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Occupy goes low-key on anniversary

In New York City, more than 100 Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested on Monday as the movement celebrated its first anniversary in raucous style.
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Austin and Shirley Rowbotham of Benalto watch as Vlad Yakushev writes a message in chalk on the sidewalk outside Red Deer City Hall on Monday. A small group of people gathered in City Hall Park Monday to voice their support for the Occupy movement.

In New York City, more than 100 Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested on Monday as the movement celebrated its first anniversary in raucous style.

In Red Deer, things were a little more subdued, with about a dozen people gathering under sunny skies in City Hall Park in the afternoon to celebrate democracy and draw attention to what they see as the government’s attempts to undermine Canadians’ rights.

Occupy Red Deer protest organizer Derrick Callan was not disappointed by the small turnout, noting that many students and other supporters are in class or at work.

He is encouraged that the group’s Facebook page has been logging a growing number of “likes” from those who agree with their message.

The main idea that Callan wants to get across is the importance of democracy.

“We have to value democracy,” he said, adding that he believes the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is dismantling democracy through such tactics as proroguing Parliament and stifling debate in the House of Commons.

Ken Collier, a member of the local chapter of the Council of Canadians, said the Occupy movement has provided a place for people to direct their determination to address social issues.

“I think it was clever to focus on the ‘one per cent’ as the target, the people who are super rich and who don’t seem to care what happens to anyone else,” said Collier.

“That means that people who have had a hard time attaching to a political party or a movement can at least identify who’s partly responsible for the wrongs in society.”

Collier said the movement has attracted hundreds at different events in Canada’s bigger centres.

And some of the local protesters have quipped that on a per capita basis, Red Deer’s modest turnouts have held up well to other cities.

“I personally don’t think the numbers are terribly important. I think that it’s far more important to identify what the issues are and what people want to have done about them.”

Collier said the biggest issue is the unfairness of our economic and social system that concentrates wealth in the hands of a few while others suffer.

pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com