Student March At Occupy Boston

2011-10-22

Two weeks ago (Oct 10 2011), I participated in a student march in Boston affiliated with the Occupy movement. I walked with about 1000 other students without a set path for 3 hours through the streets of downtown Boston. This strategy made the protest visible and just disruptive enough to be seen and heard as we passed. Small crowds of bystanders gathered as we approached, or watched and waved through office building windows. A few drivers honked in support as they waited for us to pass. Overall, the Boston Police were not at all overbearing, only directing blocked traffic. Towards the end, as we reached the entrance of the Charlestown bridge, police lined up forming a firm barrier. Although we sat there for over half an hour, the police did not say a single word, nor explain why they didn't want us to cross the bridge. The crowd debated on whether to attempt to cross the bridge, but was quite divided. Some were indifferent or unsure, some against, some for, and many worried about being arrested. Over time, chunks of the crowd broke off and left, not wanting to confront the police. I noticed that these police barricading the bridge were deliberately making themselves cold and unreadable, wearing serious and unmoving facial expressions and large, dark sunglasses, even though the sun was already beginning to set. I made of point of engaging each officer one at a time by staring into their covered eyes until I got some reaction.

Among the sign protesters carried, I saw some nice messages. I was also impressed with the democratic means of crowd discussion and decision making in which people wishing to speak stood up and passed a symbolic (non-operating) megaphone around while everyone else sat down. To help everyone hear what was said, the crowd repeated each sentence. I look forward to going back and seeing how the movement evolves and gaining a broader perspective on it.