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REPRESSIONPolicing the 99%6 NOVEMBER 2 – NOVEMBER 22, 2011 THE INDYPENDENTMIKAEL TARKELABy Elizabeth Henderson &Manny JalonschiIn New York City, participants in theburgeoning Occupy Wall Street movementhave been confronted with a widearray of police reactions — from mass arrestscurrently numbering over 800 to MayorMichael Bloomberg’s reluctant toleranceof the occupation. As The Indypendent goesto press, there are more than 400 occupationsacross the United States — from bigurban centers to smaller cities and towns.Below is a sampling of police responses tothese encampments.PORTLAND, ORE. – Since the occupationbegan Oct. 6, protesters have set up twocamps near City Hall, with only one majorstandoff so far, when eight demonstratorswere arrested Oct. 13 for blocking traffic.While the City Council has yet to take an officialposition on the occupations, City CommissionerAmanda Fritz told protesters Oct.18 that “the City Council and I believe…that the U.S. Constitution’s rights of assemblyand free speech trump the anti-campingordinance.” Mayor Sam Adams, who is incharge of the Portland Police Bureau, hasallowed the camp to remain despite citypolicies against camping on public property.OAKLAND, CALIF. – On Oct. 25 policeraided Frank Ogawa Plaza, leading to 85 arrests.Several hundred officers in riot gearswept through the park just before 5 a.m.Police dispersed the crowd with projectiletear gas canisters, including one that crashedinto the skull of 24-year-old Iraq War veteranScott Olsen, who was hospitalizedwith critical injuries that night and placedin a medically-induced coma. City officialscited health and sanitation concerns. Within12 hours of the raid, 500 occupiers and supporterssurrounded the park, challengingwhat they deemed the illegal eviction of afree speech protest. “In the end, I think weallowed people to exercise their rights tofree speech and free assembly,” interim PoliceChief Howard Jordan told reporters at arecent press conference.LOS ANGELES, CALIF. – With approximately700 people camping out each nightoutside of City Hall, Occupy Los Angelesset up an additional encampment in nearbyFletcher Bowron Square on Oct. 19. Los AngelesPolice Commander Blake Chow told theLos Angeles Times that protesters have been“cooperative” and “respectful.” So far therehave been no arrests directly related to theoccupations. The Los Angeles City Councileven passed a resolution in support of theoccupation on Oct. 12, which included acall for a “responsible banking” ordinance.PHOENIX, ARIZ. – Forty-six protesterswere arrested by Phoenix riot police afterthe first day of the occupation on Oct. 15.The incident occurred when demonstratorsmarched from Cesar Chavez Plaza toMargaret T. Hance Park and refused toleave after the park closed. As of Oct. 19,the city announced protesters would be permittedto spend the night at the plaza, andapproximately 50 to 100 protesters gatherdaily at the encampment, with a contingentof around 20 staying overnight.DENVER, COLO. – Police clashed multipletimes with protesters, and things came toa head the weekend of Oct. 14 when Denverpolice arrested a total of 50 people anddismantled the three-week-old encampmentlocated at Lincoln Park. On Oct. 15 policeused force and pepper spray in response toone protester’s attempt to re-establish thekitchen (known as the “Thunderdome”).The protesters have since relocated to CivicCenter Park, with a core group of 80 protesterssleeping outside each night.DES MOINES, IOWA – After almost a weekof camping outside of the State Capitol, protestersagreed to move to a nearby city parkOct. 14. The relocation followed an Oct.9 incident in which Iowa State Patrol officersarrested 29 demonstrators on chargesof trespassing. Sally Frank, a lawyer whois assisting those who were arrested, toldThe Iowa Independent that officers showeda “level of brutality … I hadn’t seen in theover 20 years I’d been here.” According toFrank, police used pepper spray, cuffed thedemonstrators too tightly and dragged themaway. As a result, two dozen protesters areseeking a jury trial. A date has yet to be set.CHICAGO – Protesters attempting to relocatetheir encampment near the FederalReserve to Grant Park faced arrests on theevening of Oct. 23 for remaining in the parkpast 11 p.m., in violation of a city ordinance.The Chicago Police Department arrested130 people. “Everybody was very peacefuland smiling and there was no violence,though a lot of chanting,” Occupy Chicagospokesperson Joshua Kaunert told NationalPublic Radio.ATLANTA, GA – On Oct. 10, police toldprotesters to leave the park or face arrest.Many of the occupiers decided to stay, lockingarms around the perimeter of WoodruffPark, a six-acre downtown greenspace thatoccupiers renamed “Troy Davis Park.” Laterin the day, dozens of police in riot gear surroundedthe park. Police and protesters werein a tense standoff for several hours until thepolice retreated, allowing the encampmentto continue. On Oct. 25, Atlanta PoliceDepartment officers returned, arresting 53protesters for violating city curfew laws.ALBANY, N.Y. – On Oct. 21 Gov. AndrewCuomo pressured city officials includingMayor Gerald Jennings into using law enforcementto disperse the crowd of morethan 700 people that rallied around the 30tents that formed the center of this upstateoccupation. That night dozens of local policeofficers prepared to move in to arrestthose who were camped past curfew on cityproperty. With the approach of curfew, theoccupation moved across an invisible linefrom state-owned land to city-owned landin the park. With protesters now outside ofthe state’s jurisdiction local police canceledthe raid of the park, defying both GovernorCuomo and Mayor Jennings.WASHINGTON, D.C. – The nation’s capitalboasts two occupations, one at McPhersonSquare, which began Oct. 1, and anotherthat started at Freedom Plaza Oct. 6. Asof late October, the National Park ServicePolice, which administers the two parks,was allowing the two encampments to continue,although they both violate regulationsagainst camping and cooking. Therehave been no arrests at the occupationsthemselves, although a few dozen peoplehave been arrested during protests at theHart Senate Building, the Supreme Court,a House Armed Services Committee hearingand other sites of direct civil resistanceactions.BOSTON – This occupation, which beganSept. 27, faced mass arrests early on themorning of Oct. 11 after police issued anultimatum demanding protesters vacate thenewly renovated Rose Fitzgerald KennedyGreenway and retreat to their original encampmentin Dewey Square. More than 200Boston and Transit Police officers arrestedapproximately 100 occupiers, including agroup of veterans.
