Talkin bout a Revolution – Occupy Madrid

“When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson

A New World

In case you live under a rock or only through your television, yesterday was October 15th, 2011- Global (R)Evolution Day. Spurred on by the Arab Spring, Spanish Summer, and American Autumn the whole world united in marches, peaceful (minus Roma) demonstrations, and a general outcry of discontent.

Along with an estimated 500,000 in the heart of Madrid I stood holding my bright yellow sign. In large red letters “First they IGNORE you. Then they LAUGH at you. Then they FIGHT you. Then YOU WIN! -Gandhi” on the other side the message was more concise. “Juntos creamos un nuevo mundo” (Together we are creating a new world).

For hours we stood in Puerta de Sol chanting along with the people of my city, my world “que no! que no! que no nos representan!” (no! no! they don’t represent us!). The demonstration was organized by people giving of their time, their precious little resources, and giving all their emotion and energy to forward a movement that is bigger than all of us. United we stood against a global system that is hurting its people more than it is helping them.

Marches were organized at various corners of the city beginning earlier in the day, with the destination being the Puerta de Sol- the center of Madrid. As each group entered Sol bearing their banners, signs, Anonymous masks, and drum beats. We who waited for them cheered on our support and joined in chants; growing ever louder by the minute as more people flooded into the square. The excitation was palpable, and as hundreds of thousands assembled at 8pm we all sat and patiently waited for the main activities to begin.

At 8:30 on the dot the flash mob began. Tens of thousands in the center of the square laid on the ground, overlapping each other. The older lady next to me rested her head on my shoulder, I laid against the people behind me. A human woven mat, suspended in silence. As we were all pretending to be dead, I couldn’t help but think of the people who literally laid down their lives in unnecessary wars, that moment of silence was for them. The poor people who have been sacrificed for the almighty dollar, which is not being used to benefit those they left behind.

Can you hear us now?

After our moment of silence, we came to our knees, with our hands clasped behind our head we remained there again for a moment of silence. As my palms sweat and my heart pounded in my chest, I felt the hearts of those beside me pounding in unison. Blood pumping for change, for a world we want to live in, a world we can live in.

Then with our manos arriba (hands in the air) we shook our hands in a silent scream as the orchestra started up with Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. As the music began, piped through speakers resting atop metro exits resounding through Sol, the expressive dance portion of the protest began on a small stage. I fear my words fail me in describing the beauty of this act. Trust me and spend 3 minutes and 4 seconds of your life to view this. Even if you don’t agree with us, you can’t deny the creativity and talent displayed.

Two young men dressed in top hats and suits with money pinned to their clothes held the reins of six working class people. Men dressed in construction uniforms, sanitation uniforms, and the women with their eyes blinded, their mouths taped over in silence danced blindly and seemingly happy while under the firm hand of the bankers. As the crescendo approached, they removed their blindfolds- opening their eyes and following the nooses around their necks back to the hands which are controlling them. With a firm grace, they removed themselves from the nooses and the bankers stepped down. The scales of justice and an hourglass of time were held in the air and the crowd cheered as they danced peacefully until the end of the song.

The screams, chants, clapping and roar of the crowd in their appreciation and enthusiasm was just as heartening as the dance itself. I looked to my left at the octogenarian who was clearly in physical pain from sitting on the cobblestones for so long, and she had tears in her eyes. I took her hand and squeezed it, realizing the tears in her eyes were mirrored in my own.

After the demonstrations, a friend and I walked the streets to her house. Seeing no reason to put my sign away, I walked down the street with the sign held high over my head. Through the sea of people I received many thumbs ups, applause, and heartfelt smiles. This rapidly changed as we moved away from the center of town into the more posh, affluent area of town. My sign was met with jeers, looks of confusion, and ultimately I was stopped by an older gentleman who said with barely disguised disgust “no. you will not create a new world”. I wish I could say I kept walking, but my indignation took over. “No sir, your generation created this world, and my generation WILL CHANGE IT! It’s our turn to live in the world we want!” Behind me, several women clucked their tongue at the sign and walked away in their extravagant fur coats. Enjoy your comfort now ladies- change is coming.

Super bummed you missed your chance to stand up for a new world? It’s

not too late. Get involved in your area. Spend 5 seconds sharing the above video- spread the word. The news might not be televising what we are doing, but you have the power of social media. Stumble relevant articles, Facebook your friends, Tweet about it.
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