The NYPD, 1,000-strong and in military formation, cleared out Zuccotti Park overnight, effectively ending Occupy Wall Street, the two-month-old protest movement which had caught fire across the world. And this morning Occupy Toronto got its own visit from the municipal authorities as officers marched into St. James Park with eviction notices in hand.
Other cities had already started kettling the protests, from Oakland's violent police raid and Portland's peaceful one to threats of imminent eviction in Vancouver, Calgary and elsewhere across North America. No matter what happens at the hundreds of other Occupy sites, this encampment stage of the movement has reached its conclusion with the loss of its spiritual home on Wall Street.
But that's cool.
The protests started way too late in the season and it's far more effective for the movement to be dramatically driven out by a riot police than to trickle away in dribs and drabs as winter rolls in. Not to mention that the few unfortunate drug overdoses and deaths had given right-wing critics unnecessary ammunition to dismiss the legitimate concerns raised by Occupy.
When I was at Zuccotti Park last month, it felt like the fringes of a multiday music festival -- yes, there were neo-hippies on hand, but also union workers and senior citizens and curious tourists drawn to the site to see for themselves what it was all about. A few people may have worn the infamous Guy Fawkes masks from the dystopian drama V for Vendetta, but OWS felt optimistic not cynical. Even the cops seemed chill and relaxed.
Origin
Source: Huff
Other cities had already started kettling the protests, from Oakland's violent police raid and Portland's peaceful one to threats of imminent eviction in Vancouver, Calgary and elsewhere across North America. No matter what happens at the hundreds of other Occupy sites, this encampment stage of the movement has reached its conclusion with the loss of its spiritual home on Wall Street.
But that's cool.
The protests started way too late in the season and it's far more effective for the movement to be dramatically driven out by a riot police than to trickle away in dribs and drabs as winter rolls in. Not to mention that the few unfortunate drug overdoses and deaths had given right-wing critics unnecessary ammunition to dismiss the legitimate concerns raised by Occupy.
When I was at Zuccotti Park last month, it felt like the fringes of a multiday music festival -- yes, there were neo-hippies on hand, but also union workers and senior citizens and curious tourists drawn to the site to see for themselves what it was all about. A few people may have worn the infamous Guy Fawkes masks from the dystopian drama V for Vendetta, but OWS felt optimistic not cynical. Even the cops seemed chill and relaxed.
Origin
Source: Huff
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