View allAll Photos Tagged wereallinthistogether
COVID numbers are continuing to rise around the world. So many people are in lockdown and not able to get out, many have been sick and have had loved ones die, and so many, including me, who haven't been able to hug their families since the beginning of this pandemic. And we have no idea when the end is in sight, or if things will ever get back to "normal."
When I saw this little vine wrapped around a post in a nearby garden, I thought of how much all of us need a hug right about now. So I'm sending out a virtual hug to all of you.
Here's a song from one of my favourite bands, Walk of the Earth, that I think might give you a smile:
Since COVID started infecting people all over the world and many were dying, I started thinking about compassion. We think we have it so hard when we have to stay indoors, or just walking about our neighbourhoods, but compared to the very ill and their families, as well as all the front line workers, we have it good, and we’re safe. I had a couple of days when I guess I could say I felt sorry for myself for not being able to get out, but then I really realized that I’m one of the lucky ones! And I feel so much compassion for all the unlucky ones and those whom this worldwide curse is affecting the most. Even if people aren't sick, so many are experiencing anxiety, panic attacks and fear.
So I decided I wanted to create a piece on compassion. I tried a couple of times over two weeks, but with lighting issues and other problems, I gave up for awhile. But determination took over, and although I know my lighting isn’t the greatest, and this isn’t a technically good photograph, it’s what I wanted to convey. As I only had myself to shoot, I am both people in the image (which had its issues as well), but I didn’t want any faces shown, as this is a universal issue. Having to be in both roles reminded me that we need to have compassion for ourselves as well. I hope that this conveys my feelings in creating this image. We are all in this together and compassion and empathy are what we need.
This is an older image I've had in the back of my mind for a while. It's part of a 15 statue art work at the Rogers Center (sports complex) in Toronto. The pieces are meant to represent all kinds of sports fans: you have the heckler, the father and son, the muscle man, the hungry fan, and others - including some who are unkind.
The diversity of people represented here came to mind again when I heard a popular beach has been closed for the second time because people ignored the Covid-19 restrictions put in place to protect locals as well as visitors themselves. It's worth remembering the pandemic is a long way from being over. We're all in this together and any one person's actions may have a ripple effect on others.
During this difficult times stuck inside my home, I thought I should put my camera to good use. Found some chillies lying around and this is what came out of it.
I thought I'll name this 'We're all in this together' because no matter what colour, size, age, rich or poor, the entire human race is facing this virus together.
Everyone wants to be heard, everyone wants to be seen. We all need a place, we all needs space. Will we learn to share?
Color my world daily - Sunday: blackandwhite
Re-posted because this image seems so pertinent to this COVID time.
All rights reserved. Please do not use or reproduce this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my permission.
Photos of Los Angeles on Lock Down 2020
Long exposure HDR shot around midnight. There were no lights in the tunnel on only natural moon light over the ocean.
While this bit of good advice adorns a wall at Mike's American Grill, I think it should be nailed to the front door of the world...and the sooner the better. Slainte !
I found some old pics which you may, or may not have seen and hope you don't mind seeing them again. These are strange and difficult times for all of us. Stay safe and TGIF🍷💦❤️☂🎈🍻🌷💛
If you've ever been wrongly jailed...
incarcerated by a lie...
or false allegations...
a victim of 'what's supposed to be' the 'justice system'...
you'd never forget it.
As long as you live.
Those who pervert the 'justice' system for personal or political reasons are the most inhumane and heinous individuals walking this earth.
A very smart attorney once told me 'there is no justice system.'
He happens to be a prominent civil rights attorney.
And he's right.
The best we could ever hope for is 'a fair system.'
This guy spoke at the demonstration at Daley Plaza tonight.
He gave a really rousing talk about occupying Anita Alvarez' office across the street.
He was pointing to it when I popped off this shot.
Anita Alvarez is the Cook County State's Attorney.
I've seen a good bit of unfairness in what's supposed to be the 'justice system.'
I don't know if it's Anita's fault...
but the system isn't fair.
Look at when DNA testing freed all of those men from death row in Illinois.
