Occupy Rose Parade Features 70-Foot Octopus

After the rose bowl parade this year, a group of occupy protesters will march a giant octopus down the street in Pasadena, California. The Occupy Rose Parade will feature a 70-foot octopus, whose flailing arms symbolize corporate greed, that was built mainly from recycled plastic bags.

Pete Thottam, an Occupy protester, said:

“This is the real Rose Parade, and the other is the Rose Charade.”

The LA Times reports that the Occupy Rose Parade will hit the streets as soon as the official Rose Bowl Parade finishes up. The protesters have been working with Pasadena police and Tournament of Roses officials to coordinate the protest without interrupting the official parade.

Thottam said:

“Our goal is to put Occupy’s best foot forward. We recognize that this is a historic, iconic event geared toward middle America and the family… This is about We the People coming back to power. It’s high time Americans wake up to the fact not everything is coming up roses.”

Thottam is hoping to draw thousands of protesters to the Occupy Rose Parade, but the Pasadena Sun reports that the local occupy movement has not endorsed the Occupy Rose Parade.

Occupy Pasadena protester Paul Jenvey, said:

“(Occupy Pasadena) was uncomfortable with disrupting the parade, whether intended by the organizer or not … undermining the community outreach we would like to do… (The Occupy Rose Parade) seems to be this vision of one person and the nature of the action was not decided by a democratic body.”

What do you think about the Occupy Rose Parade?