Occupy San Francisco

by Vanessa Coe, Lead Organizer, API Equality- Northern California

All week prior to the rally, I kept telling myself to come up with something clever for a poster. Suddenly, it was 6:30 AM on Wednesday, and it was time to “Foreclose on Wall Street West!” Two of my close friends agreed to join me at the rally, but as I texted to see if either was ready to leave, one replied, “Not going. Too tired. Gonna occupy my bed.” The other felt too sick. With no cute poster or friends, I got on the BART and prepared myself to awkwardly stand alone at the rally. As I climbed out of the tunnel to Market St and saw many familiar faces, I remembered that rallies are mini-reunions. We’re surrounded by the people who we have built movements and community with, the people we were politicized with, and the people who have become our mentors and friends. They are the ones who reaffirm the values we share with their continued political presence in our lives.
I wasn’t sure what to expect. There were hundreds of people chanting, “Black, Brown, Yellow, White, Same Struggle, Same Fight!” I could feel my face contorting into a cringe at the colorblind essentialism. Ironically, it is the ability to speak to so many different issues and communities that grants Occupy Wall Street its validity. I asked everyone I ran into what brought them to this occupation. Each person had different reasons: feeling screwed by the large corporations controlling this country, the hypocrisy of the US government, people losing their homes, or just a desperate need to do something because they had nothing left. Some found it difficult to articulate, not for lack of reason, but because they felt the reasons were so obvious.
Of course when I asked people, they turned the question back on me. Initially, I knew that I came because our communities made the call. Just Cause/Causa Justa and Chinese Progressive Association asked for folks to come out and occupy SF. I believe wholeheartedly in reciprocity. When our communities call, I show up. I have the privilege of being able to show up without consequence. I also know how important it is for API Equality to be present. Queer API same sex couples earn less money than their heterosexual counterparts. As a queer woman of color supporting my partner on my salary, the reasons for why I showed up are more personal than ever. My mother has no other choice than to close down her small business she has struggled with for over ten years. My partner and I just drilled through our savings, and are now living paycheck to paycheck. I am ashamed that I haven’t been able to save more money, because I come from a family that has had less and done more with it. I have been raised to not talk publicly about money problems, but I cannot let my silence overwhelm me. I am the 99%.
As we marched up Sacramento toward the Wells Fargo building, people began to split in different directions. I was confused about where to go. People were beginning to occupy and protest at every entrance of the building. On all four sides, people set up smaller rallies. Like most movements, at times, it appeared disjointed. There are many approaches, but it took each person to shut down the bank that day. We did that. For one day, we were able to shut down Wells Fargo. One woman’s sign read, “Make this movement too big to fail.”
Around 10 AM, I had to head to our office in Chinatown for a meeting. On my way back to the office, I saw men in suits making fun of the rally and the protesters. I could see that they were threatened; their way of life was under attack. In some ways, they felt a need to protect the institutions they believe benefit them. They became quiet when they noticed me with the posters I had collected, and I smiled.