DNA tests said that they couldn't have been the murderers.
Yet they were convicted and awaiting execution by the state.
That alone tells you that something's wrong.
This man's energetic rhetoric was well received by the crowd.
People want a change.
I think most of all they want things to be fair.
we're all in this together
walking the line between faith and fear
this life don't last forever
when you cry, taste the salt in your tears
norah jones sang this at the benefit concert after hurricane katrina, and i've remembered the words ever since.
am thinking a lot lately about us being all in this together ..
and about tasting life .. tasting it all, even the salt in our tears.
and am posting this because my mother's 85th birthday is coming in a few days, she was born 2/22/22 ..
~ happiest birthday to the ever-dear, ever-kind, ever-beautiful mother of my heart ~
i was her little girl .. now she is becoming mine.
that's how life works sometimes with parents... if we're lucky enough to have them around for the whole circle of a lifetime.
many years ago, my mother sent me these words by e.n. sargent from the new yorker magazine.. saying to me, "this is you"..
child, poem and poet
you are most golden..
you are the most golden of all..
now i say them to this precious little girl with the hugs and kisses on her dress .. xox
*
This is the society I want, in a photo. One where every member respects the pace and abilities of its least fortunate. One that doesn't leave people behind, for any reason. We're all on the same team.
Mary Mitchell wrote an article in yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times claiming that there is 'little diversity among ‘Occupy Chicago’ protesters.'
What I just quoted was the headline.
You can lose a minute and a half of your life by reading the article here... www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/8434782-452/little-diversi...
Although the article itself is worthless... it IS interesting that they've got a picture of the demonstrators in the upper left hand corner and MOST of them appear to be minorities...
which completely contradicts the story!
I think Mary Mitchell's gone bat shit crazy!
'On its face, it is difficult to see myself in the 99 percent these protesters claim to represent. They are mostly young, white college students, although a few middle-aged and senior citizens were in the mix' Mary Mitchell said in the article.
If you want to know the truth about what's happening within the movement I'll tell you.
Or better yet...
Getcherself down there and join in on the discussion.
Don't let these people lie to you anymore.
Too much is at stake!
Rise up within yourself and seek the truth.
They're not gonna feed it to you.
I don't know why Mary's take on The Occupation is what it is...
but it ain't real.
The movement itself knows that minorities are often the ones being hardest hit by the inequalities and the lack of opportunities in our present form of capitalism.
Shame on you Mary Mitchell.
Viva la Occupation!
I photographed Erin during a heated exchange with another occupier named Chuck.
Chuck was upset about the number of occupiers arrested at 'The Horse' on two Saturdays past.
Altogether there were almost 400 arrests.
For some reason Chuck felt that Erin was to blame.
He didn't think that the arrests did the movement any good and he was pretty vocal about it.
He's entitled to his opinion.
The movement voted on all of the actions that it's taken.
Everyone arrested made a personal choice to be arrested.
The group was warned both times that the park closed at eleven pm and that anyone remaining there would be arrested.
After the first round of arrests there was a significant outpouring of support for the Occupy Chicago movement.
It's my opinion that the arrests were a 'PR coup.'
Four hundred people chose to be arrested to make a political statement.
There's power in that.
To be arrested for a cause that you believe in, for a non-violent act of civil disobedience is almost a form of communion and those arrested take pride in that.
It brings a certain strength to the group.
It shows how strongly that four hundred people believe in the cause.
Thoreau would approve.
I'm encouraged by the organization that's sprung up as the movement's grown.
I am watching closely how the group will deal with the upcoming brutal weather.
I believe it's going to be the greatest challenge The Occupation's faced so far.
A 'make or break' moment.
It would be a shame to be defeated by the climate of Chicago.
Too much is riding on this.
Viva la Occupation!
There were hundreds of demonstrators occupying the corner of LaSalle and Jackson tonight on the sidewalk at the Bank of America Building.
Tension saturated the protest.
The City of Chicago's had enough.
The police were walking amongst the crowd.
