Imminent Eviction

This matter of invading streets and plazas with pretexts as exotic as demanding jobs, better education, better health services or some qualms about financial management is something that the “good people” have never thought was good. For this right to protest is something that should be exercised with the greatest of discretion, without disturbing the daily tranquility. At least that is what is deduced from the words of one member of the governing body of the city of Oakland, when warning that those who remain in any of the plazas have already exercised their democratic rights by occupying this site for five months. “We take note of their demands,” he said, “and we know, or infer, why they protest, but it is time for them to vacate the plaza and allow the city to return to normal.” In other words, they’ve already had their democratic experiment, so let life continue as it has so far. “And their demands?” asked someone. Well, those will be addressed in time, if they can.

It is a one-dimensional thinking that seems to reproduce itself throughout the country where authorities gradually cede to pressure exerted mainly by trade associations, businessmen and conservative politicians, for whom the police should put an end to the “inconvenience” caused by the sit-ins. None have bothered to understand the background of what those who have occupied the plazas demand. There are two irreconcilable worlds that distance themselves from each other as the days pass. To the movement a few started on Wall Street have been added thousands who have moved a good part of society but, as it seems, not those responsible for the precarious situation of millions of people in the United States.

They have responded to the authorities’ attacks with calmness, putting forth only their banners on which they inscribe their demands. One of them said: “No one has interrupted the daily life of those who come here to conduct transactions in the banks, or who go to the malls, or who sit in the restaurant opposite us to eat; they have all done so in a normal fashion without being bothered. Why then do they say that we are interrupting daily life?”

Nevertheless, and from the statements of governments in various cities, it is imminent that the police will vacate those who have peacefully occupied the public plazas.

It would be bad news to restrict a protest that has until now been peaceful. Only a few have expressed their rage through violence, breaking some windows and painting some walls. However, these expressions may multiply in response to police intervention. It’s easy to see that the problems that equally affect everyone living in the country are many. For this reason, the rebellions that in the past affected one or another city alone may combine on this occasion, with a result that is difficult to predict.

*Editor’s Note: The quotations in this article, accurately translated, could not be verified.