Sunday, October 23, 2011

Day of the Living Dead

The "Occupy" types (a.k. the unemployed) hooked up with the zombies (a.k.a. the undead) yesterday, and a good time was had by all. This "you go, guys" report is from the Toronto Star (of course):
One group united by injustice, the other by barely hinged limbs, both with the ability to scare and delight people as they slowly walk down the street.

A cursory glance at Occupy Toronto placards will tell you they are against neo-liberalism, privatization, union-busting, student debt, bleak job prospects, the wage system, destruction of the environment, militarism, colonialism, social service cuts, corporate bailouts, Police Chief Bill Blair, Mayor Rob Ford, greedy bastards screwing them, the absence of online voting, and people confusing the complexity of their movement with chaos.

“The distance between the rich and the poor breaks down into a lot of different sub-issues, they are all worth trying to equally represent,” said Kris Harrison, a media volunteer.
And the message manifests itself in different ways.

“My dog is s---ing on the corporation!” a man named Bynkie shouted as his dog Zeus relieved himself in front of a CIBC building on the way to city hall. This being a peaceful protest, Bynkie retrieved a Starbucks cup from the garbage to dispose of the waste. “Good boy,” he said, patting his dog on the head.

Bynkie, wearing a Blue Jays hat, said he was there for “change.” Then he ran off to catch up with the swirling mass of one to two thousand people, hula hooping, singing and drumming their way through city streets, chanting, “The people united, will never be divided!”

The zombies didn’t have the same zest for life, but several appeared sympathetic to the Occupy Toronto cause a few blocks away. One zombie bemoaned the fact that “1 per cent of zombies eat 99 per cent of brains.” Another helpfully suggested, “Hungry? Eat a banker.”

When asked what the message of the movement was, one zombie stared into the abyss and flipped over her “Zombies are the 99%” sign. On the back, it said, “I only eat organic brains.” She shuffled off wordlessly...
 Me? I prefer these Zombies:


Update: Go figure--there were lots more zombies than Occupy types marching yesterday.

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