'Occupy' protesters share holiday meal

After weeks of confrontation, Occupy Wall Street took on a different tone on Thanksgiving Day at Zuccotti Park.

Save for a minor dispute with police over a New Jersey man drumming, hundreds who have bonded over slightly more than two months of protests gathered -- as did many people -- to break bread with friends.

Jenna Gross, 31, of Brooklyn, was among those who sat on benches in the park that has become home to the protests over bank bailouts, the growing disparity between rich and poor, corporate influence over government, and a litany of other issues under the umbrella of economic inequality.

Gross said she had disappointed a close friend by turning down her dinner invitation and coming to the park instead.

"I've just been spending so much time here, I wanted to be here," she said.

Gross had eaten one of the 3,000 individually packed dinners that demonstrators said they brought to the park. Near Gross, a small cluster of protesters sang 1960s protest songs.

Liesbeth Rapp, 27, and one of the organizers, said 1,000 meals were prepared by volunteers and another 2,000 were purchased from a neighborhood restaurant with money from an anonymous donor. She didn't know the amount donated.

Rapp said she traveled to New York from Little Rock, Ark., nearly two months ago to check out the protests and ended up staying.

Demonstrators had aimed to provide food for members of the movement and anyone else who showed up.

For the most part, those in Zuccotti Park Thursday were protesters who said they wanted to spend the holiday with those with whom they have come to feel a kinship -- especially during the clearing of the park by the NYPD almost two weeks ago. The protesters have since been barred from sleeping in the park but have maintained a steady presence.

Dwayne Henry, 21, of Brooklyn, said, "We've been here in the cold, snow, rain. We've kind of become like comrades. I don't think I'd be happy sitting at home watching the Lions game."

Others such as Abigail Dillon, 59, of Newfane, Vt., stopped by to show support for the protests, which she called "an honest gut reaction to what's been happening" to the average person economically.

She was visiting her daughter in the neighborhood and was taking a walk when she happened on the scene.

In the brief midafternoon confrontation, about 100 protesters massed near several New York City police officers who asked a drummer to stop drumming and threatened to take away his drum set, saying it violated the city's rules for allowing the demonstrators to congregate in the park.

After several moments, the drummer, John Eustor, 46, of Asbury Park, N.J., agreed to stop drumming, fearing the situation would escalate.

"I didn't want to see people getting arrested. I didn't want to ruin everybody's holiday," he said.