Occupy Austin...

M38A1

Austin's City Hall where the Occupy movement is currently located. The participants had initially been in this section, until the Police had requested they move to a different area while this was power-washed. When the participants tried to return, they were denied access to this area.



An unidentified 'reader', who with frequency called out "Mike Check" to garner attention, read various articles published on other occupy movements around the country and world.



Larry, and his six month old Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy. Larry said he was more focused on local issues than the entire Occupy movement and was using this venue as his platform for local change.



A recent sign addition to the protest area encampment. A city ordinance might allegedly have been violated in the capture of this image.



When Occupy participants were asked questions they could not adequately answer, those asking were directed to the information and welcome booth. A variety of pamphlets were available for review.



This participant identified herself as Brithe (pronounced Bree). She was quite vocal and active during the afternoon.



The Austin Police department continued their presence periodically. Just around the corner were two paddy wagons.



This participant identified himself as Larry. He said he worked at the local VA facility as confirmed by his photo ID badge. Also, he's sporting new ink related to his belief in the Occupy movement.



This gentleman identified himself as "Billy Jack" and would not confirm or deny his participation in the military. He did however request to wave the flag for a period of time.



This image, combined with the information booth represents the total Occupy movement this afternoon. Based on other reports from around the country, Austin appears to be quite small by comparison.


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Sam

Nice job of reporting along with your images. I think you captured the feeling of a very small group of people in Austin and their attempt at supporting the larger occupy movement. My only comment is I would have liked to be able to read the sign that explained what the occupy movement was about.

Sam

RSL

Pretty good PJ, Scott. I lived in Austin for a couple years in the middle seventies. It's always had its quota of kooks and weirdos. It's a college town after all.

M38A1

Sam wrote: »

Nice job of reporting along with your images. I think you captured the feeling of a very small group of people in Austin and their attempt at supporting the larger occupy movement. My only comment is I would have liked to be able to read the sign that explained what the occupy movement was about.

Sam

Thanks Sam. I've been following all the commentary on titles/footers, street vs PJ and this is what I came up with. I really tried to capture a (dare I say...) unbiased set of images and report what I saw in a neutral fashion. Hopefully, through the images and text those viewing were able to 'experience' Austin's movement on that day and draw their own conclusions. As for the sign, I wrestled with just the sign or the info booth and a smaller sign shot. As you can see, I opted for the bigger view.

RSL wrote: »

Pretty good PJ, Scott. I lived in Austin for a couple years in the middle seventies. It's always had its quota of kooks and weirdos. It's a college town after all.

Russ, thanks for the input as well. I knew they weren't 'street' so I opted for the PJ route as a series. Austin hasn't changed much except become much larger and tech oriented. We came here mid-seventies as well. Still a college town, but there's soooo much more now.

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bfjr

Well Larry sure is dedicated

Bree and the approaching coppers are my pick.

M38A1

bfjr wrote: »

Well Larry sure is dedicated

Bree and the approaching coppers are my pick.

Ben,
Yes, I too thought one must be quite committed to a cause to have ink for it. And Brithe was a hoot to watch. She is the one who explained the mask use to me. Apparently, there was a recent movie called "V for Vendetta" which featured this mask. The mask seems to be the rallying 'face' behind many of the occupations around the country based on the images I've seen. Here's Brithe again. And yes, the mask is on the backside of her head and the tattoo was a bonus I was able to capture.

richardman

The mask is of "Guy Fawkes," who of course tried to blow up the British Parliament and was executed. Each year the Brits still burn his effigy. The hacker group Anonymous took the mask from the V movie and adopted it as one of their "logos," and now the mask is being used by some protesters. To get around the "pay money to big corporation" issue, some people are making them cheap (from China of course) and selling them cheap.

jonh68

The mask comes from a movie based on a graphic novel called v for vendetta written by comic book writer Alan Moore. The graphic novel is better than the movie.