I feel sympathetic for the Occupy Leeds movement. It consists of approximately ten people, two tents and a sign. The lack of company doesn’t diminish the conviction or spirit of the few who are taking part but at least larger numbers might enable them to survive the oncoming winter by huddling together and sharing body heat; like penguins. Much has been said about the occupy movement and almost none of it concerning any sensible rhetoric from either side; the protests as a whole being deliberately vague and the large media outlets with big corporate interests being deliberately puerile. So whilst the amoebic-esque squishy-ness of the Occupy movement’s aims has left it vulnerable to much abuse and misrepresentation (you can’t drink coffee and tighten bank controls! That’d be madness!) I feel a desire to connect with those lonely few in Leeds on a more human level. I want to help them as people, not just protesters.
Certainly I could just walk across the road and join them but there’s a slightly uncomfortable air of that house party no one showed up to and I expend enough energy trying to limit human contact as it is. Thankfully, I’ve conjured up a brave solution for all of the movement’s issues, be they numerical, presentational or thermal:
The Occupy protesters team up with the ever ready climate folk, take onboard some discussably huggable mascots and deliver an exciting, visual message en masse whilst simultaneously providing a fun day out for all the family.
Just whatever you do, don’t mention or debate any of the protesters' specific proposals for change. You can probably avoid them well enough by not looking for any.