MOVEMENTSA Left-Wing Tea Party?By Arun GuptaOne month into the Occupy WallStreet protest, many are asking ifthis new movement is just a “leftwingTea Party.”Definitely not. This is not a party, like theTea Party, that seeks to directly affect policyand the electoral process. Because it isexplicitly leaderless, it is difficult to imaginea Michelle Bachmann or Eric Cantoremerging as a standard-bearer of the OWSmovement. Given their reliance on WallStreet money, as well as radical demandsfrom many protesters, the Democrats willfind it almost impossible to channel “the 99percent” into an electoral tidal wave nextyear the way the Republicans rode the TeaParty to victory in 2010.But that does not mean comparisons tothe Tea Party should be dismissed. Thereare striking parallels between the twomovements when viewed through political,social and historical lenses.Some similarities are obvious. The TeaParty and OWS alike oppose the bailoutsof the banks orchestrated by both parties inWashington. The two movements are thickwith people who feel they have little say inthe political process. And supporters oneach side think the middle-class “AmericanDream” is nearly extinct.When the two movements are viewed asa social force, the resemblance deepens. Ihave interviewed Tea Party members andprotesters at Liberty Park who discuss theirinvolvement in comparable terms. Theyspeak of a personal “awakening,” of findinginspiration in a gathering of kindred spirits,and of not having been political before.In fact, both thrive on bringing newpeople into politics. As such, they can beconsidered populist movements and shareanother commonality – each creates a newnotion of “the people.”The Tea Party’s rallying cries include “wethe people” and “take America back.” Itsvision of the people is one of self-reliant,industrious and frugal Americans whothrough moral example and political forcewould return this country to the greatnesspioneered by the Founding Fathers. TheOccupy movement is inchoate, but already“the 99 percent” is its version of the people:those whose dreams and aspirations havebeen squashed by the greedy and powerhungry, but who can revive fairness andjustice as national ideals.For both movements, the legitimatepeople is complemented by the illegitimateother. For the Tea Party, this takes the formof liberals, unions, immigrants, Muslims,welfare recipients and Obama. It is anyoneportrayed as unscrupulously profiting, inpower or money, off the American system.For the Occupy movement, it is the 1percent, the catch-all for bankers, corporateexecutives, the super-rich and their politicalallies who have an iron grip on the economyand politics.Another similarity is that the success ofthe Tea Party and OWS is owed to theirvagueness, at least initially. Each has uniteddisparate coalitions under its banner.For example, the Tea Party’s historicreferences appeal to people who feel thatsocial and political changes in the lastfew decades have made their countryunrecognizable. It unites those who opposeunions and immigration, favor smallgovernment (apart from the sprawlingmilitary-security apparatus) and want areturn to the gold standard, cuts in socialspending, unlimited gun rights and lessregulation of business and markets. Thecommon theme is that parasitical and selfishgroups have sapped America’s power.Likewise, the Occupy movement has beencriticized for a lack of demands, but whenyou speak to individuals there is no lackof ideas: better-paying jobs, governmentfundedjobs, single-payer healthcare,student-debt forgiveness, a moratoriumon home foreclosures, cutting militaryspending, saving Social Security andMedicare, ending the attacks on unions.One secret of its success, analogous to theTea Party’s obsession with the undeserving,is that it allows many groups and individualsto see their demands as equivalent toeveryone else’s because the opponent is thesame: Wall Street.Most Tea Party and Occupy partisans feelGB MARTINsomething has gone fundamentally wrong inAmerica, and they are united in envisioninga different type of society. It’s a mistake toreduce either movement to politics or policy;each is motivated by values and idealizedways of relating to one another. But this iswhere the differences become