Tensions mount with arrest of Occupy D.C. protester and approach of deadline

[maddezmom]

By Fredrick Kunkle, Published: January 29

Tensions between Occupy D.C. protesters and law enforcement increased Sunday afternoon with the arrest of a demonstrator and the approach of Monday’s noon deadline to enforce a ban on overnight camping.

Tempers flared about midday after police subdued a protester in McPherson Square with an electric shock. Several protesters accused the police of using excessive force, saying the demonstrator had been handcuffed by two police officers before a third used an electronic device to stun him.


Police at the scene confirmed that someone had been subdued with a Taser and arrested, but they gave no further details.

The encounter occurred as Park Police passed out fliers warning of the deadline to begin enforcing a long-standing ban on camping overnight in the square. A protester known as Lash became angry when police entered his tent, demonstrators said.

more:http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tensions-mount-with-arrest-of-occupy-dc-protester-and-approach-of-deadline/2012/01/29/gIQABYc5aQ_story.html?tid=pm_local_pop

[Magoo48]

1. Support all Occupiers everywhere...can't wait until spring. Join, evolve.

There are many who critize the movement here on DU. WTF. Go to your local GA, and express yourself in a positive way. Any armchair activist can sit back and identify "problems" and toss virtual stones at those who try to fight the fight. How does this help? Use your energy to begin your own movement; maybe yours will be perfect.

Give those with the courage to take it to the streets the dignity to learn as they go.
I repeat WTF.....

[SammyWinstonJack]

2. +1.

Give those with the courage to take it to the streets the dignity to learn as they go.

[tavalon]

20. Yep, I completely agree

Go to a general assembly or STFU!

[DreamsOfEquality]

3. Support OWS!

This is something big, support it!



And off topic but...Why the HELL am I seeing a Newt Gingrich ad here on my screen???

[wordpix]

4. think about the precedent: occupying national parks indefinitely

Occupy DC now has a tent city in two public parks administered by the National Park Service. There are laws against camping and cooking in these parks. Occupy DC has camped and cooked out since the fall and the city, mayor, police and Park Service have been very tolerant, supplying porta potties and other necessities. I support Occupy's nonviolent aims but a bad precedent is being set; i.e. it's OK to camp whenever/wherever/indefinitely on public land where camping is not allowed.

There's a reason for the no camping rule, which is there because the majority of Americans do not want people camping indefinitely whenever/wherever they please in any national park. The parks belong to us all; in the case of DC, these are national parks with the purpose of preservation, enjoyment by ALL people, and the benefit of fish and wildlife. These park lands are not designated for people to occupy/camp on/cook on or squat on indefinitely.

I definitely would not like to see an occupy camp, whether in DC or the Rockies or the Pacific NW, indefinitely occupied by t-baggers, gun nuts and pro-life crazies. I definitely would not like to visit national parks across the country and see people camped out/cooking out whenever/wherever/forever on public lands.

If one group can occupy a national park indefinitely and the no camping/no cooking rule can be ignored for that group, then any group can do the same ---otherwise, it's discrimination. Do you really want to set that precedent for our national parks?

I don't.

[Fuddnik]

5. FUCK YES!!!!!!!

[The Traveler]

6. There is no Constitutional guarantee of park convenience

There is, however, a Constitutional guarantee of the right to bear grievance, and the formulation of that right does not grant an exception to preserve the sanctity of parks. While I understand where you are coming from, you are placing the "right" to a pleasant park experience at a higher priority than the right to bear grievance. I can hear Washington's laughter now ...

Sorry. This is a struggle for liberty. This is a prolonged effort to seize control of democratic process from the power interests that have captured it. It is likely we will all have to endure some inconvenience while democracy is restored in America.

"We apologize for the inconvenience ..."

Trav

[wordpix]

7. bear grievance some other place, you don't have to occupy national parks to do it!

Occupy DC started out as Occupy K St. Why not occupy offices of lobbyists and offices of House and Senate members, or just sit outside their offices in the hallways?

[Leopolds Ghost]

22. Homeless people have been camping in McPherson Sq for 30 years straight

No one else hangs out there, not because it's dangerous, it's a socially unclaimed space in the middle of downtown. No traffic, no stores, no lunch crowd.

One block from the White House (where protests on Lafayette Square have been BANNED since the 80's.) Where no one ventures any more because the benches have been removed and half of the "park visitors" are undercover and taking notes on anyone who walks through the park.

[carla]

24. The Traveler

has the correct stance. Wordpix isn't considering the large picture it seems. Shame to buy into state-propaganda...

