Brook and I went down to Zuccotti around 10 PM on Christmas night to support the final hours of an Occupy Christmas event. It had started on Christmas Eve and was filled with testimonials and song throughout that night and into Christmas Day. Because it was so cold participants sought refuge in a nearby McDonald's between acts. When we got there everyone was pretty tired but no less committed.
The plan was to finish with carolling as we closed on midnight and I would offer a prayer. It went well; perhaps you can catch some of it on the OWS live stream.
We soon learned that a generous soul had funded unlimited coffee and tea with the two vendors adjacent to the Park during the day and night for anyone who wanted it. A nice gesture of cheer in blustery weather. But the NYPD questioned the vendors who had received the donations so closely it intimidated them. "Why are you giving coffee to OWS people?", they asked. Keep in mind many of these vendors are newly arrived in the States and such questions are a cause for alarm. Is this interest a prelude to an immigration investigation? The result: the provision of hot beverages stopped.
The the cops were approached about this action and they said, "We're just doing our jobs." Really?
This is the kind of unprovoked harrassment which got me involved in OWS in the first place and it should worry all of us. To be clear, this gathering was as gentle as the assembly of figures at that Bethlehem manger. It brings a level of nastiness to the scene and makes one wonder who/what is behind it.
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3 comments:
Nasty, indeed, and the contrast between the loving, peaceful stance of the occupiers and the brutality and cruelty of some of the cops is stark and will only help the movement (although I'd be much happier and greatly relieved if the cops remained as nonviolent as the occupiers)
If only we could undo the damage caused by Reagan's meme of the "9 most dangerous words" by replacing it with the 5 most dangerous words : I'm just doing my job.
Stunning and saddening at the same time... My Fiancée is Director of the non-profit Quest For Social Justice and I am a retired Air Force Chaplain and now Presbyterian minister. We have watched this sort of "stuff" unfold in Alabama and in the Florida Panhandle... Read this after listening to The Rebel Jesus by Jackson Browne and believe that he hit close to home and this article does too... God help us all if we do not speak up for the voiceless!
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