The demonstrators were told to move their things...
the food cart...
signs on the sidewalk...
the drums.
It was like a little game.
The cops would tell them to move it...
or keep moving themselves...
and people would move the stuff around the corner.
Then the police would tell them to move it from there.
The officers were stern about anyone crossing the curb into the street.
I got one of the cops alone and I told him...
'I smell a crackdown.'
He looked me in the eyes and he only nodded his head up and down a few times.
Though the protestors chant 'whose streets' and reply 'our streets'...
the message is being conveyed quietly but effectively.
These streets belong to the City of Chicago.
And the City is about to take them back.
Two things were the physical center of the occupiers...
the food cart where people could grab something to eat or drink... a bottle of water or a cup of coffee...
and the drums.
The drums used to sound loudly day and night.
They gave the whole movement a real pulse.
First the police apparently arrested a couple of people for playing them...
then they said that they couldn't be left on the sidewalk.
In their absence there is a nervous silence.
Whoever determined that the drums should be taken out was genius.
I never gave so much thought to something like the sound of a drum.
But observing the situation tonight I realized that they gave the people a certain power.
That power is largely gone this evening.
And the warmth, sustinence and comraderie of the food cart has been taken away too.
A casual observer might not even notice the crackdown.
It's subtle and well thought out.
A longtime observer of the movement would see the impact immediately.
A sense of doom settled over the group even though the chanting and sign waving continued.
The drums were gone.
Here and there as people gathered in clusters and conversations spilled out onto the sidewalk I couldn't help but notice...
this is a time of crisis for The Occupation.
Though perhaps there was a certain wisdom in a 'leaderless' movement...
now there is no direction to turn to respond quickly and strategically in a strong and unified manner.
The movement began as a proactive and spontaneous demonstration of the grievances and frustration of so many people.
Now without a leader to make quick and strategic decisions it can only respond in a weak and fragmented way to the crackdown by the City.
It has become reactionary.
Here and there people are lobbying others to one course of action or another...
Some say the group needs to resist with greater intensity...
others want an out and out fight.
One demonstrator in an ominous sign had a gas mask strapped to his side at the ready.
Because the movement is openly democratic and all major decisions are voted on publicly at the General Assembly meetings each night at 'The Horse' in the park...
the group is largely incapable of surprise.
The days of the occupation are numbered.
And I believe in the end they could be counted on one's fingers.
The police have had more than thirty days to plan a strategy to rout the occupiers.
And when the police make their move the occupiers will be crushed with overwhelming force.
They will split up and they will be defeated in a matter of minutes.
A battle is not a time for democratic manuevering.
To win a battle a group must be cohesive, united and of one mind.
A victorious army is a product of many becoming one.
Without a strong and capable leader this will never happen.
Those with a propensity for violence and mayhem will sieze the opportunity in the chaos and lash out in the moments before defeat is total and their actions will become the legacy of the group.
What an amazing thing to observe on the ground in the middle of it all.
I see it in the eyes and on the faces of the people who come to have their voices heard.
I see no imminent victory.
Really I'm surprised the city has demonstrated so much patience.
I suppose everyone thought that the weather would be the thing that ended it all.
I'm sure the officials who are gonna have to give the orders hoped the same.
The higher ups are watching.
With the G8 and the Nato Summits coming up in May of 2012 there is a feeling that the City isn't handling this too well and that there's gonna be a prevalence of disorder and chaos then.
Get ready for the 'dry run.'
The end will come swiftly.
The protestors will be arrested and dispersed with precision.
Sure...
some windows will get broken.
Things will be thrown.
Yahoo's will lash out and do stupid shit.
But it's gonna all be over in a couple of minutes.
Occupiers...
it's time to make a move.
And it's gotta be a good one.
How can you avoid a crushing defeat?
Regain your proactivity and get ahead of this.
It's coming whether you're ready or not.
There will be no decisive victory.
How can you transition from this phase into the next?
It's not gonna happen by accident.
It's time to think.
It's time to act.
The noose is tightening and you're being surrounded.
Look at the thuggish behavior of the Illinois State Police last night at the Thompson Center.
