Evan and I headed downtown for some hanging-out time this afternoon, and stumbled into the #occupyCalgary protest. I knew something was planned, but had half-forgotten that it was going down this weekend. We stopped for awhile, watching the protest. He wasn’t scared at all - there was no feeling of anything unsafe, even with over a thousand people crammed into a square, chanting and waving signs. There were a couple dozen police officers in full gear, but they were there mostly to make sure everyone was OK. There was a really good vibe in the crowd. We even did some impromptu broadcasting for the DS106 community radio station’s coverage of various OccupyEverything events, and did a brief interview with an awesome woman representing a group trying to raise awareness about poverty in Calgary (specifically in regards to women and children, many of whom struggle to get by, despite being in a city that is the home for so much wealth).
We had some really good discussions about why people were protesting. I’m not sure a 9 year old can (or should) really understand what’s going on, but I think a strong sense of empathy is essential, and The Boy™ is building up a pretty awesome compassionate side. This isn’t a zero-sum game. People don’t have to be pushed into debt and poverty. We can decide to take care of each other.