Occupy New Haven may have made it through the coldest days of winter, but it looks like they won’t be going much further if the city has its way. New Haven is demanding that the “occupiers” pack up and leave the downtown green by noon on Wednesday, March 14.
The Occupy crowd plans on staying put according to the Hartford Courant. They reportedly won’t be leaving because the city hasn’t met the group’s demands “for improved school funding and low-income housing, longer library hours and an end to foreclosures. A lawyer for the protesters says it could take years in court proceedings to evict the occupiers.”
Occupy New Haven began in October with a . The numbers dwindled over the months, but the protesters developed a semi-permanent home on the New Haven Green through the and .
Do you steal from the country by passing legislation through Lobbyists to benefit corporations (ALEC)? Do you outsource jobs because of tax benefits? Do you control and poison the food like Monsanto? Do you threaten the country with a crash, ask for a bail and take bonuses and expect the taxpayers to continue this addiction? Do you send family members off to wars under the guise of Democracy to acquire resources and then pass laws like NDAA & EEA overnite during NYE. Drones are approved to survey you, as well as constant surveillance everywhere you go now. If you don't then maybe you should re-examine why you aren't out there with us & doing what it means to be a true American practicing our doctrines, and not just waving flags & wearing pins (made in china) on command when the bobbing head show tells you to. There will not be a television special about it, msm is owned and will not provide anything but the movie script. Wake up!
Brass balls, city administration. Shame! Just because you don't like the way they're protesting doesn't mean it's not a valid form of protest. They're not lighting things on fire or blowing things up, for God's sake... let them be! We send troops overseas to bomb everything to hell and back, and oppress other countries' citizens, but it wasn't enough to stop there, was it? Now we're turning the police against our own citizens for simply being in a certain place for a certain amount of time? Don't make the oppression in this world worse than it already is! If you don't like what the protest looks like, do the right thing and offer to help fix it instead of stifling other peoples' free expression and exchange of ideas!
You are correct to raise awareness to the real ills of our society... but what methods or means do you have or suggest to make others cure these ills? Occupying space is a demonstration of your beliefs.. not a solution to the problem. The crack in the Liberty Bell is a reminder to all of us that our country is not perfect. But think of the difference between those on the Green who choose to protest and those in Syria who choose to protest....I'll take our broken system anyday. Your quotes from the Constitution sound noble.... but they also must be taken in the context and spirit that they were written. Freedom of speech, for example, has it's limitations. You know that as well as I do... if you are a Constitutionalist. It's may be more difficult to change the system from within, but you have a better chance of success than by "Occupying." I watched the same thing happen in the 1960's. The issues were more real, the crowds were much larger and the movement that demanded change was much more powerful thar Occupy. Things did change... not overnight.. but they did change. Relax. In a democracy things take time to change for a reason. I'm not certain that you know or understand that reason.
"Ah. Here they are. They should not leave. They have 1st amendment right to assembly."
The city is in no position to make demands, because the people don't work for the government; the government works for the people. It's long overdue that we started using our power as American citizens again, instead of falling asleep at the yoke and trusting the auto-pilot to fly us everywhere.
If I choose to exercise my right to occupy the same exact space as your movement has done on the Green, what would you suggest I do? Find my own space somewhere else on the Green? It is a big Green! Here is the issue.. New Haven Green is not "public property." You do not have the "right" to occupy it anymore than you have the "right" to occupy someone's private property. The city government did work for Occupy (and you) in allowing them to stay. The government also asked politely that you leave after staying longer than most of the other Occupy movements around the country. You do realize that there was a cost to the taxpayers for your stay and now its time for you and your followers to move on with your movement intellectually, physically and politically. There are other citizens and taxpayers who may want to use that parcel of the Green as you have done over the last several months. They also have a right to assemble and free speech.