@zenvelo OSF was doing fine until about ten days ago when they moved to Justin Herman Plaza and set up tents. It’s gotten pretty disgusting down there. I can imagine. You have hundreds of people in a small space, cooking, bringing in crap, maybe even relieving themselves in bushes and allies, it can get like a refugee camp with no one really cleaning up. That is the unfortunate byproduct of such a movement. There is no textbook, so some of it will have rough edges.
I watched interviews of the Occupy Oakland people complaining about about[sic] violent people co-opting the movement. I have not seen a demonstration or protest yet, less the one the Hispanics did a while back, where some fringe elements did not try to piggyback on. Even the demonstrations for Oscar Grant got piggybacked. To try to use that as a sole reason to say people can’t use their freedom of speech, as they champion overseas is disingenuous to me. I may not agree with everything the protestors are protesting over, most of the rage I think they should be directing at the government, I think Uncle Sam should not be getting in the way if it is not killing people. If they can champion it in Cairo, they should in Chicago. I personally think they should be out working, but maybe that is why they are their because they can’t find jobs. Just because the plight of those protesting is not like that of Egypt, Libya, or Syria, but I believe if they feel maligned the have a constitutional right to gripe about it, even if it is in their own mind they are right.
Out of curiosity, you work or live in The City?