Occupy Cork

cork | miscellaneous | opinion/analysis

Wednesday October 19, 2011 11:27

by Occupy Cork - Occupy Cork

South Mall in Cork occupied for a fourth night...

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This is just a post from an eager participant in the Occupy Cork movement - not any kind of official statement, but I hope that other related Occupy Cork stuff can be posted below.
Been down on the ever-metamorphosing site pretty much since Saturday - the atmosphere is fantastic, general assemblies held twice a day, various sub-groups working on security, food, general logistics, talks, workshops, art, outreach, music, media... We've had huge support and interest from passers-by and of course the odd poxy comment just to keep us from getting too enthused with the immanent possibilities of this whole process (much appreciated). The space is open to all and is generating a genuinely vibrant environment for discussion and organisation.
General assemblies are being held each day at 1pm and 6pm and are open to all to contribute - but I'd encourage people to drop in at any time and check out the space and get a feel for this experiment in direct democracy.
A live feed is broadcasting regularly from http://www.livestream.com/occupycork, but if you're anywhere near the vicinity, best just drop down...
One encounter: A lad of about 18 who'd stopped for a look-in asked myself and a friend this evening if we were "always against capitalism or just since ye got poor?" Cocky and all as the question might sound (though by no means to be dismissed in and of itself), for me this was a very articulate hint at how a generation of young people perceive those they see as having reaped the rewards of the Celtic Tiger - the aspirant generation for whom so much appeared possible - while today's 18-year olds have now spent three years living with the deflationary cynicism of the recession and its grim prospects - quite a different formative experience. They deserve better, we all do - we, all the people of this planet, and imagine, if we actually manage to sort this financial mess we might even get back to thinking about how the planet itself is not in the best of shape either.
Too many encounters to recall at this moment, so I'm only hoping this shares a fraction of the experience of the last few days, and hope that this thread will develop with comments and pictures from other participants, passersby, supporters, critics and detractors...
Also, the photos are all ripped from the Occupy Cork facebook page and are from the first couple of hours there on Saturday.