Occupy York helps occupy Harrisburg
Daily Record/Sunday News
York, PA - About 12 members of a group coined Wednesday as "Occupy York" helped occupy Harrisburg Saturday, standing in solidarity with the monthlong Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City and a similar group based in the state capital.
Starting at the Capitol steps, they mingled around Strawberry Square and picketed the Wells Fargo office on North Third Street. The rally was scheduled to run from midnight Saturday to midnight Sunday.
Organizers said the crowd peaked at about 150 about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, and numbered about 80 at 11 a.m.
"I'm tired of not being heard," Rachel Seward McKelvey, 44, of York, said Saturday from the protest. "Today's a great day to be out with a bunch of other Americans who are making sure their voices are being heard."
This weekend, it's unlikely many legislators, state employees, or financial workers were in their offices to physically hear the screams coming from the sidewalk below. But that doesn't mean their efforts weren't worth it, said McKelvey, who works for a nonprofit helping others find affordable housing.
"The standard of living in this country has gotten to the point that some people are too poor for me to help them," she said. "My standard of living is being affected by rich people who have no idea what it's like to have to pay bills and deal with the day in, day out."
McKelvey, herself, hasn't gotten a raise in four years.
"This is life-affirming," she said of the protest. "It makes me believe that we're all doing the right thing."
Lisa Lefevre, 47, arrived at the Capitol steps at 10 p.m. Friday. She left at 2 a.m., and came back eight hours later.
The Spring Garden Township woman lives on a fixed income. She's an unemployed, single mother of two kids.
"The cost of living being as high as it is, the cost of goods, getting as high as it is -- it's making it really difficult for the average person to support their family," she said, balancing her phone and two signs.
One read, "free your mind." The other: "One love, no labels."
"That's something I feel strongly about," she said. "Conservative, Democrat, socialist, (tea party members), whatever. No labels, focus on everything we have in common."
The protest served as an umbrella for a menu of issues, from fracking in the Marcellus Shale to arguments against the Federal Reserve.
For 12-year-old Michael Payan, son of Occupy York co-organizer Maria Payan, the issue was the future -- what life will be like in 10 years when he graduates from college.
"It's just easy to be really poor or really rich, and you can't change that anymore," he said. "Of course, it scares me. The way we're going, things can only get worse."
The Patriot-News contributed to this story.
Nationally
Four weeks ago, protesters began camping out in New York's Financial District. Since then, the protest, aimed at corporate greed, has spread to at least two dozen cities.
Online
For more information on Occupy York, visit facebook.com/occupyyorkpa. Some members of the local group plan to attend the York County Commissioners meeting 10 a.m. Wednesday at 28 E. Market St., York.
lboyer@ydr.com; 771-2062
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