Occupy Orlando! (pic heavy)

[DirkGently]

City officials reportedly assumed there would be little turnout and no continuing occupation. Not so much.

1,500+ participants per OPD, who says it was the largest turnout for any activist event downtown, ever. DUers were among the organizers. The march past the banks stretched for blocks and lead the local news.

Marches continuing downtown all night.

Protesters have reached a compromise with the police and the city to occupy a field near the park where the event was held. To be continued ...





Grayson was there





























Did I mention? The park was directly adjacent to the Chamber of Commerce building. We were advised the city has charged them $1 / year rent. Yet they were disinclined to unlock the doors to the ground floor to let even children or the elderly or disabled use the restrooms. Until the hotel across the street graciously granted access, it was about 1/4 mile walk to the nearest facilities.


Everyone get out there somewhere if you can. :)

[Rhiannon12866]

1. K&R! Great pix!!!

Thanks so much for sharing these with us! :applause: :hi:

[DirkGently]

6. My pleasure. It was a beautiful day. And it ain't over.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. It did look beautiful, both the weather and the turnout!

Not to mention Alan Grayson! :woohoo: Wishing you all the best! :hi:

[Fire Walk With Me]

2. "Suck my debt"... :) K&R!

[midnight]

3. Exactly.... K&R

[DirkGently]

4. She works two jobs & volunteered for the first-aid / food station.

So many many extremely decent & cool people out there. No one complaining. Just getting it done.

[Fire Walk With Me]

5. Please give her a hug and tell he she's responsible for several grins. Thanks for the pics!

[Mojorabbit]

8. Thanks so much for being there

I had my signs made up and ready to go but was flattened by a flare of MS. I was sooo bummed out all day.

[nashville_brook]

9. don't worry -- Nov 5 is the next "planned" march, but looks like the occupation

is going to grow from now until then. take care of yourself, and know you'll have plenty of opportunity in the coming weeks -- :)

there were more than 100 campers last night -- in a compromise with the city they were allowed to stay in adjacent field and volunteers took turns occupying the sidewalk *all night long.* these are amaaaaaazing young people. smart, dedicated, organized. i'm blown away by how things came off -- planning for the speeches to occur along the march (at city hall and BOA, and Lynx) was done in the morning of the event -- the speakers marched, stopping at their spot with bullhorns, and repeated their message as the crowd passed. it worked like magic. we had over 200 speakers on the open mic thruout the day.

this is just going to get bigger.

don't miss Scott Maxwell's piece in the Sentinel today!


Occupy This: Your own mind. Don't let others think for you
Don't dismiss Occupy Orlando or try to pigeonhole the movement

Snare drums banged. The voice of a fed-up grandmother cackled through a megaphone. And 72-year-old Bill Schikora took it all in.

Schikora is a Lexus-driving retired insurance salesman who owns two homes and three golf carts. He's not exactly the posterchild of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement.
And yet on Saturday morning, he was. Quite literally. His poster: "Tax me."

more at link.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/views/os-scott-maxwell-occupy-orlando-101611-20111015,0,46714.column

[DirkGently]

12. Maxwell really gets it. Kind of unusual for the O Sentinel.

[DirkGently]

10. Feel better, Mojo. It's still going on (and hopefully will continue )should things improve.

And I hope that's soon for you. :)

[Scurrilous]

11. K & R

:thumbsup: