LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
Grassroots organization Occupy Las Vegas denied any role in Wednesday's billboard messages that featured dangling dummies in business suits.
Despite not claiming responsibility to the campaign, an Occupy spokesperson said the messages the billboards conveyed hold true and cannot be ignored.
In a statement, Occupy said:
"The city of Las Vegas woke up to reality this morning, when a series of billboards adorned with hanging dummies and political messages were discovered around town. Some consider these displays to be an act of vandalism, while others see them as a brilliant piece of street art.
No matter which opinion you hold, the fact remains that - like the problems of homelessness, unemployment and suicide - these signs cannot be ignored.
They are gigantic, they are complicated, they are painful, and they are telling you that our city - like our society - is in serious trouble. The truth has a way of pushing through, like grass through a sidewalk.
Here are some of those truths:
Clark County has the second highest rate of adult suicide in the country right now. It has the fifth highest rate of child suicide. And thanks to the governor's draconian education budget, the Social Work programs that used to supply volunteers and interns to help such people have been de-funded. The Clark County suicide hotline number is "not in service at this time."
While we here at OccupyLV do not know the identity of the artist responsible, we applaud their creative spirit and respect their dedication.
In a society continually hammered by waves of economic devastation, soul-sucking corporate shibboleths, humiliating governmental policies and a militarized police force which serves the interests of the 1% by trampling freedom of speech and assembly, it is not surprising that radical consciousness will find its expression through various forms of art.
More surprising is the fact that it took so long to appear."
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Copyright 2012 KVVU (KVVU Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.
This billboard was one of a couple seen around Las Vegas on Aug. 8, 2012. (Peter Dawson/FOX5)
