Saturday, December 3, 2011

Kids, parents, members of Veterans for Peace, and other Asheville Occupiers gathered on a sunny December afternoon to Occupy the Future at Pritchard Park.  Around 75 to 100 people participated in an afternoon of food, fun, and community spirit.  There were activities for kids of all ages, including sign making, face painting, four square, a cupcake walk, and rides on a four-wheeled scooter.  (And, as is usually the case in Pritchard Park, there were a few hula hoops.)

Folks were on hand with a basket of toys for small children, as well as hand-made hair feather pieces and Occupytogether.org iron-on badges for “kids” of all ages.  Several teenagers amplified the spirit of the day with a Radical Cheer rally led by Sparrow, one of the event’s organizers.  One of the cheers was  aimed at mindless consumer spending:  “We say stop!  Enough!  Do you really need that stuff?  You spend. And spend.  Consume consume until the end!”

Occupy the Future is just one example of how this movement combines “conventional protest” with a positive celebration of the wider community’s ability to build a better world, with the help of the next generation.  In the words of the Radical Cheerleaders, “Occupy the Future, while learning from the past. Occupy the Present–this movement’s gonna last!”