No, that’s not the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces in Europe talking; it’s deputy mayor Howard Wolfson of New York City, discussing the city’s planned response to the OWS protest slated for tomorrow.
Since they’re expecting “tens of thousands”, it will be surprising if there isn’t some kind of violence given the plainly belligerent posture of city officials.
A few days ago, without warning, protesters who had been camped out at the now famous Zucotti Park were forcibly evicted in the dead of night, their tents and makeshift shelter torn down or destroyed. It would appear that the mass protest being called for tomorrow is a response to this.
You hit me, I hit you. This is the beginning of a vicious cycle.
Maybe there won’t be tens of thousands. Maybe it will fizzle out. But if what is being planned actually occurs it would be fair to call this escalation, since we now are reduced to using war terminology for domestic political protest.
A line may have been crossed. We’ll see.
Meanwhile, one interesting thing being tossed around among the more leftist elements of the “movement” is the idea of “Occupy Your Block“, now that government has forcibly removed protesters from central locations in the cities. Increasingly, even before the recent evictions, various occupy groups had begun occupying foreclosed upon houses. This is now being bandied about as one of the future tactics now that others have been met with official force.
Of course, these tactics can be met with force, too.
Maybe this is what it all boils down to. It usually does. It’s not like lawyers or courts are going to do anything.
Lawyers on Strike 