With the disbanding of the Occupy camps in key cities across the nation, its clear that the movement has taken a different turn. So why are they still fighting for the right to camp? by Bill Gee
(centrist)
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
On Wednesday night, the gauntlet of corporate government power came crashing down on the encampment in Philadelphia. What’s ironic about the eviction of the protestors from these particular camps is that when they were first established in early October, the City Council and the Mayor’s office cities welcomed the protestors and promised that they could stay as long as they liked. What they didn’t say was that once local elections were done, they were going to go back on their word and evict the protesters anyway.
Now let’s be fair. The city government never denied the group’s Constitutional Rights of Assembly nor Speech. On many occasions they said that during the daylight hours, protestors were free to set up their picket signs, shout their slogans and hold their General Assemblies as many times as they wanted. However, once the sun goes down, they asked that the protestors go home and come back the next day.
What Are They Trying To Prove?
So what’s the big deal? Why are protestors in Philadelphia risking arrest for the right to sleep on a slab of concrete in the middle of a noisy city in the middle of one of the wettest and coldest autumns on record? Having visited the camp a few times myself, you would hardly call it an ideal campsite. You’d think that Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and the City Council was doing the protestors a favor by giving them a way to get out of the weather while saving face at the same time. So why did over fifty people have to get arrested last night while mounted police and firefighters with high-pressure hoses dismantled the encampment and threw belongings into garbage trucks?
The main reason why the protestors were evicted last night was to make way for a multi-million dollar renovation of the park they were occupying. This project has been several years in the making and has the general support of the people of Philadelphia. Moreover, the construction job will take two years and employ hundreds of construction workers. When the job is completed, there will be a new visitors center and ice-skating rink, which will also employ some of the precious 99%.
A New Direction
Without a doubt, this revolutionary movement has taken on a life of its own and has moved into a new direction. Its core organizers have achieved their primary goals well beyond anyone’s expectations. With most of the camps dismantled and disbanded, the organizers have moved to more comfortable locations to work on refining and sharpening the movement’s message and platform. Millions of Americans agree with the group’s core goals and are now working through the proper legal channels to get it done.
Sound Constitutional Grounds
Before going into the particulars of the importance of the camps, let’s dispel the city’s argument regarding Free Speech and Assembly once and for all.
As long as there is no clear and present danger to life or safety, the government has no right to infringe Freedom of Speech or Assembly – Period. The Mayor’s argument that cold weather and “unsanitary conditions” made the park unfit for overnight habitation is only a rouse to limit the Occupy Movement’s Freedom of Speech. The Protestors have argued that since Corporate Greed and Corruption occupies every facet of our lives, the appropriate type of protest is to “occupy” public spaces. Therefore, the overnight encampment themselves is a form of Speech, and should therefore be protected under the Constitution provided that there is no danger to the health or safety of the protestors themselves.
Why the Camps Remain Important
You could argue that with the Occupy Movement taking on a new direction, having protestors freezing their butts off in Center City Philadelphia would serve no purpose, but then you would be losing the point of the protest movement itself. You could also argue that if the movement is standing in the way of legitimate economic growth projects, they should step aside and allow their fellow 99% do the jobs they so richly deserve, but again you’d be missing the point.
If the protestors give in to government pressure to disband except during acceptable hours of the day, they are telling the government and the rest of the American People that Freedom of Speech has a curfew. That the right to Peaceably Assemble with their fellow citizens can be limited by the needs of the State. They would, in fact, be admitting to all of us that the government corporate state has all of the right to tell us what to think and believe on a 24/7 basis, and that the people only have the right to speak their minds when it’s convenient for the government.
If the protestors agree to step aside to make way for a construction project, again, they are admitting that their Freedom of Speech and Assembly can be dictated to them by the wants and needs of the State, which flies in the face of the spirit of the Constitution.
Agree with the message or not. Support the Movement or not. Every American should take note that their Rights are granted to them by the State, and can be taken away by the State if those exercised Rights prove to be too inconvenient.
Personally, I don’t care if you make me late to work or keep me from doing business in the city I love. It’s not my Right to demand that the government deny your Protected Rights for my convenience.
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