Assembly of Ideas

 

The Scenery                                

I also spotted two young skateboarders, who seem to not have a clue that the summit was taking place.

“I don’t know what’s going on” confessed 18 year old Adrian Gonzalez from Chicago. “I was sitting on my couch, and I came down here to skate and then I saw all these people down here” His fellow skateboarding buddy Mike Modack also eighteen and from Chicago was little bit more conscious. “I’m with the whole cause, it’s pretty tight. I think with our tax money, we can spend it on something different, besides the crap we spend it on; build us a skate park, that’s what we want.” I also met Scott; a 37 year old Peoria Illinois native, who made the trip to Chicago with his wife. “We rolled in on Saturday and kind of walked the street all night; we stay in a motel on Sunday night and were going back home tonight,” he said. Scott seemed to be satisfied with his journey and what the protestors were able to do throughout the three day fest. “I think 20,000 people in the street; is a project accomplished. The police spending a billion dollars on security running around from end to end; I think it is an accomplishment.”

From there I began to walk around to different individuals who were scattered throughout the park. There was this kid writing messages and slogans on the sidewalk with chalk. There were a group of people who started to play on drums, bongos, and buckets; while others dance in a circle to their rhythms. The majority of the participants stood on the steps of monument platform holding banners, flags and makeshifts signs. There were these two guys in the center of the crowd, one had a microphone, and the other had a megaphone. They began to tell their names, they experiences and why they came to protest NATO. “I am Tommy. I’m from Atlanta. I am glad that we were able to come together for what we believe in.” After every sentence, the crowd would repeat what the speaker just said, and when the speaker was finish speaking; someone else from the crowd would get up, grab the microphone and share their story. It was like a big AAA meeting for freedom fighters.

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