Nothing will be accomplished by holding your ground in front of an army that is overwhelming in physical strength and numbers and would perhaps even relish the opportunity to 'tune you up' en masse.
In the face of all this... in the immediate moment... without a dramatic and super-numeric show of support in the form of thousands of reinforcements your epitaph has already been written.
If tommorow more than three thousand show up and link arms and hearts and souls with the movement then everything I've said is off the table... at least for some time.
Sources within the police department say that they could not handle two thousand mass arrests.
Unless there are that many ready to call their bluff it's time to go to 'Plan B.'
Since there is no 'Plan B' someone's gotta do some quick thinkin'.
If the authorities were smart they'd give the group some victory in exchange for giving up the occupation at the present site.
But no one's ever accused the authorities of being smart.
A bully will always respond to any threat to his dominance in a bullyish manner.
Occupiers... prepare to get your asses kicked.
Or...
tone it down...
back off a little...
regroup...
move into the 'second phase.'
I have no idea what the 'second phase' is but it sounds logical.
I mean...
I'm all for standing up for what's right.
Given the right circumstances I could be convinced to dig in and resist until the end.
But wouldn't it be better to live to 'fight' another day?
Gahd I hope I'm completely wrong and I've totally underestimated the courage, the fortitude, the ingenuity and the determination of the group.
Now is the time for deep thought.
If a battle can be won...
I say win it.
If a battle is certain to be disasterous...
I say avoid it.
While the group remains in its present form and sufficient strength...
what should be considered is what the legacy of these five weeks will be.
What victories have been won?
First the dissatisfaction of a large number of people has been demonstrated... and their desire for change has been heard far and wide.
Everyone can see around the world that significant numbers of us are not happy with the way that things are going.
Second...
that the same people are willing to get off of their couches... move away from their televisions and take action to make our world better, more just and level the economic 'playing field.'
Third...
and it's my opinion that the greatest of victories that this movement has succeeded at is driving the discussion of a nation for almost two months.
I think the most amazing thing has been the sheer numbers of people who came to the occupation site and talked to each other about what the world should look like in the future.
This in itself is probably the greatest victory of all.
It means so much.
The way I see it there are two paths at this point...
imminent annihilation of the movement in a crushing defeat by the authorities...
or a strategic and proactive restructuring of the group and it's mission.
Personally... I dig the second path.
I'm not in the mood to be spittin' up all the mucus in my lungs after suckin' down a few too many breaths of tear gas while a Chicago cop tunes me up with the business end of his billyclub while he's all dressed up like a hockey golie.
That shit would give me bad dreams for a while.
Lets keep our core strong... our base vast... our support intact and our occupiers free and healthy and regroup for the winter.
The orginaization can be structured into more local cells under the umbrella of a central organization...
meetings can take place... more supporters recruited... a greater organization achieved over the coming months...
and in the spring or even here and there in the meantime the movement can be called on to pop up with little notice and demonstrate effectively for what it believes to be critical to our future as a group and a people.
It's time to go 'guerilla.'
What began as a peaceful and non-violent movement should grow into a transition as a peaceful and nonviolent movement.
Let us remain true to our principles.
We have shown great commitment, restraint, cohesiveness and respect for the laws and customs of our society even as we criticized it and made clear our desire for great change.
We can make something of that.
Something great.
If without thinking we walk into a battle that cannot be won we will have squandered the support of so many, the victories achieved and the hard work and sacrifice of thousands who believe that the future needs to be rethought and our world changed for the betterment of all.
Or at least the 99%.
Let's not let our friends be brutalized on the street and have our brothers and sisters choking on the tear gas... our signs and banners trampled by the riot police on horseback... and our whole movement summed up by that one video of a guy wearing a bandanna over his face as the tear gas flies and he throws a rock at the police.
We've worked too hard and come too far for that.
We're better and we're smarter and we're more grown up.
We have made our voices heard over the last five weeks.
Let's move into the future where we can achieve something lasting and powerful.
Let our legacy reflect the justice and equality and the better society that we seek and the intelligence and comraderie which with we sought it.
