Image Asheville

Occupy Wall Street is a protest against (among other things) corporate influence in America, which began in New York City on September 17, 2011.  It was originally attended by around 1,000 protestors and has continued with varying numbers up to this day.  It has also inspired sister protests across the nation.  Today, on October 1, protests began in Asheville, NC.  The protestors vow to continue their occupation until their demands are met.

Since their demands are varied, I interviewed a few of the protestors to get an idea of what they are most interested in.  Here are the results of those short interviews.

*** Update *** I’ve returned to the Occupy Asheville protest, and have another round of photos and interviews: Occupy Asheville, Day 5.

This is Sarah, whose enthusiasm helped with outreach;  the times that I saw her she was at the edge of the park, engaging with passerbys.

When asked why she was attending, she gave this summary:

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Here is Eric Helsley creating his sign, which read “WE REALLY WANT CHANGE”.   When asked his reason for attending, he stated:

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Franscheca told me that this was an extension of the Arab Spring, that it started in Egypt.

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This is Kris.  He told me his black flag was a symbol of the anarchist movement, and that it represented a nationless world, because it is blank.  He is concerned about extreme concentration of weath.

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This is “Quasi Periodic”, and when asked why he came to the rally, he simply told me he came to “Make a better world”.

This is Sharon Miracle, and she is disillusioned with the ability to reach the american dream.

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This is Martin.  He is concerned about the current state of democracy.

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James is most concerned with the Troy Davis case, and is opposed to capital punishment. He has since researched other movements that are active inside the Occupy Wall Street movement, and has become part of the rally.

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Ben Silverman feels that his generation has nothing to look forward to currently, due to a broken system.  He also says that money goes to wars and bailouts instead of education, healthcare, jobs, or the environment.

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Summer is opposed to corporations being considered people by the law.

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This is Riley.  He is at the Occupy Wall Street rally primarily because he is opposed to war.

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This is Jonathan O’Neil Wilson,  His sign read, “Scientific Reasoning in Governance”, and is most concerned with an unsustainable economic system.

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This is Granville Angel, a Vietnam vet, who says he didn’t serve to promote the the corporate economy over the American people.

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This is Scott Stewart.  Scott feels that in the end, we all want to live in peace.

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