The April Fool’s Day Occupy March
By Josh Sager
Food was brought by numerous individuals, music was provided as amusement, and the mobile sign tent allowed people to create their signs for the April fool’s march.
The Occupy movement, while it does not have specific demands, has always promoted accountability to those in power, whether in government or banking, and protecting the rights of the average person. However, on April fool’s day, they decided to give those they usually protest a break and finally promote their side of the argument.
Chants, such as “Education is a right, only for the rich and white” and “Tax the Poor”, accompanied signs proclaiming “Profits before People” and “Protests Never Change a Thing” during this very special march. In the spirit of the ideologically inverted march, the route taken by the protesters was the reverse of a common route, taking them past Faneuil Hall, City Hall, and eventually Downtown Crossing.
At Faneuil hall, a statement was read to the shoppers, declaring the dissolution of the Occupy Boston group and the hiring of several key organizers by banks. Onlookers - including a street performer, on a tall unicycle while carrying bowling pins and a knife – clapped at the end of this statement.
The mood was generally light during this march, and the responses by onlookers were a combination of shock and amusement. While there was a large police presence, there were no incidents with protesters during the march itself – later in the day there were two arrests, but no large police actions.
See BostonOccupier.com for pictures/video from this march
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