Together and strong we can change the world with our motivation, determination, intelligence and patience.
Fragmented and crushed the last we will be seen or heard from is on the news on the day of our demise.
This is the moment that will determine the future of our movement.
We need to be wise... stay strong... remain united and make the most of this moment.
We stand for something great.
We need to move forward with honor and strength and continue to challenge the status quo.
The moment is here.
This beautiful 6-7 ft tall bronze sculpture was located in the garden overlooking Oak Creek at our hotel in Sedona. The town features lots of public art and is a haven for artists of all types.
Seems a fitting message right now - we all need to lend a hand to those who are suffering from the unfathomable disaster in Japan. None of us are exempt from such tragedy, and we live in a connected world in which we are all related.
'Hatred never ceases through hatred in this world.
Only by love does hated cease.
This is an ancient natural law.' ~ The Buddha (Dhammapada)
The Buddhist Peace Fellowship showed up to support the occupation tonight.
When they got there they quietly gathered in a line and did this 'slow march' in kind of a circle on the sidewalk.
They didn't talk to anyone.
They didn't make a scene.
They marched the slow march and I saw them and I photographed this man.
I gotta say...
Buddhism's always appealed to me.
Just watching these guys do that slow meditative march brought a certain peace to me inside.
I pondered it.
These guys are on to something.
My conclusion?
If you want peace in the world...
you gotta start with peace within yourself.
Thanks for the love guys!
You can learn more about the Buddhist Peace Fellowship at www.bpf.org
Pink tulips underneath an apple tree. The leaning trunk of the tree and the arrangement of the leaning tulips in order of height reminded me of falling dominoes! :-)
I ran into Joffre Stewart at the Occupy Chicago demonstration.
The first time I met Joffre...
I gotta admit I thought he might be a crazy homeless guy ranting...
certainly fascinating looking too and a good subject for a street shot.
I photographed Joffre a few months ago at Jazz Fest when he handed me a leaflet there.
When I got home and googled him I was pretty amazed by the man's fascinating life story.
Within minutes of posting his picture NPR contacted me to ask about it and him.
When we met at Occupy I was ready to talk to him on a much more knowledgeable basis.
Joffre's got some radical political views.
They probably make a lot of people uncomfortable.
They were in fact too radical for most of the Occupy crowd.
There's a litmus test for you.
He's against giving military aid to Israel and for that Joffre's been labled 'anti-semitic.'
I point blank asked him about that.
'Some people say you're anti-semitic Joffre... what do you think about that?'
Joffre shrugged...
then he explained to me that he's anti-Zionist.
I gotta do some google work on that one.
Joffre doesn't think that we should support the state of Israel with military aid.
When he was explaining this to me a young revolutionary approached and tried to run Joffre off...
He told me and everyone within earshot that Joffre shouldn't be there... that he was racist and anti-semitic... that he would discredit the movement.
Personally... I don't agree with about 95% of Joffre's political views.
Maybe 98%.
We both think government should be smaller... I think it should be significantly smaller... as a non-violent anarchist Joffre would like to see it nonexistant.
I find the guy fascinating though.
We both dig Thoreau.
And you could just tell he's got a good heart and a soft soul.
We had a great talk.
It ended with a hug, a handshake, a pat on the back and another hug.
That sort of got me discredited within the movement.
I didn't care though.
I judge people on their actions... not their beliefs.
If only these people knew who Joffre was and the experience that he could bring to the movement... they would have embraced the man even if they did distance themselves from his controversial political views.
Joffre really liked the pictures I shot... they lit the guy up...
but he doesn't touch a computer so I can't get him the shots that way.
He was kind of mind-bent when I told him how many people saw his picture after NPR made it their Picture of the Day on their website.
I'll find another way to get him these images.
You can see my earlier shots of Joffre right HERE
Wouldn't it be nice if the people had a Superhero?
Last night was completely peaceful.
No one was arrested.
The drums are back.
The food cart is back.
