PHOTOS BY VICKIE NELSON

When the recession began in 2008, I was troubled by all the foreclosures. It seemed the government either couldn’t or didn’t want to help anyone with the exception of the financial institutions deemed too big to fail. So when Occupy Wall Street burst onto the scene in September of 2011, with its emphasis on wealth inequality, I was immediately interested. I watched a video of Daniel Ratigan raging against what he called “the bought Congress,” and everything sort of crystallized for me: The game was rigged against everyone but the 1%. When Occupy arrived in Eugene in October 2011, I went to the first march and fell in love. I knew I wanted to be with these people.

I’ve always loved writing and publishing, attempting to get the story of events chronicled—as true as possible, with as many facts as possible accounted for. When I got involved with Occupy in the fall of 2011, the first group I participated in was Communications (ComCom), and then later the Newsletter Group, which started up in the spring of 2012. Usually I document with words, but as part of the newsletter staff, I realized I needed to take photos for certain stories, or we wouldn’t have any photos for those stories. I’m not a particularly skilled photographer, but my iPad helps me out by focusing quickly and letting me take several shots in rapid succession.

The Occupier Newsletter launched in March 2012 with Larry Leverone at the Helm. Our purpose was then and still is to report on important social movements, chronicle OE’s accomplishments, and provide an analysis of events not found in the regular media. Our first issue included nine stories by eight authors and we printed 350 copies plus a shorted run of 75 issues in Spanish. We now print 3000 copies and include stories by 10 to 15 authors in each issue.

Occupy Eugene

SLEEPS

Opportunity Village Eugene (OVE)

Whoville

Nightingale Health Sanctuary (NHS)