Protesters took to Little Rock streets Saturday for a second time to denounce what they see as an unfair disparity between the wealthy,represented by Wall Street, and the average American struggling on Main Streets around the country.
About 100 protesters from Occupy Little Rock camp in the city-owned lot just east ofthe post office on East Capitol Avenue marched from the River Market through downtown Little Rock. The group was smaller than the one that protested Oct. 15.
On Saturday, marchersstopped at banks along the way to “mourn,” led by Marie Mainard O’Connell who read what she later called her “funeral monologue.”
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mournthe passing of our economy. We stand here at the foot of one of our many killers. Bank of America created toxic assets out of unstable mortgages, but they were too bigto fail. U.S. taxpayers bailed them out ...,” she said as the group paused in front of the bank on Capitol Avenue.
“Bank of America was going to charge fees for the use of our debit cards. They were going to make us pay to use our own money. They were going to lead other banks to seek profit at our expense, but now they will not. They have heard our anger and our outrage ... they are afraid.” Mainard O’Connell then asked for a moment of silence “to remember what our lives were like before the economy crashed.” She said that while observing a moment of silence, protesters might choose to “stare in rage or disgust at the Bank of America.” Though silence was called for, one man screamed out, “It’s not the bank of my America.” Mainard O’Connell, a recent Presbyterian seminary graduate, said she doesn’tsee that she had much choice other than to join the movement.
“For me, it had everything to do with standing in solidarity with what Jesus stands for.
Jesus stands with the poor, the downtrodden and the outcast, those who are the 99 percent,” she said, referring to Americans that the Occupy movement says are oppressed because the richest 1 percent controls the government and financial institutions.
As the group marched Saturday, the main chant was “Banks got bailed out. We got sold out.” The police presence along the march route was considerably less than for the one held Oct. 15, when about 500 protesters marched through downtown Little Rock.
During the earlier march, officers were stationed at almost every block along the route. On Saturday, officers were separated by several blocks, while a few others escorted the group, stopping to direct traffic along the way.
Lt. Terry Hastings, a spokesman for the Little RockPolice Department, said Saturday’s march was uneventful.
“They stopped by the Police Department and visited for a bit, then marched on their way,” he said. “They were very polite.”
The march ended at the group’s camp on East Capitol Avenue. While food was being prepared for a cookout, they heard from David Cortright, director of publicpolicy studies at Notre Dame University.
In town to speak at the Clinton School of Public Service, Cortright said he wanted to stop by the camp to remind the group of the power of peaceful protest to change the world.
He cited as an example the uprising in Egypt earlier this year that saw the fall of that country’s leader, Hosni Mubarak.
“There’s been nothing like this in quite a number of years,” Cortright said. “It’s really had a significant impact, I think, in drawing the attention of the American people.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 17 on 11/06/2011