At the 7pm General Assembly at 'The Horse' the group reaffirmed it's dedication to nonviolence and there was a lot of discussion about moving into the second phase of Occupy.
There were none of the tensions of the night before.
I think that might have been a warning to behave on this night.
Early in the day the group said that they weren't going to try and occupy Grant Park on Saturday night and that they didn't want anyone to get arrested.
That seemed to establish a kind of a 'truce.'
Hundreds of people demonstrated in the financial district and marched to Grant Park.
There was a lot of love and optimism in the group.
I spoke with some officers who assured me that everything was cool.
I told them about the behavior of the officers in the financial district the night before... how it was really pissing a lot of people off... how it really agitated the demonstrators.
They said that there was no order to crackdown coming from above.
There was no anger Saturday night in the mass over the way that we were being treated by the police.
The focus seemed to be on the future.
Speakers came from several states to talk to the group.
To talk about what they were doing.
To talk about where it all should go.
In some cities they're occupying vacant or abandoned buildings.
We all know we can gather en masse...
we know we can stand on a street corner carrying signs.
Now the question is 'what can we do?'
The USA just re-elected Barack Obama to four more years as president. Let's work together to help him get his work done. After all, we're all in this together!
A quote from our P.M. David Cameron…of course some poor sods are more "in it" than others!
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Kiln-fired stained glass panel 355mm diam
I've got to give a lot of these younger kids credit.
They know how whack the future's going to be unless they do something about it now.
Opportunities are slim.
They're trying to figure out what it is that they can do to make this a better world.
They deserve it.
They deserve a chance to make a better life.
They weren't the ones that messed everything up.
Kids are graduating with college degrees and a pile of debt they'll probably never be able to pay back because they're lucky to get a job behind a cash register.
They've got time on their hands.
Time for revolution.
This guy's not a rock thrower or an anarchist... he's actually a pretty smart person.
He's not wearing that mask because he's going to commit a crime or do something stupid.
He's wearing it because it's a symbol.
In it he becomes everyman.
Right now the youth are concerned.
And that's a wonderful and inspiring thing to see.
If nothing changes though...
they're gonna get frustrated and angry.
Change is coming.
One way or another.
{Tracey Clark's Picture the Holidays: 9/31, It's a Sign}
This photo breaks a lot of rules, and I am not sure it works. It does, however, fit the Picture the Holidays prompt.
My daughters are in the school production of High School Musical, so these words have special meaning to our family right now.
I had just shot the Buddhists doing their 'slow march' and I sat down against one of the columns of the Bank of America where the Occupy Chicago demonstration's going on.
Mendee was sitting next to me and I turned the camera on her and shot a closeup.
She was cool about it and she started asking me a few questions about the photography I do and the camera that I was using.
She said she'd always been interested in photography.
I love sharing this passion with people and I handed Mendee my camera and told her to have at it.
She'd watched me shoot a few people.
Mendee's hooked on street photography now.
It was pretty cool to watch how she got into it... how it affected her... the high that it gave her.
She was off and running.
I watched her really get in there and shoot people close up.
She'd come back with the camera and we'd look at the shots she'd just taken and I'd give her some advice and she'd do it again...
She took some pretty good shots.
I told her to sell a kidney and pick herself up a D300.
She took a shot of one guy and he kinda blew up on her.
He told her that what she just did was illegal and he got really hot about it.
I told him that she had every right to take his picture and of course he disagreed quite forcefully and directed a little bit of anger towards Mendee.
I stood close by just in case the guy crossed the line but Mendee handled him really well.
She didn't need my help.
He said he was 'friends' with the 'First District Commander' and that the police were on the way.
The guy was really worked up.
I could envision him going for the camera so I took it from her and I told him that if he cooled off and asked nicely in a semi-respectable way that I'd delete his picture.
He just couldn't do that.
So I wouldn't delete them.
He told us the police would be there soon and he walked away and started some shit with other people.
It seemed like he was an agitator of some kind.
I know that he wasn't a part of the movement and I'd never seen him before.
I know you wanna see his picture...
Mendee wasn't discouraged... she was actually kinda hopped up about it.
