So, no talk that 2 of 5 anarchists come from Lakewood?

[Bill Call]

Last year Randy Baxter was an Occupy hero:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYAHxGbIlwk

Most people who support the Occupy movement remind me of Lillian Hellman who

"disdained a system that made her fabulously rich while romanticizing one that made its citizens spectacularly poor."

The reveiw of this book about her life describes the Occupy movement as well as Hellman:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... LS_Books_8

[Jim O'Bryan]

Bill

A good read.

Another good read about this group is from Kenneth Warren who went to other Occupy
Movements then came to Lakewood for the "Occupy Lakewood" moment. Of course per usual
the "Occupy Lakewood" movement never really happened. There was not table in front of
Marcs' as reported in the news. It simply never happened, and a closer look at our Occupy
coverage might lead one to understand why. Simply put in a romantic dream of Utopia where
everyone is equal, chaos soon prevails, and egos and "skills," seem to get in the way.

Here is Ken's Story: http://lakewoodobserver.com/read/2011/11/15/pitching-a-tent-and-a-golden-arch-in-the-city

This was the extent of the Occupy Lakewood day. Not card table in sight.

Coverage of Cleveland.
http://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10488&hilit=occupy+cleveland

And finally my take on my run in with the Occupy Movement. This has been passed
around as email, but here it is cleaned up for the Deck...

A little Jim O'Bryan take on things...


Since When Did Good Parties Need Serious Reasons?

Raving To Be Right

Nadhal and I entered into the Occupy Movement, at 6:30pm on a Sunday Night. On the way down, he called and said to me, "I bet this is just like the Vietnam Protests!" I had asked Nadhal, my young Palestinian friend, if he had ever been tear-gassed, and I was surprised when he said "no." He asked if I ever was, and I smiled and said, "Sure, many times."

I mentioned I had been tear-gassed at a couple Vietnam Protests but most of my experience with tear-gas was at "The Bog" up at Watkins Glen-- a small crevice at the Watkins Glen Motorsports Park which for some reason always seemed to attract the worst people. On Thursday it was just a place, by Saturday night it was covered in burned out cars that had been danced flat by drunken acid heads chanting, "The Other Side Sucks." State troopers would be brought in to calm the drunken frenzy, and many of them were just young kids who were brought in for no other reason than to add bodies. These guys were always the real problem. Drunks sober up, and acid heads crash. But an 18-year-old faux state trooper cannot process the scene, so that when you look past their riot gear, shields and batons, you can see the fear in their eyes. Much like small dogs, these law pups are always the first to bark, bite and spray, tear gas.

Having camped for over ten years on the edge of The Bog, we became used to being tear-gassed many times throughout the week, if the wind was in our direction. Wet rag on face, walk towards the tear gas, or wet rag on face lay in hammock till it goes blows by. It was not the many Vietnam protests I went to that trained me, it was sporting events. Well, indirectly I was trained by Vietnam protests, that is where I learned the value of wet rags.

Who knows, maybe Nadhal is right, maybe this is the Vietnam Protests of the 2000s.

We arrive at the "Free Stamp" that was never FREE, but certainly one of the best corporate art stories ever told, and saw a small crowd. A very small crowd. Much smaller than our campground on Saturday night at Watkins Glen. Then I saw many, many police, and went over to get a feeling for how they were, and to see if any "rookies" would be quick to gas. They were all pros, getting overtime, and smiling. When I asked how things were going they all said, "Great." Then one asked if I was "making the march to Public Square, as it would be leaving soon." All I could think was: Why the smart bastards are marching us off to cattle cars, where with other occupiers we would be sent to Gitmo, for all sorts of terrible things, but would include full hospitalization, dental, and our choice of menus! When I asked if that was happening, the officer was actually horrified that anyone could even think of that.

