As I approached the masses standing in the shadow of the giant Husky Stadium and the massive University Hospital, I heard music piping out of the PA. I quickly realized it was Bob Dylan’s “Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” which I found apropos since the rain had just started pouring down in a cold, steady stream. But rain does not deter the average Seattleite and this crowd of more than a thousand was no exception. People of all ilk stood wearing rain parkas, holding umbrellas and carrying signs with various sayings like Jobs Not Cuts or Chop From the Top Not from the Mom & Pop. The music continued and Country Joe and the Fish’s War spewed out of the loud speakers followed by a more contemporary song by punk band Anti Flag called 911 for Peace.
Shortly after my arrival, the music faded and people came up to speak to the crowd. People that included union nurses who talked about the dire effects cutting Medicare and Medicaid would have on families and individuals suffering from serious illnesses and students who spoke of the drastic cuts to education. The final speaker was the Rev. Leslie Braxton of the New Beginnings Christian Fellowship who quoted Martin Luther King’s statement: “Any nation that produces beggars needs restructuring.” He then inspired the crowd to march, saying, “We march in the rain and since we’ve been standing in the rain all day, we will paddle together and march for jobs, march for health care, march for rebuilding the American dream. He then encouraged the crowd to shout, “Jobs, not cuts,” as we all marched to the street. Miraculously the steady drizzle stopped as we headed out to march.
As we continued chanting while winding our way to the University Bridge, three helicopters hovered above. The mile plus walk landed us on the University Bridge, which crosses the Ship Canal separating North and South Seattle. We stood occupying the bridge. One group of marchers carried a huge banner bearing the preamble to the Constitution. When they spread it out on the bridge it covered half the bridge’s width and was at least eight feet in length. Several more marchers climbed onto the bridge’s overhead trusses.
Thursday’s march resulted in no arrests and police stayed their distance, only to redirect traffic away from the bridge at the height of rush hour. The police behavior was a far cry from another Occupy action earlier in the week when an 84-year-old woman and a pregnant woman both got pepper sprayed. Seattle’s mayor had to issue a public apology to the 84-year-old woman.
By 6:15 p.m., the protest numbers dwindled to a few hundred and the bridge was reopened without incident.
This protest was the third Occupy protest I participated in, but I am sure it won’t be the last.