I think that if that girl gets a decent camera in her hands you're gonna see some great street shootin'.
It was another night of great conversations with some really passionate people who wanna see the world change.
Viva la Occupation!
A lot of people feel left out of the process.
That's why they're taking to the streets.
It's been really interesting to watch it all go down.
I'll tell you what...
unless you've been there and spent some time with the movement...
you're not getting the real story from the media.
The discussion goes on.
I got the lyrics for this High School Musical song from this website.
Song: We're All in This Together
Together, together, together everyone
Together, together, come on lets have some fun
Together, were there for each other every time
Together together come on lets do this right
Here and now its time for celebration
I finally figured it out (yeah yeah)
That all our dreams have no limitations
That's what its all about(yeah yeah)
Everyone is special in their own way
We make each other strong (we make each other strong)
Were not the same
Were different in a good way
Together's where we belong
We're all in this together
Once we know
That we are
We're all stars
And we see that
We're all in this together
And it shows
When we stand
Hand in hand
Make our dreams come true
Together, together, together everyone
Together, together, come on lets have some fun
Together, were there for each other every time
Together together come on lets do this right
We're all here
and speaking out with one voice
we're going to rock the house (YEAH YEAH!)
the party's on now everybody make some noise
come on scream and shout
We've arrived becuase we stuck together
Champions one and all
We're all in this together
Once we know
That we are
We're all stars
And we see that
We're all in this together
And it shows
When we stand
Hand in hand
Make our dreams come
We're all in this together
When we reach
We can fly
Know inside
We can make it
We're all in this toghether
Once we see
Theres a chance
That we have
And we take it
Wild cats sing along
Yeah, you really got it goin' on
Wild cats in the house
Everybody say it now
Wild cats everywhere
Wave your hands up in the air
That's the way we do it
Lets get to it
Time to show the world
We're all in this together
Once we know
That we are
We're all stars
And we see that
We're all in this together
And it shows
When we stand
Hand in hand
Make our dreams come true
We're all in this together
When we reach
We can fly
Know inside
We can make it
We're all in this together
Once we see
Theres a chance
That we have
And we take it
Wild cats everywhere
Wave your hands up in the air
That's the way we do it
Let's get to it
Come on everyone!
This is 'the moment.'
I'd get a lot more shots if I didn't engage in so many deep conversations.
But then I would get far fewer images that show the 'human connection' as it happens.
We were talking about some things that concerned both of us.
That mutual concern fostered this connection.
You can see it in the picture.
I'm pretty sure you can 'feel' it when you look at this picture.
I know I can...
but I'm biased...
I was there.
I hope you're feelin' the love today.
I hope you're making the same connections in your life.
The human being is a social animal.
Get out there and make it happen!
Viva la Revolution!
I saw this guy takin' a lean in the middle of it all.
He had a sparkle in his eye.
He seemed excited...
I mean really happy to be right where he was at that moment.
I walked up to him and took four quick shots.
I asked him what he thought about it all.
He said he was really proud of these guys and what they were doing.
He said that he thought this was a good thing.
The guy had that look...
like someone who'd waited a long time for this moment.
I agreed with what he said and we acknowledged each other as fellow human beings...
and I let him continue to enjoy the moment.
He seemed to have a deeply personal reason for wanting to be there...
it wasn't to hold a sign...
it wasn't to talk...
it seemed deeper than that.
When Ashley heard about all of the arrests last Saturday she was compelled to drive up to Chicago from St. Louis.
She feels a kinship with the demonstrators here.
She said that she feels like she 'belongs here'...
with the protestors.
There's something calling Ashley.
It wasn't hard to tell that her heart is with this movement.
Something's happening here and as a journalism student Ashley would like to hear the story first hand.
She's concerned about the state of affairs our civilization is in.
Deeply concerned.
She wants to do what she can to make this a better world.
I could tell throughout our conversation that she's looking for her path.
She's looking at the future with her eyes wide open.
We talked about so many things there at the General Assembly by The Horse.
Ashley's worried about graduating with student debt and the fact that opportunities in this economy are slim.
