Occupy Somwehere Else

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Since they were chased away by the police, the Occupy St. Louis folks come around Kiener Plaza once in a while but not much. The local natural gas utility's offices are in my building and there was a kerfuffle last Saturday when the management thought that Occupy was going to put on a big demonstration at the door. A memo went out to the tenants late Friday that the building would be on lock-down (what a word!) the following day. The morning shift guard said they were expected any time (of course I go to work on Saturday and of course they let me in). The second shift guard said a cop told him the mob would arrive early evening. Nobody showed up.

Maybe the Occupy forces were not informed. My theory is that it was a prank - someone called the gas company or police and left an anonymous bogus tip. The Occupiers have left a couple of mementos in the Plaza but no one knows what comes next.

Unoccupied

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The police kicked the Occupy St. Louis protesters out of Kiener Plaza Friday night. There was plenty of warning and no violence. About 25 people who passively refused to move were arrested.

I stopped by yesterday afternoon to see what was left. The walkways and amphitheater that had been full of colorful tumult were empty but for a few earnest souls who could not tear themselves away. A couple of puzzling signs were still around and the east side of 7th Street looked like a small home eviction had occurred.

The movement could have meant so much more. My point of view is expressed in a Doonesbury comic strip from a couple of days ago.

Espionage

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Me and the guy from the Post-Dispatch weren't the only ones taking pictures at Occupy St. Louis' march to the Bank of America building. Downtown's office buildings are full of lawyers, bankers and what not. This one got some phone cam shots of the marchers for, I don't know, maybe his scrap book. Now I look something like this when I play my professional role, albeit with less hair, a cheaper suit and scuffed shoes. My knees couldn't possibly do a squat like that. I have to kneel for low angle shots.

But now that I think of it, I was once the object of such observation years ago. I was much younger, thinner and more hirsute, sauntering down Olive Street to some evening engagement. As was the legal fashion of the day, I was wearing a three piece navy pin stripe suit and carrying an attache case. An older African-American man who seemed down on his luck came from the opposite direction, ran his eyes over me and muttered, "Man, you sure enough is a white boy," as we passed.

What goes around comes around. Don't pre-judge guys in suits.

LATE UPDATE: The St. Louis Cardinals win the National League championship, defeating Milwaukee 12 - 6! Utterly improbable. The World Series begins in St. Louis Wednesday night. Your lens in The Lou expects to be there.

Signs Of The Times

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Placards, posters and shirts from Friday's Occupy St. Louis march. Their camp is just a block from my office so I have had a chance to observe them. As time goes on, the more I admire their righteous anger over social justice issues and the more I despair over the naivete of at least some.

Invest in my future? You bet. I'm a student with an uncertain future? Well, which of us wasn't? (I would have been at least in the running for least likely to succeed in my high school class.) Dissent is patriotic? Right on! Wall Street sent all our jobs to China? Take a course in macroeconomics (not to excuse China's exploitation of its own workers).

But that tee shirt is delicious. I don't wish to offend our Republican friends - my father was a Republican and we got along with each other fine in later years - and everyone has the right to his or her opinion. But, um, talk about hitting the nail on the head...

Occupy Everywhere

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Occupy St. Louis was on the move yesterday afternoon. They marched a block down Market Street to the local Bank of America headquarters, made some speeches, then turned around and headed toward the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Some of the protestors carried signs that said "End The Fed" or words to that effect. My view is that's wrong, even naive. If it weren't for the actions of the federal Reserve Bank and its chairman, Ben Bernanke, the nation might be out of business by now. What we need is more regulation of the high-stakes gamblers in the financial sector.

OSL's numbers have become greater and greater. The poster in the bottom photo provoked a lot of reaction. It is a near replica of one of the baseball Cardinals' logos. The redbird here is a bit angrier. The word at the bottom is in the same script as the team name on the logo. Hundreds if not thousands of people passed by it last night on their way from downtown garages to Busch Stadium for the game.

And by the way, the Cards lead Milwaukee 7-1 in the bottom of the 8th as I write this. If we win tonight we take a 3 games to 2 lead in the series. Play resumes in Milwaukee on Sunday. One more win in the final two games and we go to the World Series. It's utterly amazing. Those not familiar with baseball have to trust me on this one.

Thursday Arch Series

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The National League Championship Series resumed in St. Louis last night Our Cardinals squeezed out a 4 - 3 win over Milwaukee and took a 2 - 1 lead in the series. The Occupy St. Louis encampment is near the stadium. The protesters greeted passing baseball fans with a mix of politics and sports.

I Wish It Were So SImple

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I'm writing this late Friday night in a suburb of Chicago. Long drive from STL, bad construction and traffic delays, and now I'm just tired. So, a few more scenes from the Occupy St. Louis encampment in Kiener Plaza. The viewer may draw his or her own conclusions.

Free day in Chicago today. Besides the usual museums, I may go find where the Occupiers hang out in this city. I hear it's by the Board of Trade, the country's major commodities exchange.

But most important of all, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 1 - 0 to clinch the first round of the baseball playoffs. Philadelphia had the best record of all during the regular season. The Cards now advance to the National League Championship Series against Milwaukee. Happy happy joy joy.

Occupied

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I went by Kiener Plaza before going home from work yesterday. The plan was to talk to the Occupy people, hear what they had to say and get some more snaps.

Those with whom I spoke had a general sense of anger at the far right, corporations and the rich, and against the government itself. I share at least the first two but isn't part of the idea to protect the state's ability to do what it can do best, to do what only it can do (like universal health care? hmmm?). Lots of us want a functional state, not see it marginalized. There was much earnestness and a strong sense of social morality, but the locals - perhaps the movement in general - had not yet defined goals and a strategy to achieve them. The sign below suggests a bit of naivete. I sincerely wish these people well but I hope they can move on from idealism to, as they say in Congress, ways and means. There is a very interesting discussion of these questions in today's New York Times here. Some commentators are encouraged by the fact that there is not yet a rigid set of commands.

The earnestness was leavened with art: the guitarist below played oh so sweetly.

Up to Chicago today to cheer on son and heir to the St. Louis Daily Photo fortune, U "R" Us, in Sunday's marathon. Again, that will limit comments. (I'm just full of excuses, aren't I?) We may have some more on this topic tomorrow, followed by the great city of Chicago.