Occupying Occupy Memphis

Memphis, Tn - The Occupy Movement that started in September has seen its share of violence, bloodshed and arrests, but not here in Memphis.

Sure, there are chants and even the sermon to a passer-by that asks a question. But, for the most part, Occupy Memphis is here and that's about it.

Occupy Memphis let us set up our tent and settle in for a night to get a feel for life as a protester, and hopefully, in the process, get the answer to the question that Memphians are asking, "Who are these people?"

"There are homeless people out here, teachers, firemen, people who, no matter their back ground, they are sort of feeling they are being shafted, or they are fed up, or maybe they see a light at the end of this tunnel," explained one protestor.

But, the question of why they are here is even trickier. They are protesting, but what exactly?

When asked, the various protestors gave us answers like:

"We are protesting corporate greed."

"To change the world we have, to educate children."

"Getting money out of politics."

"I'm tired of my tuition getting hiked every year."

If that sounds like a lot, it is. But the "99 percenters," as they call themselves, told me, that's the point.

"We have written a declaration. We have a lot of demands."

That declaration reads much like a manifesto.

The protesters compare it to one of the great documents.

"The Declaration of Independence wasn't just one point. It was a list of grievances with the king. So, I think, that just because we have more than one issue we are trying to push forth, that means that we have more than one problem happening in this country," said Alexandra Pusateri, a Memphian who was arrested at the Occupy Nashville protest. "We all sat down and we linked arms, we were all arrested us and we were dragged away."

Nothing like that has happened here. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Police were on stand-by the first few days of the Occupy Movement, but after 4 weeks…

"They have actually been very kind to us. We've had police officers come by with donations," said one protestor.

The police have left them alone for the most part, and that seems to go for the media as well. The violence in other cities has captured most of the attention.

I asked about possible anarchists in this group, "We have some people in the camp who would love to discuss that with you!"

But, you get the impression violence isn't going to happen on Jack Armstrong's shift. He's a peace keeper, in charge of making sure this camp is safe on the inside and from the out.

Like every single member of occupy, he has his opinion.

"Yeah. We are chaos. But from chaos came order. So, while we aren't organized in the sense that here's a leader here, and there's a leader there, we work in tandem."

This Occupy camp is in a constant state of flux. Tents are popping up, people are milling around, coming and going 24 hours a day. Some of them are from the occupy movement. Others are the city's homeless who find themselves a part of the movement, sometimes by choice, and sometimes by default.

When the sun rises, the rest of the world goes on with business as usual, almost in spite of them.

Most people we talked to passing by the camp seemed to have no idea what the Occupy Movement is all about.

That disappoints the people who have devoted the last month or more of their lives to this movement.

"I don't believe I've seen the conversation in Memphis shift quite the way it has on a national level."

They say they won't leave the plaza until it does.