The crackdown begins

[sabotabby]

Well, I suppose it already began in Oakland, but that's Oakland. The Guardian has a useful guide to who is getting their heads cracked in where.

Here in Toronto, the city tried to evict the occupiers from St. James Park, but failed because of a little thing called the law. Hah! The courts will hear arguments from both sides on Friday; until then, Bill Blair's brownshirts have to back off.

Tonight at 11 pm, there's a rally in support of the occupiers at St. James Park. I can't go for obvious reasons, but if you do not have to wake up at an ungodly hour, you should. Sid Ryan, in his open letter to fellow union activists, notes that where police have attacked, they've done it when crowds have thinned and particularly when labour bigwigs and the media have left.

Honestly, I would have expected the reaction to have started much sooner than it has. Locally, the fact that the police have been under greater-than-usual scrutiny following their riot at the G20 has prevented the Honourable Wife-Beater and his goons from going all-out on the hippies. I'm inclined to believe that in general, OWS has been allowed to go on simply because politicians would like an excuse to do away with public parks altogether so that developers might build condos there.

At any rate, I encourage everyone who can to help out in some way. Shit's about to get real.

P.S. If you go to the rally tonight, the legal support number is 416.833.6137 or TTY at 416.619.0422. Write it on your arm with a sharpie.

Comments

[sabotabby]

Let's rid the working class of immortal, blood-sucking parasites! And also vampires.

[ironed_orchid]

YES!

[pofflewomp.livejournal.com]

And free the nice underclass who live on benefits, too!

[sabotabby]

That would be the reserve army of labour. Also part of the working class.

[pofflewomp.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes. Although I prefer to think of us as the new aristocracy.

[canonfire.livejournal.com]

How things stand.

http://www.wonkette.com/456282/surprise-homeland-security-coordinates-ows-crackdowns-nationwide

[sabotabby]

I am stunned, let me tell you. Shocked!

[pofflewomp.livejournal.com]

This is another situation where I cry lots about having no friends to do stuff with, as I am too shy to go alone to things, and my boyfriend is not well enough to cope with crowds or noise.

I have been thinking of trying to organise a few nights' doggiesitter so my boyfriend and I could join the occupation camp here for a few days, but I am worried that it would just be too hard as I am feeling awful and he has been geting psychotic thoughts again. Alas.

We will, however, visit it and donate some camping mats soon, although actually I feel bad doing that as homeless people need the camping mats more, so I might just give them to local homeless people.

[goddess32585.livejournal.com]

Chances are quite high that there are homeless people at your local Occupy site. And, do you know that dogs are not allowed at your site? You can probably take them along.

[pofflewomp.livejournal.com]

That's true - although my dog is so woofy that I think he'd keep everyone awake!

[rackletang.livejournal.com]

Seattle PD decided very recently that it would be cool to pepper spray elderly and pregnant women. So we've got that going for us, I guess.

[sabotabby]

Well, your cops do have a fine tradition of brutality. Seattle's so nice in practically every other way.

[rackletang.livejournal.com]

Indeed. We're a weird, wonderful, friendly place. But don't threaten to carve any wood in front of our cops, because they will fuckin' kill you.