Occupy Wall Street in Athens

Candle light dinner on the quad

The organizer of the event, which was a Christmas candle light dinner on the quad said, “I envisioned a dinner anyone in the community could attend. I imagined tables filled with people from all walks of life, enjoying good food, better conversation and ending their year in a warm peaceful way.”

He nodded his head in satisfaction and smiled as he scanned the crowd.

Another member said, “We wanted to invite a bunch of people, bring a bunch of food, have a bunch of fun and end the year with a big community Christmas event.”

They succeeded on all accounts.

The movement, as a whole, may be rooted in the struggle against corporate greed and injustice, but the local movement has a much simpler views of its role.

“We believe that in order to help the community, we need to create opportunities for people to come together and discover what our problems are. There is no better way to do that than for dozens of people, with different backgrounds to sit side by side and have dialogue about what those in need, actually need.”

Food arrived continually during the meal, coming from local restaurants, organizations, young UGA students and Athens residents. This was supposed to be a demonstration of community interaction and concern, reminiscent of a bygone era — it was. Everyone was invited and special emphasis was placed on the homeless — it appears Occupy Athens wants to concentrate on the Athens-level problems as well as those of their parent origination, Occupy Wall Street. There were at least a dozen homeless people in attendance and probably at least a couple hundred others dined with them.

“We wanted to give a few people who otherwise have only a cold night to look forward to, a full stomach, some friendly conversation and maybe, just a little bit of hope. These gifts, however small, are the gifts our community gave to those persons. This would have been a huge success if that was the only thing we accomplished.”

With this in mind they have raised enough money to rent a small space downtown and are in the process of locating a suitable property.

“The problems are on the streets and that’s where we need to be.”

Our generation continues to look for signs of commitment from those who are in the wings preparing to take the American stage. Maybe our future is not as dim as is appears on the surface. The world did not change this night, but seed were planted which might enable the changes that must occur if we are to survive in the future.

There was no radicalism, no protesting and no demonstration in evidence Sunday night. Sorry, that statement is incorrect. There were clear demonstrations of basic human qualities, compassion, kindness, concern and a genuine desire by people who have little to help those who have less. All these things combined to create Christmas presents that will never be forgotten by those who received them. With all the strife surrounding this movement worldwide, we should be proud of the direction taken by our own. The Athens Police, the UGA Police, the residents of Athens as well as the Occupy Athens members deserve recognition for their extraordinary cooperation during such a tumultuous time. Salute to everyone involved.