stark.The Tea Party embraces heroic, ruggedindividualism where freedom and libertyare best secured through the free market.In reality, the Tea Party ideology is reallyabout a suburban-based nostalgia for whitesupremacy. Its disdain for governmentsubsidies does not extend to the interestdeduction for homeowners and othersupports for a suburban lifestyle.On the other hand, OWS believes in acollective economy and decision-making,as seen in the General Assembly decisionmakingand free exchange of goods inLiberty Park. Activists think increasingaccess to public goods, starting with thepublic squares themselves, is the way toachieve social harmony.These radically divergent worldviewsare matched by distinct demographics.The average member of the Tea Party isin his or her 50s, whereas the typical WallStreet occupier looks to be a recent collegegraduate. This probably explains why thetwo also have different relations to history.The Tea Party romanticizes the AmericanRevolution, while OWS is inspired byuprisings and occupations from the ArabSpring to Europe in which youth say theyare trying to reclaim the future.It would be tempting to define the divideas one between those who support anunfettered free market because governmenthas too much power and those who wanta robust social welfare state, or evensocialism, because corporations have toomuch power. That is just part of it. The factthat genuinely popular movements couldblossom so quickly at both political polesindicates how hollow the center has become.The OWS and the Tea Party movementsmay have diametrically opposed visions ofsociety and power relations, but they bothappeal to growing ranks of people whobelieve the system no longer works for them.Whatever their differences, they both presentchallenges that will not disappear becauseof some policy reforms or reshuffling of thecast in Washington.WHERE DO I GET MY COPY OF THE INDYPENDENT ?BELOW 14 TH ST.WBAI - 99.5 FM120 Wall St., 10th fl.DC 37 Headquarters125 Barclay St.Bluestockings172 Allen St.Kate’s Joint58 Avenue BHousing Works126 Crosby St.Hudson Park Library66 Leroy St.Seward Park Library192 East Broadway at Jefferson St.Whole Earth Bakery130 St. Mark’s Pl.Mamoun’s Falafel Restaurant22 St. Mark’s Pl.Brecht Forum451 West St.Shakespeare Books716 Broadway at Washington Pl.Theater for the New City155 First Ave.14 TH TO 96 TH ST.Epiphany Library228 E. 23rd St.Chelsea Square RestaurantW. 23rd St. & 9th Ave.Manhattan Neighborhood Network537 W. 59th St.Muhlenberg Library209 W. 23rd St.St. Agnes Library444 Amsterdam Ave. (btwn W. 81stand 82nd Sts.)ABOVE 96 TH ST.George Bruce Library518 W. 125th St.Book Culture526 W. 112th St.Morningside Heights Library2900 BroadwayHarlem Library9 W. 124th St.Hamilton Grange Library503 W. 145th St.Uptown Sister’s BooksW. 156th St. & AmsterdamBloomingdale Library150 W. 100th St.BROOKLYNBrooklyn Museum200 Eastern Pkwy.BAM30 Lafayette Ave.Tillie’s of Brooklyn248 DeKalb Ave.Tea LoungeUnion St. & Seventh Ave.Video Gallery310 Seventh Ave.Ozzie’s Coffee Shop249 Fifth Ave.57 Seventh Ave.Verb CaféBedford Ave. & N. 5th St.Pillow Café505 Myrtle Ave.Sisters Community Hardware900 Fulton St.Pacific Street Library25 Fourth Ave.Outpost Café1014 Fulton St.Blackbird Café197 Bedford Ave.’sNice Café315 Fifth Ave.High Bridge Library78 168th St. & Woodcrest Ave.Bedford Library496 Franklin Ave.Parkside Deli203 Parkside Ave.BRONXBrook Park141st St. & Brook Ave.Mott Haven Library321 E. 140th St.High Bridge Library78 W. 168th St.Mi Casa Bakery18 E. Bedford Park Blvd.STATEN ISLANDSt. George Library Center5 Central Ave.Port Richmond Library75 Bennett St.Dot Com Cafe36 Bay St.Everything Goes Book Café208 Bay St.A FREE PAPERFOR FREE PEOPLEPhone: 212-221-0521E-mail: contact@indypendent.orgTHE INDYPENDENT NOVEMBER 2 – NOVEMBER 22, 2011 7
Page 1 and 2: OCCUPY WALL STREET, SPECIAL EDITION
Page 3: FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLYTAIN MULTITUDES
Page 10 and 11: THE ECONOMYWALL STREET’S WEB OF D
Page 12 and 13: Charting OccupationsPRIVATE TO PUBL
Page 14 and 15: MEDIATO REPRESS OR CO-OPT?OWS Media
Page 16 and 17: THE INDYPENDENT NOVEMBER 2 - NOVEMB
Page 18 and 19: community calendarSUBMIT YOUR EVENT

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