — and occupation
Occupy Galveston's protests are quintessentially islander.Photo via Occupy Galveston/Facebook
Photo via Occupy Galveston/Facebook
Photo via Occupy Galveston/Facebook
It's a family affair.Photo via Occupy Galveston/Facebook
Photo via Occupy Galveston/Facebook
Occupy Galveston was a few weeks late to the national movement, but the small group of islander protesters has quickly gained ground and credibility. A meet and greet on Oct. 12 and a potluck and sign painting party on Oct. 14 prepared the group for larger work.
The Galveston group's first protest on Oct. 15, along Broadway, saw "a minimum of 34 people" participants throughout the day. Their second, on Saturday in front of Bank of America, brought in at least 40. For an island with a population of less than 50,000, those numbers don't look quite so small.
Still from the looks of things, it's a motley group and a family affair. There's really no "occupation," camping out in sleeping bags on sidewalks overnight. Just mid-morning protests on the weekends. Wake up late, picket for a few hours and go home.
It's clear that, like the other Occupy movements, Occupy Galveston's goals and beliefs are genuine though. Gordon Haire, an organizer of the group, likens this protest to the peace movement in the '60s and '70s — but with a larger participation, and an apparently more varied base.
"There really are so many issues that we and the tea party agree on," Haire told Galveston Daily News. "I think you are seeing the same frustrations of forgetting the little guy and protecting the career politicians by both groups."
The third Occupy Galveston protest will be held this Saturday along the seawall. Sounds like a day at the beach.
Roka Akor has closed.
Courtesy photo