So I walked over to the crowd, and immediately ran into a FFriend who was headed back to Lakewood and The Root Cafe for more bodies! At that point I looked up and it did seem a hell of a lot thinner than the Wall Street one, The Chicago one, and well the Ocala, Florida one. And much smaller than our campground at the Glen as I mentioned. Hmmmmmmmmm, you know maybe they are all at Public Square? So we run up there, nope, no one at Public Square, well let's go back to the "Free Stamp." As we arrive, and find a parking spot within feet of the protest, I get out and one of the kids says, "We are getting ready to march to our campground, join with us. Do you need a sign?" I mention that I really do not need a sign to join any movement, just some reasonable thought. I do not think he got it. This often happens when people are drunk on the thought of Revolution, or sex, or yelling "The Other Side SUCKS!"

So I dove into the moment of "FREE SPEECH" with a handful of fellow revolutionaries, and asked, "Why are you here?" "Well aren't you tired of being poor?" I smiled and mentioned at my age, most of the time I was often just tired of being. When I said again, Why are you here? I repeatedly got no answer of substance. What came back was frustration, when I asked, "frustrated about what?" the answer was as focused as the reply of, "The Man." To be honest I was shocked that there was so little thought, let alone critical thought as to what was going on. Twice I heard, "In support of our New York Brothers and Sisters." Always a noble gesture of solidarity. But when I asked which ones, they kind of went blank and mumbled, "All of them." Uh huh. I mean even the drunks at
The Bog had a reason to be there. This was troubling. I love the movement, but uhhhhh errrrr ahhhhhh.

Meanwhile it was a nice get-together. Many young kids, mostly under 30 I would bet, getting together camping out with permits on Public Square. When I asked why not next to the Federal Building, the one person that claimed to be one of media approved people said that they had not thought of it. Ok, so why are you here camping out? "To show solidarity with our New York brothers and sisters, and all occupiers." OK, and how long will you stay? "Until we accomplish our goals!"

Ok, this has all the earmarks of a George W. Bush war. I realize that "The Tea Party®" took months of loose-knit groups like this getting together to flash their weapons in a show of manhood, as pissing in public had no longer sufficed. But this was lame even for drum circles and there was a drum circle! I have long given up on all forms of superstition, and myth, but I am reconsidering the power of drum circles. They seem to have a wild ability to bring people together and then release their collective tribal primordial human/ape senses loose, they bring the entire crowd to jumping around like the apes(people dressed as apes) in the opening scene from 2001. Well certainly for 10 or so of the 91 (official count) of those that made it to the official campground on Public Square.

Once there I turned loose my hard core political dog Nadhal into the crowd, while I stepped back to view it from afar. You know it was interesting, it was much like The Bog, but much more well-behaved. Still, there were moments when those "ecstasy smiles" could be seen between the Ritalin twitches.There was a drum circle, a man juggling, people chanting, singing, along with the comradeship of the moment, and of course, love. Yes, riot groupies, rapping down, militant hippies. They came, marched in anger, then Venus took over, and the warriors became heroes, and then lovers, all in an effort to bring Wall Street to its knees. Perhaps a child named Gordon?

Suddenly, I was hearing someone calling my name, and it was Nate. Nate is a freewheeling artist who rides the streets like surfers ride waves. A really talented kid, who works for me occasionally comes up and asks for a ride for a friend and himself to Lakewood. I say sure, when I'm going. So as Nadhal continues to work through the crowd desperately now looking for any sane comment he can use in a pro-movement story, I start drilling down with a couple of the "regulars," the ones not allowed to talk to the media. They had offered me a sign from their stolen shopping cart of signs. I mention I need something really radical, something for an anarchist like me, and he says,"We already have the Anarchy Flag flying." The statement hits me like a rubber bullet. Had I been out of it so long that the anarchists had organized and gotten their graphics and platform together?DAMN! I hate being out of it. Damn, I hate organized anarchists. What is an organized Anarchist?

