A member of the 915 Anarchy group paints graffiti at the downtown branch of Bank of America. (Alejandro Alba/Borderzine.com)

Young anarchists defy the law to promote social and political change

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EL PASO – Early one morning in late April, a dark figure walks up to the windows of the Bank of America building on Mesa Street in downtown El Paso across from San Jacinto Plaza. From under his jacket, he pulls out a can of black paint and sprays a symbol on the windows along with the word “die.”

The young protestor – covered from head to toe to hide his identity – painted a large letter “A” with a circle around it on the window of the bank.  The “A” is a symbol that has become widely known throughout the world as the calling card of a social movement called anarchism. Anarchist groups have sprung up throughout the country as a branch of the Occupy Wall Street movement. What sets these anarchist groups apart from the Occupy movement are the tactics of protest they use to get their message across. Their method is known as “black bloc,” which involves vandalism, marches and riots while members dress in black to promote solidarity.

(Cheryl Howard/Borderzine.com)

Don’t just stand there, occupy…Your life and your money

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EL PASO – As a child of the sixties and an observer of decades of apathy, I am happy to see young people protesting and demonstrating. “Occupy Wall Street” and all the other Occupiers are finally in revolt against the status quo. But protesters aren’t going to sleep in the parks forever, especially with winter coming.  Already, local governments are trying to move demonstrators out.  If they don’t succeed, Mother Nature eventually will.  The people who have been involved with the Occupy movements say that the demonstrations have built “community.”  I think that means that like-minded folks have connected with each other, exchanged food, ideas, Facebook, e-mail, and other information. So, “occupying” a particular place 24/7 is no longer necessary to stay in touch. It might be important to have weekly, or even daily, events to let people know the issues of the 99% have not been forgotten.

“Should I allow myself to live like this any more and let this injustice continue?” asks an Occupier. (Jacqueline Armijo/Borderzine.com)

Occupy El Paso demonstrators demand social justice

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EL PASO – Protesters crawled out of their tents and stretched as the morning sun greeted them at San Jacinto Plaza, all of them sharing a passion for banning corporate greed. At first I didn’t know how to feel about Occupy Wall Street, which is a movement that has gained momentum and spread to other parts of the U.S. and even the world. You have people protesting in Rhode Island, California, and Virginia and even in England. The movement is made up of people who established a peaceful protest although they come from different political backgrounds and religions. They argue that there should be an end to the corruption and self-indulgence of the wealthiest one percent of the U.S. population, which is inflicting a wrong upon the rest of the U.S. – the other 99 percent of Americans.

The El Paso Occupiers mingle next to Los Lagartos sculpture. (Luis Hernández/Borderzine.com)

El Paso’s Occupy movement seeks justice, but their expectations may be too great

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EL PASO – There are small herds of them scattered between the trees, some shirtless and tanned from the sun, sitting around in cozily crammed circles that are set-up between their tents along with various handwritten signs they have made and carried for weeks. I went into the San Jacinto Park completely convinced that I would be called to join their ranks of Occupy El Paso and come out smelling like the downtown streets of El Paso. I thought that they would try to convert me and convince me to go pro-hippy, sleeping in the grass with them, and laughing over text messages out loud to each other while a siren goes streaking by, but that’s before I stumbled into the red and white-striped food tent and got a taste of humility. In the food tent, I timidly approached a man in a tan sun hat, with clear blue eyes that wrinkled when he proudly told me he had been Occupying El Paso for 10 days. When he started talking about his story, I nearly joined the Occupy movement on the spot – but didn’t.

People from different walks of life are demanding change. (Luis Hernández/Borderzine.com)

Occupy El Paso movement decries economic and social injustice in America – Video

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EL PASO – Occupy El Paso demonstrators set up tents in the usually vacant San Jacinto Plaza in downtown as part of a national protest against perceived economic inequality and corporate control of government. Students, college graduates, homeless persons, professors, the unemployed and employed are few examples of individuals displaying their frustration about unemployment, the nation’s economic despair and the federal government’s bailout of banks. Fabiola Martinez, a young, courageous, and jovial woman was one of the many individuals expressing her feelings on how the government has treated its people. “The government is not paying attention to what the people want and need. They are oblivious to what we need; our school systems and health care are failing,” said Martinez.