Eat the rich, one group demands. Already have, says the other.

The Occupy Toronto movement was “all out against the corporate agenda” on Saturday, marching on city hall in that peaceful grassroots way that they do.

Meanwhile, the Toronto Zombie Walk was all out against the living, groaning at people walking their dogs on Dundas St. in that once-a-year way that they do.

One group united by injustice, the other by barely hinged limbs, both with the ability to scare and delight people as they slowly walk down the street.

A cursory glance at Occupy Toronto placards will tell you they are against neo-liberalism, privatization, union-busting, student debt, bleak job prospects, the wage system, destruction of the environment, militarism, colonialism, social service cuts, corporate bailouts, Police Chief Bill Blair, Mayor Rob Ford, greedy bastards screwing them, the absence of online voting, and people confusing the complexity of their movement with chaos.

“The distance between the rich and the poor breaks down into a lot of different sub-issues, they are all worth trying to equally represent,” said Kris Harrison, a media volunteer.

And the message manifests itself in different ways.

“My dog is s---ing on the corporation!” a man named Bynkie shouted as his dog Zeus relieved himself in front of a CIBC building on the way to city hall. This being a peaceful protest, Bynkie retrieved a Starbucks cup from the garbage to dispose of the waste. “Good boy,” he said, patting his dog on the head.

Bynkie, wearing a Blue Jays hat, said he was there for “change.” Then he ran off to catch up with the swirling mass of one to two thousand people, hula hooping, singing and drumming their way through city streets, chanting, “The people united, will never be divided!”

The zombies didn’t have the same zest for life, but several appeared sympathetic to the Occupy Toronto cause a few blocks away. One zombie bemoaned the fact that “1 per cent of zombies eat 99 per cent of brains.” Another helpfully suggested, “Hungry? Eat a banker.”

When asked what the message of the movement was, one zombie stared into the abyss and flipped over her “Zombies are the 99%” sign. On the back, it said, “I only eat organic brains.” She shuffled off wordlessly.

Both groups could learn from each other to improve messaging efforts. While the zombies’ message is more streamlined than Occupy Toronto’s, they don’t answer questions so much as moan incoherently.

Harrison didn’t think the two marches would conflict with each other.

“We were thinking of trying to get them to join us, but that’s a little too comical,” he said. “We’re trying to be serious today.”

After she marched to Nathan Phillips Square, protester Krystal Kraus ducked into a bathroom to paint her face a nice shade of corpse grey, and off she lurched.

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“It’s a little switcheroo,” she said, saying both movements “have the ability to use drama to switch things up a bit.”

And that is what democracy looks like.