Filed under: Occupy Wall Street | Tags: liberty park, Occupy wall street, OWS, zuccotti
Even at its best, Occupy Wall Street is hard. It’s a difficult, often emotionally abusive lover. But there are times that remind you why you started the relationship at all. #J10 was one of those times.
Since the morning of the eviction of Liberty Square, Nov. 15, there have been police barricades around the entire park and security guards limiting what Occupiers can bring in. I myself have felt uncomfortably like I’m doing something wrong every time I had to pass through the obnoxious security access points. Zuccotti has also had diminished access to the public, tourists, neighbors, and workers, because a penned-in park is not welcoming. It has created a division between passersby and those involved in Occupy Wall Street. Before the barricades went up, anyone could stroll by and become part of a General Assembly or an informal discussion. That’s how many of us came to Occupy in the first place. But after the barricades, our General Assemblies became a show, theater, a zoo of trapped activists.
I arrived early for GA on Tuesday, Jan. 10. I was completely shocked to stroll up to Liberty Square at 6:30 pm to find no barricades and completely open access on the north side. I hesitantly strolled in, but began feeling the freedom immediately, a new breathing space, and saw that Brookfield security and a few of their fancy-looking supervisors (I can only assume) were removing the metal barricades from the perimeter of the park and stacking them near the bench that used to be home to our People’s Library. I saw people celebrating, calling friends to tell them to get down to a newly liberated Zuccotti, people singing and chanting and calling out for Livestream teams to come witness this sudden party.
What followed was several hours of spontaneous celebration. Someone brought out a bucket and restarted the long-dormant drum circle. More people flooded in. We held a quick GA, during which a member of Housing erected a tent in our midst that was immediately confiscated by security, but we just laughed. Press arrived, and livestreamers. Cameras popped up everywhere. The OWS Kitchen showed up to feed us in the park for the first time in nearly two months. The People’s Library appeared out of nowhere with dozens of books (which we had to defend from security, who made a “no libraries” rule on the spot). Friends hugged and everyone was beaming. It seemed like we’d won a victory. And I am truly grateful to the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the National Lawyers Guild for making this happen, having filed a letter the day prior to declare the barricades an unconstitutional blocking of public space.
So, on one hand, it was a beautiful night. On the other, it’s sickening it even had to happen. It’s an outrage that our constitutional rights to peaceably assemble were hampered for two months. I hate that we were relegated to celebrating what should have been our right all along. It was not a true victory, or a moving forward of the movement’s goals, but a pathetic concession.
And yet, we strive so hard, day in and day out. My friends are those who attend countless, seemingly endless Occupy Wall Street meetings every day. We put our all into going through the messy, frustrating process of consensus. We learn to understand and love those who try us. So we deserve a little happiness sometimes. And #J10 was a night that reminded me why I devote my life to OWS. On #J10, I watched the faces of my close friends light up–people I didn’t know till the past couple months but who I now truly love. I watched them dance and chant. I saw a community come together, ready to be arrested to protect a library and the freedom of information. I felt love, pure joy, and true solidarity.
And it’s these spontaneous moments, these impromptu victories, that help us stay connected to each other and to the movement. When I leave a contentious Spokes Council feeling defeated and dejected, I can recall such high points of OWS and trust in my fellow Occupiers that we will get through the hard times. We will prevail.
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