Killing them with kindness
The Occupy Wall Street movement might have died on the vine were it not for the short-sightedness (and I'm being kind) of certain members of the New York Police Department.
Killing them with kindness
The Occupy Wall Street movement might have died on the vine were it not for the short-sightedness (and I'm being kind) of certain members of the New York Police Department. The protests in Manhattan went from little more than zero news coverage -- and interest from the wider public -- to moderate attention levels after a NYPD higher-up pepper-sprayed peaceful demonstrators, and it spiked to intense national awareness after police rounded up and arrested 700 people on the Brooklyn Bridge on Oct. 1.
The protesters, meanwhile, have been remarkably peaceful. There've been no major episodes of vandalism or physical violence that has been tied to the demonstrators in any city in more than three weeks. Which is great. Seeing how things are playing out, the authorities now suddenly seem to be bending over backwards now to reciprocate. Simply put, they may want to kill Occupy Wall Street -- and the various affinity groups like Occupy Philadelphia -- with kindness.
Here in Philadelphia, Mayor Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey have been out strolling and kibitzing with the local protestors, allowing them to erect tents and City Hall and march across town. There hasn's been a single arrest.
And now this:
Occupy Wall Street protesters can camp out in their downtown park indefinitely - or until rain and snow drives them out, Mayor Bloomberg said Monday.
"The bottom line is people want to express themselves. And as long as they obey the laws, we will allow them to," Bloomberg said.
"I think part of it probably has to do with the weather."
It was a minor change from last week, when Bloomberg suggested that it was only a matter of time before the city put an end to the encampment in Zuccotti Park near the Stock Exchange.
So will the death of the Occupy Everything movement come not at the blunt end of a nightstick, but from...boredom? Like everything else in this uncharted territory, only time will tell. Some protesters will surely run out of time or money or interest or patience, but others won't. I do think the media -- and this is an area with which I speak with some experience -- has a low threshold for ennui. Here in Philadelphia, it might spark some interest if protesters branched out more from the friendly confines of City Hall and into more hostile, 1-Percent controlled territory, the people that they're actually protesting against.
Or in other words....where is Abbie Hoffman when you need him?
- I'll look for that or a retraction on Attytood@dailykos.com
— tr88 - Sounds like the GA in Philly is planning some on marching to some 1% areas. — HandNik
Move that dirty filth into the suburbs, and I guarantee there will be trouble for that crowd. Township cops aren't like the lackey Ramsey.— blackhawk90 - Backhawk, why do you always try to sound like some tough guy? You always insinuate violence against another, why? — DavidAG
Comment removed.- Bring them out to Lancaster Co, that would be pretty darn funny. At least they would fit in with the manure smell.— TKL008
- Why? Nobody in Lancaster County has any real money, if they did why would they live in the middle of corn fields? — DavidAG
- Those fields are worth millions. — tr88
- DavidAG are you saying that people out here don't have an opinion that matters? We actually do have more than farms, but this is the part of the state that would like to see our vote count as opposed to those dumpy urban areas full of bottom feeding democrats like yourself. We do have a voice and it is opposed to yours.— TKL008
- DavidAG is an elitist farmers are worthless to him..lol..I can't wait to have more fun with this (southbound end of a northbound horse). Sorry for the country talk, loser. And I grew up in the near suburbs and still work there but wanted to get as far away from the city as possible and still keep my job (yes I have one, how about you)— TKL008
- I am not saying farmers are worthless and their opinions do not matter, grew up by spending my summers on the family farm, actually Lancaster County does have more true family farms than most areas, as opposed to corporate farms. The point is if you could think before you react, there are no 1% in Lancaster County, which the protest are about. I want the regular Joe to vote because they will not vote for their clueless conservatives’ leaders who want to protect the Too Big To Fail 1%
As for yourself, you are very degrading to 70% of the population, what makes you so special? Just because you have this self important opinion of yourself and you generally dislike everyone else because you are better than them.
— DavidAG - If a liberal can answer why the Tea Party protests were not people expressing themselves?— Keep The Change
- Never said they were not expressing themselves, what has been said is that their movement was immediately compromised by Faux News, even though it started on CNBC, those no good liberals, and Corporate America through groups like the Tea Party Express and the Tea Party Patriots. — DavidAG
- one more before I go to bed DavidAG, you told someone he must think he is a tough guy, does that mean his opinion doesn't count as much as yours. I played hockey for a long time and WAS a tough guy, does that mean I can't vote. I am not in a union and work hard to support my family. David what are your accomplishments in life?— TKL008
- I played hockey and have season tickets for the Flyers, I did not say anybody opinion counts less but when people want to play bully behind a key board I will call them out. As for myself, I have accomplished plenty, have flown around on those government subsidized corporate jets and helicopters, met many of those people you read about in books but I do not have justify myself. You have serious problem with your own self image, you need to work on that.
— DavidAG - ===]]] TPS, Will, shouldn't you be protesting the John Yoo-like act that the Obama administration engaged in that rendered a decision allowing the US to kill a US citizen without a trial? Haven't heard a peep about that. [[[===
Fair question, Iggy. Personally, I don't find the question of citizenship very relevant. I have a problem with government-directed assassinations regardless of the person's citizenship. That said, I would have had no problems with targeting OBL under Bush. I have somewhat more of a problem with the recent targeted assassination - not because it was a US citizen, but because I'm not sure that there was the same level of evidence against this guy as there was with OBL.
All that said - a lot of the Occupy folks are very critical of Obama for his continuation of Bush-like policies - so there's more consistency than you seem to be aware of. Certainly, Will has been critical of Obama on those issues.
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