Nadhal comes up to us and asks for something to do with student loans, and the guys start looking through all of the signs. It is decided we will leave if he does not find one. I look at Nadhal, and ask, "Hot Sauce Williams?" He mentions that he has never been there, and says "isn't it a bad neighborhood?" I smile, and say, yeah, I'm buying. We look for Nate without finding him and off we go, to Hot Sauce Williams, where we find out no one there even knows about the struggles of the Cleveland Occupiers. While we stand in line with others, no one knows that yet another "man" is keeping them down. How can this be? It is a global struggle. Certainly my brothers and sisters have to be tired of being poor. I order 4 wings and fries, Nadhal gets the four-piece, and says, "we are getting this to go right?" I say, "No there is spot right there in the window, we can check out Lancers." Nadhal, looks up and asks, "Is this going to make me sick?" I assure him that they respect him as a man of color, but they probably spit on my food as a blue-eyed white man that kept their people down for centuries. I assure him, "No matter it is the best chicken in Cleveland."* By the end of the meal he agrees.

As we head back down the very empty Euclid Ave, I ask Nadhal if he wants to make another pass of the "War Zone" he says sure, and as we make the loop one more time I spot Nate, and ask if he needs a ride. He says sure. So I am stopped in the middle of Public Square while Nate locks his bike and finds his skateboarding friend. A police officer walks up and asks what I am doing, and I mention like a concerned father, "I am here picking up a couple of the boys." The officer then says, OK, turn your flashers on and I quickly think back to the Vietnam Protests of thousands, and the Glen, and never remember the police being so helpful.

Nate and his friend jump in and off we go. As we top the Detroit Bridge at 60 mph-- a superstition of mine-- Nadhal asks, "What is the deal?" Nate asks what the spokespeople told him, and Nadhal assures Nate that he was told nothing of any substance or value. Then Nate and his friend Brendan express some of the most solid thinking of the entire night. "We are supporting the New York Protesters on Wall Street. As we cannot be there we believe we are doing the next best thing doing it here, and getting the media attention so that they know in New York they are not alone. The policies of the Federal Reserve, and Wall Street in combination with the added muscle with Washington has made the country unlivable for 99% of America. It is time to change that." I mentioned he should be talking for the group, and he assures me that his job is to build awareness and momentum, that the organizers have a larger plan. I ask how long he is willing to sacrifice by living on the streets, and do I need to find someone to replace him? He says, "I will stay out here on the streets as long as it takes to enact change on Wall Street." If it takes years then he is there for years, and yes he knows it will get cold and nasty but says he does not care, for this fight for change, he will stay as long as needed.

When I asked where he was headed he said, "A really good party." He said he hadn't been drunk for days, and there should be some good people and chicks there. I smile. He has all the dedication of my friends at the Bog. We will stay until it is done, and please do not fuck up my drunk or fun.

As they bail out, I turn the car to drop Nadhal off at home and ask what he thought. After rambling on about pointlessness, lack of focus, party atmosphere, and a general lack of well, anything, I stopped him and said, "No, how did you like getting tear-gassed-- errrr I mean the chicken. Are you sick yet? He laughed and said, "No it was pretty damn good."

* Hot Sauce Williams would never spit on food, I told this to Nadhal, as it seemed very odd to me that he would even question the best place in Cleveland to get Chicken and Ribs.

[Peter Grossetti]

To think that these five idiots are representaive of the ENTIRE Occupy Movement and calling for its elimination is like saying the ENTIRE Roman Catholic Church be abolished because some of their priests fondle young boys.

[ryan costa]

alright. I am sentencing the perpetrators to 1 to 3 years in a medium or low security prison for attempted aggravated structural vandalism. Preferrably, a club fed facility. they can compare notes with white collar criminals.

[Justine Cooper]

If they were real explosives it likely would have killed people, families, so attempted murder through a terrorist act is what they should get. If a policeman would have "entrapped" Timothy McVeigh into using fakes, imagine the humans it would have saved, including the children/babies in the daycare in that building. I, for one, am glad the law allow for more persuasive methods to catch future murderers. If they want to help the world, well get a job or vounteer to help the world.

[ryan costa]

These five don't look like the type to blow up bridges.

They look like the type to drink Wild Irish Rose under bridges.

Perhaps the FBI saved their lives. Left to their own devices, they would probably have severely injured or deaded themselves trying to make explosives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYehjdwGmJE

[ryan costa]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqwwGQxUChg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YAtg0Qq ... 6661B540BC