Occupy Chicago - A Picture of Diversity

I'm not sure if it is truly diversity or a case of protest schizophrenia. On a fine October day I decided to go to the  Occupy Chicago meeting place, where the Board of Trade sits opposite the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, to see for myself.  The group was small - under 100 people- and clearly diverse in terms of age, ethnicity and walk of life.  Deciding not to judge a book by its cover, I approached several in the group to ask why they were there and to what end.  I suggested to a woman about my age, dressed in a stunning, expensive outfit, that I wasn't able to sort out the major theme.  She responded by handing me a fresh- off- the- press flier stating that the one message should be campaign finance reform.  It condems Citizens United and cites numerous elections that have been "bought" by that group and other special interest groups consisting of wealthy corporations and especially financial institutions.

I then approached two young women who could have been my granddaughters.  One turned out to be a  high school student - done for the day - and the other a college student who didn't have class until 4:00.  I asked them what the 99% means. The high school student cited Marx- that in the worst economic times the 99% control 1% of the the wealth and vice versa.  I am not a reader of Marx. The only similar quote I found on Google was during the Gore/Bush debates in 2000.   I was impressed that a  high school student was articulate and even knew the name Karl Marx.  They also said they were tired of banks charging them money to use their money and the fact that jobs are scarce.

The group was having a good time, being respectful to the police and the passersby, and for the most part sincere.  I suspect the employees of the Ann Taylor shop behind the insessant drumming were also sincere in their anger.  There were a few colorful weirdo people and lot of colorful signs.    Interesting to note that most of the people who honked  to "Indict Banksters" were driving cabs and buses.

I'm still not sure what they're all about - but they are surely not the great homeless, lawless, unwashed mob that seems to have infiltrated  Occupy groups in other cities.  For once, The Chicago Way is a good way.