http://news.radio.com/2013/10/29/walking-the-walk-remembering-lou-reeds-political-action-at-occupy-wall-street/
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When the 4,000 opera-goers came out onto the plaza, they found a cordon of police stood on the steps monitoring the large, peaceful assembly, which was held back by the long metal bar. As the audience approached we shouted, “Satyagraha is your life,” and asked “Join us.” (A video shot by the classical critic from the New Yorker, Alex Ross, is here.) The audience stood frozen and the police around them at attention.
Then one person walked down the steps. He reached us, and nothing happened to him. A couple followed, then a few more. Soon enough there were hundreds of opera-goers on the other side of the barricades. First they stood, but then some began to climb over the barricades to join us on the sidewalk. Then others began to grab the barricades themselves and shake them, trying to pry them loose. Hands rushed to lift and help twist, and as I was in the front I was one to help lift.
Over my hand came a huge, gnarled hand that looked like it should be attached to a Hobbit. Startled, I looked up, and it was connected to Lou Reed, who was lifting the barricade from the other side. We worked together to lift and turn the barricade, as some slipped under and others watched. Eventually, we got the barricade loose and the two groups became one together on the street.
We then held the assembly, with people taking turns talking about why they supported occupy or talking about their struggles. About an hour after stack was open, after the messages of Phillip Glass, a laid-off City Opera singer, Reed’s wife Laurie Anderson, a seasoned ACT UP activist, and an ashamed concertgoer, Lou Reed took his turn on the human mic. He said: “I’m a musician in New York. I’ve played all over. I was born in Brooklyn. But I’ve never been more ashamed than to see the barricades tonight. The police are our army. I want to be friends with them. I want to occupy Wall Street. I support it in each and every way. I’m proud to be part of this. Thank you.” His statement was broken up into fragments to be repeated in two waves across the crowd. As they repeated his words, he smiled.
While I consider Reed’s work with Amnesty International, AIDS charities, tsunami victims and other charities deeply valuable, I cherish most this moment of his political action. I saw Reed put the force of action behind his words. While many celebrities endorse positive change, they tend to shy away from public work against corrupt power. Still fewer will risk arrest, jeopardize their own safety, or leave the confines of the stage or their pocketbook to take direct action against injustice.
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