Occupy Movement Pays a Visit to Ferndale

The Occupy movement, an uprising against corporate economic greed and a movement has spread across the country, came to Ferndale on Friday.

Protesters huddled in tight bouquets at the four corners of Nine Mile and Woodward, one of the busiest traffic intersections in Ferndale.

Posters and picket signs sprouted like wildflowers among the clusters of people with messages demanding reform:  “Corporations are not people,” “Wall Street Pimps.”

“It is not about being left of center,” said Ferndale resident Emily Krol. “It’s about being American and human.”

Krol, a graduate law student at Wayne State University, said she was getting the mail for her law firm when she said she was inspired to come and take part of a movement she referred to as “beautiful.”

“I think it is the most organic, current, and beautiful representation of democracy in this country,” said Krol. “This is the most direct form of democracy you see on this corner.”

The Occupy movement, with a web presence at occupywallst.org and media attention the world over, states its call to action at its website this way:

Occupy Wall Street is leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%

The crowds at the Ferndale event included people from different backgrounds, and reasons why they came to the protest: mayors, teachers and students; homeowners and former homeowners, all united in support of the Occupy movement.

County Commissioner Craig Covey, one of the organizers of the , read signs aloud through a megaphone, above the drone of car horns sounding in support.

“Bailout the needy not the greedy,” read Ferndale High School teacher Walter Rakowsky’s picket sign.

Rakowsky said that he was notified of this event by the Teachers Union, though it was not union sponsored, and explained that except for someone who yelled “you suck” as they drove by, he has heard nothing but support.    

“How can you keep asking the 99 percent to keep paying for everything,” said Ferndale resident Deena Kachadoorian, a member of Ferndale’s Beautification Commission.

Her picket sign referred to the return of Guilded Age levels of economic equality, a time that she explained the wealth was in the hands of very few. “That is kind of what is going on here in a sense.”

“These kinds of protests are going to wake (people) up. We are going to be hard to ignore,” said Kachadoorian. “People are going to get very mad.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, an organization devoted to the defense of the Bill of Rights, was invited to the protest by Commissioner Covey in case any conflict needed be reported. The organization handed out guides to remind occupiers of their rights.

“I did not think I was going to cry when I got here,” said Lyn Austin, who lost her home in Southfield after she could no longer afford to make the $1,600 monthly mortgage payments. “(Occupy) is about people coming together, and I am very moved.”   

Occupy Detroit

“I heard that this was going on and I just had to come down,” said Kyle Boyer, head of finance for Occupy Detroit. The movement has taken over Grand Circus Park in downtown Detroit with more than 90 tents, home to many protestors. “Many of us have quit our jobs, homes and relationships.”

Boyer worked at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development helping manage foreclosures, and said seeing countless people lose their homes is part of the reason he joined the Occupy movement.

“I got to see how crooked banks are,” said Boyer, who explained that the short-term goal of the movement in Detroit is to purchase a building where they can become a constant presence. “If there is anything I have learned, it is, when people come together for a common cause, we can do anything.”

Boyer said that occupiers have had to deal with problems including overnight thefts, drugs, and prostitution during their stay in Grand Circus Park, but says he is in the movement for the long haul. The Occupy Detroit Facebook page was at  8783 likes as of mid-Sunday.

“There is nowhere else I’d rather be.”