Hard Times at Occupy Boston

Hard Times at Occupy Boston

By Donal on Sun, 12/04/2011 - 5:50pm |

Occupiers are deeply aware of the fact that their critics seize on every report of violence and drug abuse, acting as though the movement has created a criminal culture that didn’t previously exist. The reality is that drugs and violence are mainstays of American cities, especially in tough economic times, and it would be shocking if these problems didn’t bleed into the encampments. But the unforgiving scrutiny of the right-wing press has accelerated the pace of crackdowns across America, from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, and Boston’s Safety team is doing everything it can to preserve one of the largest remaining encampments in the country.

Much of John and Alex’s time is spent on individuals like Henry, who they say they’ve spent dozens of hours trying to pacify. “We try to explain that their violent behavior is hurting the movement. We try to educate them about why we’re all here,” says Alex. “We want them to be awed by this,” John adds.

Why spend so much time on individuals who show no progress, I ask, why not just kick them out? “The problems people like Henry are facing aren’t being adequately dealt with by society, and I don’t think we’d be philosophically satisfied if we didn’t totally exhaust ourselves,” John replies, noting that the one time they got Henry to leave, he returned soon afterwards. “The social services and prison system are terrible; we don’t wanna just kick someone out into the wilds of society,” says John.

John has made a lot of enemies, especially on Weird Street. A police detective recently told him that he was being specifically targeted for violence, which has given him some pause. “I realize I need to tone down my ego,” he says, aware of his own authoritarian streak. “And in a way, it is really presumptuous of us to think we can save people. We’re not trained for this.”

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http://www.thenation.com/article/164932/hard-times-occupy-boston

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