-
1. I am here because I hate the government taking us over like we are puppets and I want to put an end to it. I am here because my children need to eat, need homes and they need education.
-
2. We are here to wake people up to the fact that they don't have to bow down to our system. It's exactly that - OUR system - yet it's beneficial to a very few.
-
3. Don't ride like lightnin' cuz you crash like thunder.
-
4. I am here because of the bailouts of the banks, low number of jobs and screwed-up government.
-
5. I am here for truth in freedom of choice. I am here for love in the morning and drums in the afternoon.
-
6. B.A. in English Lit., no money, no job, so I am here.
-
7. I was illegally evicted from my apartment, and I want to stop this from happening to others.
-
8. I am here because I need to get as much knowledge as I can from this Occupation so I can take it back with me to Atlanta, Georgia. I've been part of the 99% my whole life and I love that people are actually doing something about it.
-
9. I am here to expand the amount of opportunities people have by changing the way the system works.
-
10. I am here because I am homeless and my simply being here proves why the issues around Wall Street need to be worked out.
-
11. I am here to raise awareness about the dangers of the current centralization of power.
-
12. Came for the pizza, stayed for the revolt.
about the Under the Blue Tarp project, including the protestors' reasons for Occupying
Erica McDonald first began photographing the Occupation when the first shelters were erected in Zuccotti Park. “At first there were just a couple, perhaps just Camp France and Camp Namaste,” she recalled. “Namaste was fairly simple, made from cardboard and rope, covered with a tarp; France, which housed a group of friends, was large and more elaborate, with a mattress and a table inside. As time went on, camps became more sophisticated. The day before the raid, in preparation for the weather, Camp Swag Shack was working to completely elevate as many camps as was possible.”
Always getting consent from the tents’ occupiers, Erica would often have to contort her body to fit each dark, confined space and rely on a flashlight to focus her camera.
“Even before the raid, some camps were destroyed, for a number of reasons - weather, deconstructed for cleaning, by the police or taken over by another in the park. Some people built new camps or joined another. I photographed just once in most camps, sometimes for just a minute or two. Sometimes I stayed and enjoyed the company.”
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Erica McDonald is a photographer, educator and curator who lives in New York City. She founded DEVELOP Photo to provide resources for the enrichment of the photojournalism, fine art and documentary photography community. Her work is regularly commissioned for magazines nationally and internationally and has been exhibited worldwide.
Read more about the Under the Blue Tarp project, including the protestors reasons for Occupying.
Photography By Erica McDonald
3 WAYS TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
- Log in to post comments
