All You Need is Occupy

This morning when the kids announced they were bored I told them to design a game. (They had been watching Tabletop over my shoulder yesterday, and thought it was hilarious. "Harpies! Shrieking Geeks!" ProtestKid yelled. "Can I be a shrieking geek?"... "No," we said, because we are the meanest parents ever...)

I was surprised when they dismissed Star Wars, Robots and Fairies as suitable game topics. "Occupy?" I hazarded... "Yes!"

LittleMan scavenged the dice from another game, ProtestKid got out the colored pencils.

The game design started, of course, at the Start. Liberty Square? Tunisia? Who knows what the start truly was... ;)

Jail, Feed the Poor, and Narrow Escape soon followed. The "safe area", with its yellow balloons, is particularly sweet.(Edited to add: and now, Kettling Nets! Move back two spaces!)

But I think my favorite squares are the "March" squares: a friend can move from anywhere-- including jail-- to join you in the march. (The other way to escape imprisonment is if a friend passes you while you are stuck in jail. Then you go forward one space to "narrow escape". Still working on refining it... maybe you can call the NLG and make bail if you roll the right number?) (Edited to add: yes, a 6 or a 1 or whatever-- but only if every other player is also in jail.)

One thing we *did* settle on was the name. ProtestKid's first choice was "Occupy Police Escape" my first choice was "Solidarity March"... but in the end, I think he chose the best name:

All you need is Occupy.

Oh, and here's a few more shots of the board and pieces. Do you prefer pedal or petal power?

(If there are any other icons that you think should go on the teeny-tiny tiny tents, please let me know and I'll add them. The more the merrier. Occupy Every Space!)

Argh and solidarity tokens

I'm feeling frustrated that I can't do more, right now. Between summer vacation and twisted ankle, my physical forms of protest (or even gardening. My poor tomatoes) are severely curtailed.

So... if you're not seeing much of me, that's why.

I'm trying to buck myself up by looking ahead to Sept 17th, when LittleMan and ProtestKid will be safely in school and I can march and witness more safely.

Before the May 1st protests, I acknowledged that a lot of people I know and love wanted to be there in the streets but couldn't risk leaving home and work. I suggested people make and send tokens to me and I promised to wear them that day, so they could be present in some way.

Several people said Yes, they wanted to participate, but then life got in the way and that didn't happen.

But hey look, I'm stuck on my butt and don't have any more kerchiefs to make and I really want to be making things for Occupy.

So let's make it super easy: you tell me what you would like me to make to symbolize you and your support of Occupy Wall Street, and I'll (do my best to) make it and wear it September 17th. Preferably fabric/badge type stuff, but I'm flexible and enjoy a challenge.

Or, if you prefer, tell me what you'd like me to make and I'll send it to you so you can wear something in solidarity with OWS in your own life on September 17th. (Kerchiefs are fun, but I can probably make more subtle stuff than that on request...)

Cheers,
alia

Solidarity Sunday

We're on vacation, so I haven't been able to do any active actions-- no Summer Disobedience School, no Occupy the Citi, No standing outside Trinity with a cardboard sign and stalwart expression. Hence the lack of dramatic posts.

Also, because my cell phone can't get a signal, no posting photos of the amazing pictures my kids have been drawing for Mark Adams.

How can I brag properly without them?

We've been sending letters almost daily since we got his mailing address in jail. About two weeks of daily cards, now, with pictures from ProtestKid and LittleMan (Who has asked me to call him Protest4 because he is 4 years old. Is there a prouder ProtestMom out there? I don't think so...) in each one. I've been nervous, wondering if I was addressing them correctly or if they would confiscate the kids' drawings.

But just the other morning I stumbled across http://supportmarkadams.wordpress.com/ and started to tear up:

"He’s received quite a bit of written correspondence – so much, in fact, that the corrections officers remarked to him that he was getting mail “like Lil Wayne did when he was in Rikers!” Some of the letters came from quite a distance, and Mark said he was particularly tickled by some childrens’ drawings of the D17 courtroom – a big round judge, and Mark sitting on a bench with a big beard."

That's my boy!

... And that's all, really. On vacation. Writing letters. Sand everywhere. Be back soon.