Occupy Portland Pics!

Following in the steps of the Occupy Wall Street protest, Occupy Portland has been going on downtown for the past couple days. Wes and I went downtown this morning to Chapman Square to check out the protests and encampments that have been up for a couple days. I think these protests are great and Wes and I had some great conversation on our way home. Wes was a bit worried that the overwhelming representation of young "street kids" might weaken the legitimate arguments these protests are making. We also discussed the effectiveness of having no central leadership and no central platform. There's always the risk of someone making the entire effort look like a joke, and it's hard to figure out what the end goal is when some are protesting against war, some against taxes, some for education reform, etc. So far, though, Occupy Portland has created an inviting and engaging atmosphere that will hopefully spark dialogue in Portland and beyond.