[JDPriestly]

8. I like the Occupy movement and the tents.

The argument that we can't have Occupiers setting up tents because that would discriminate against others reminds me very much of the arguments that I heard back in the South in the 1960s. Back then, conservatives argued that the Civil Rights marches were disruptive -- brought a lot of riff-raff out on the streets to say nothing of the "outside agitators."

If the Civil Rights marches had not been disruptive, there would never have been any change.

The Occupiers are fighting against the extreme economic injustice in our society. In particular, the cost of a higher education has risen so much that people with little money, people who used to be able to go to college provided they had the test scores and grades and desire to study, have to put their lives in hock in order to pay their way. And then their are wages and the problems in the housing market and the horrific manipulation of our economy by Wall Street.

When injustice becomes intolerable, those who are the victims of it have to do something. The Occupiers are doing something as did the civil-rights marchers in their time.

The tents are just the beginning. More and more people are understanding how our country has changed from one of opportunity to one of oligarchy. The Occupiers have already achieved a lot and will achieve more.

Don't worry. The kinds of public parks in which most of us want to camp out still have plenty of room. It's not the Occupiers who threaten our use of the public parks. It's the corporations and especially the energy companies.

[wordpix]

19. " It's the corporations and especially the energy companies" - you have a good point there!

Still, I want to protect our parks.

[Leopolds Ghost]

23. Occupy have plans to replace the grass when or if they leave. I think it's called Occupy Turf

or some thing like that.

as one "organizer" noted the other day, "the damage done to this park by tents is minimal compared to the environmental damage being done at the behest of corporations every day."

[loyalsister]

9. Exactly

My city requires permits for parades. I was very grateful for that when the NAZIs came to town. It essentially served as a warning that provided an opportunity for people to prevent violence.

Permits to use fire are also required, obviously because it requires some safety precautions and at least one person officially takes that responsibility.

If there are unfair restrictions that prevent all citizens from simultaneously enjoying the park, I would be curious to know exactly what they are.
Restrictions that require people to clean up after their pets are in the same spirit of not allowing port-a-potties to sit on public land indefinitely. Polluting the air interferes and there is risk to cause some environmental damage and ultimately illness.

These are things that we typically agree on in our social contract in pursuit of common good (preventing illness, preserving land we have agreed is worthy of protection).
Is protesting such a principal really standing up for justice?

[randome]

14. Well said!

[Leopolds Ghost]

21. There's a reason for the no-camping rule, it was passed to stop MLK's Poor People's march on DC.

Which was modeled on the same lines as Occupy.

Interestingly, Obama spoke at the dedication of the MLK memorial last year, which Occupy organized a 50,000 march to the day before.

[MindMover]

10. Oh the irony of the richest politician calling for the eviction of Americans freedom of assembly....

[DonRedwood]

12. ironic?

or disgusting?

[MindMover]

16. OK, ironically disgusting......

[sabrina 1]

11. Daryl Issa, scared to death of the American people, and especially of OWS, because they are

talking about the corruption of his Corporate buddies, each and every day.

From a recent email re why the Park Police have been pressured into this:

Until now, Occupy DC has been protected from eviction because the National Park Service -- not the DC police -- have jurisdiction over us. The National Park Service said publicly, "We don’t have any issues with these folks" and "The core of their First Amendment activity is that they occupy the site."

But last week, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa politicized the Park Service -- holding hearings where he pressured them to crack down on Occupy DC under the pretext of enforcing camping regulations. The Park Service quickly buckled.

[DonRedwood]

13. The Park Service should have NO political motives

and should not be used as a chess piece. :0(

[sabrina 1]

15. True, here are some numbers to call to tell them not to cave to political pressure:

http://act.boldprogressives.org/call/call_occupydc/?source=auto-e

National Parks Service (Main): [phone]

Chief Teresa Chambers: [phone]

Director Jon Jarvis: [phone]

Sergant Public Information Officer David Schlosser: [phone]

You can also email:

National Park Service Director [e-mail]

Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers [e-mail]

Spokesperson David Schlosser [e-mail]

Feel free to BCC [e-mail] on your email)

[randome]

17. The political pressure is bullshit, to be sure.

But I truly doubt that anyone is afraid of OWS. Especially the 1%, who are still sitting on their beaches in Tahiti sipping margaritas.

Until OWS addresses the real culprits of our broken economic system -the legislators- all this other stuff is a sideshow. And sometimes they do that. But not often enough, IMO.

[a simple pattern]

18. The legislators are interchangeable puppets. The two-party system is the sideshow.

The 1% are the "real culprits."

[randome]

25. OWS will not get any of the 1% to 'behave better' just because they say so.

It is still, and will always be, the legislators who take the bribes and make the unfair laws. They are the only strategic target.