SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — As their counterparts hunker down in tents or cook over gas grills, another contingent is swelling the ranks of the Occupy Wall Street protests: those squeezing in their activism around work, parenting and other daily duties.
The part-timers, often stopping by with food and encouragement, join the full-timers on their lunch breaks, after work, on weekends and during the gatherings that the groups call general assemblies. And although they might be less visible than their tent-dwelling, sign-toting compatriots, they say their concerns are strong enough to make the participation a priority.
“Part of it for me, and I think for a lot of people I’ve talked to, is that it’s not just another time commitment. Compared to so many other things we do, these activities have been energizing and inspiring,” said Eve Weinbaum, 47, a college professor and mother of three young children. “I think a lot of people feel really excited about it, and it gives you new energy and a new way of thinking about things.”
One of the movement’s most high-profile participants is a part-timer: Iraq war veteran Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old Marine who suffered a skull fracture during clashes between police and Occupy Oakland participants Oct. 25. Olsen, of San Francisco, worked his day job as a security software engineer and joined participants at night at Occupy San Francisco, and had traveled with them across the bay to the Oakland site when he was injured.
Just as there are no solid figures on how many people are participating in round-the-clock “occupations” nationwide, estimates on the number of part-timers are not easy to come by. Weinbaum and others say many are helping with logistics, organizing forums and other events.
“That part of it has become kind of invisible to the media, but that’s where so much of the activity is going on now, in these working groups,” she said.
