Redlands Occupies the Rose Parade

Count Occupy Redlands members among the dozens of protesters who marched behind the 123rd annual Tournament of Roses Parade on Monday.

About six Redlands Occupiers joined an estimated 5,000 of mostly Occupy activists who have been calling for an end to corporate influence over politics.  The movement took advantage of the parade’s massive audience to spread their message by parading with the traditional signs and their own “floats,” an oversized replica of the US Constitution and a cellophane octopus.

Chanel Emershy, committee member with Occupy Redlands, said her goal was to be “engaged in peaceful protest to expose the sickening behavior of the top American banks.”

“There were thousands of parade spectators observing the Occupy Octopus 'float,' the two 'Constitutions' and the hundreds of signs held by Occupiers as we made our way along the parade route towards City Hall,” Emershy said. “Many of the spectators had slept on the street in sleeping bags the night before to secure a good view of the parade. I hope that some of them are inspired to bring that enthusiasm to the Occupy Wall Street movement.”

Emershy carried a sign featuring Rich Uncle Pennybags, a character from the game Monopoly.

“As I marched behind the Octopus the most memorable reaction I received from the crowd was a boy who said, ‘Look, he’s in jail!’ ” Emershy said. “The sign that I carried outlined three of what I see as the most immoral activities in which bankers took part. On one side it showed (the) Monopoly banker in 2008 surrounded by bags of money. On the other side the same banker was behind bars in 2012. Hearing that boy’s reaction was when I knew that waking up at the crack of dawn was all worth my while.”

The Occupiers were met mostly with cheers, said Sean McDuffee, Occupy Redlands committee member.

“There were some counter-protesters who were set up on the street along the route,” McDuffee said. “They had their say and we had our say and it stayed very cool. The police were there to make sure we followed all the rules. It was all very well managed. It went off sort of flawlessly.”

The group, about three blocks long and escorted by police, started gathering on Orange Grove Boulevard shortly after 9 a.m.

The octopus tentacles symbolized the tentacles of corporate greed, protest organizers said. It was flanked by a display of cardboard houses with "foreclosure" written on them. Among the demonstrators was a brass band, playing the national anthem and “The Mexican Hat Dance.”

The chant "We are the 99 percent" reverberated over the strains of marching bands in the official parade.

Many demonstrators carried signs that played on the parade's theme "Imagine," reminiscent of the John Lennon song. One said "Just Imagine No War." Another: "Imagine No Greed."

The demonstrators had their own "safety" guards - at least 100 of them in lime-green vests labeled "99," who said they were there to help diffuse any problems along the parade route, according to City News Service.

“I think it is inevitable that since there was over 50,000 people - conservative estimate - still lining the parade route when the Occupiers marched through, that those people are going to be talking about what they saw,” said Kent Marten, Occupy Redlands committee member who carried the Uncle Pennybags banner with his wife, Chanel Emershy.

“All the signs, all the messages, and they are going to talk about these real problems, and they are going to start evaluating political candidates in this election year based on what they think about these important issues," he said. "Chanel and I personally had at least 25 people ask us to stop marching so they could photograph our sign.”

City News Service contributed to this report.