Occupy the Blog (A panel of Occupy Oakland activists during The Great Turning Trip)

 The panel of Occupy Oakland activists was a very interesting stop on our weeklong field trip. I got to see what Occupy was about and what kind of people were in it. I knew Occupy was made up of a lot of different people, but it was really shocking to me to see how diverse they really were .In some way, Occupy has done a lot already for the people it helps, also for the people whom are helping. Learning and hearing everything the panel had to say was great. They spoke of what the movement means to them, how they got into it, and how it affects their lives. 

The Occupy panel was made up of a high school young female, an older female nurse, a father of 3 kids and then 3 or 4 everyday normal people. These people shared their stories. The high school girl made an Occupy group within her school and put together walkouts. The father of 3 joined occupy because he felt as if the school board and government wasn’t helping the education system very much. They closed too many schools and cut funding so he felt like it was his job to step up and help. Another man spoke about how his life before Occupy was all about living what he thought was a negative lifestyle. Since Occupy his life changed dramatically.  Now he has new friends, a new style of dress, a totally new way of seeing things, and is feeling good about helping people. Everyone spoke about how much they love to help and get things done. Over all it was great meeting these people, they gave me a real look of what Occupy is and made up of.