We talked about how somehow the 'playing field needs to be levelled.'
I really enjoyed our conversation and the perspective that Ashley shared with me today.
She could have been out on a Friday night clubbing or drinking and partying it up but at a great effort she made her way here to see what 'Occupy Chicago' was all about.
She stood in the cold until she was shivering.
She wonders where she'll be able to make a difference.
Ashley was one person among many there who wants to see things change.
She seems to want to be a part of something bigger than her self.
I gotta feelin' Ashley's gonna do something about it.
The thing that's really cool about The Occupation is the conversations that go down there.
People are talking about some pretty significant stuff.
They're talking about the future.
Our future.
They're open to anyone's opinion.
Even if you disagree with the movement on just about everything...
if you found yourself on the sidewalk there you'd be impressed.
The talks I've had there have reinstilled faith in me that people give a shit.
There's a lot of love on that corner.
There's a lot of heart.
There's a lot of hope.
You should join the discussion.
I've been on the ground shooting this movement since it was just a few days old.
People come and go.
Opinions are expressed and listened to and considered by the group.
Ideas wax and wane.
The movement's been criticized for not having a concrete agenda.
It's criticized for not having a specific list of demands.
Or publicly identified 'leaders.'
It's been called loosely structured and ragtag.
So what?
The revolutionaries that kicked King George outta here had to spend a lot of time in taverns and other places talking with each other and developing their agenda.
It probably took months or even years.
None of them agreed on shit at the beginning.
Except that they wanted change enough to take up arms and possibly give their lives for it.
Even at the end they were still bickering.
By some miracle they kicked George's ass all the way back to England.
Barely.
And the weather almost decimated them too.
I see so many similiarities in this movement.
It's the conversations and the discussions and the teach ins on the sidewalks and the plaza that are the beauty of what's going on.
The founding fathers went through the same thing.
When it was all done they wanted to make George Washington the King of the Colonies!
After all that bad shit they said about kings!
Even George Washington called bullshit on that.
He was a religious man and he said that there was only one true king...
but if the people wanted him as a leader he would 'preside' over the fledgling nation.
That's how he became our first President.
Why'd they dress up like indians... I mean Native Americans... when they went and dumped all that tea into the harbor?
And the 'civilized' British called us terrorists for not standing shoulder to shoulder in lines to fight... they looked with contempt on the revolutionaries hiding behind trees when they fired on them... they said that our style of 'guerilla warfare' was dishonerable!
I heard Benjamin Franklin... the same man who wrote, published and sold a book on flatulence called 'A Treatise on Farting' went to France towards the end of the revolution and he played chess with King Louis...
the first thing he did was knock the two kings off the board.
He told King Louis 'in America we have no need for kings.'
That was some balls right there.
And he was there to ask the King for some money!
I dig the founding fathers...
but there were some hypocrisies in their beliefs.
All men were created equal with certain inalienable rights they said...
except for those slaves they owned.
And no one even thought for a second that women should be allowed to vote.
Democracy can be an awkward thing.
But good principles are what the Occupy movement needs.
Solid and strong principles.
Forget a plan or a list of demands.
The movement will be mired down in discussing that for months.
And the media doesn't have that kind of attention span.
What we need to do is get together and identify the principles we stand for.
We do that and then everything will flow right out of those.
Lets start talking about principles...
not economic complexities or legislative 'solutions.'
What are the principles on which this movement stands?
I believe we all think that the economic 'playing field' needs to be levelled.
That special interests and big money control politics in the republic.
This country was founded on some pretty amazing principles.
We've lost sight of some of them.
Situations have arisen that the founders couldn't have foreseen.
Principles should be the very center of the movement.
Everything else will spring from right and just principles naturally.
Forget 'what' we want...
what do we stand for?
Where is our 'constitution?'
The answers we seek as a movement will come from the principles we identify as being true to our beliefs and motivations.
Let's put our hearts and our souls into it.
Let's make this a 'principle centered' movement.
Wisely chosen solid principles will be a strength unparalleled.
Viva la Occupation!