The Indignant of America, the Deaths and the Closed Camps

The indignant of America, the anti-Wall Street militants who have been camping for weeks in many U.S. cities, were asked to evacuate their camps in several states over the weekend after fights and incidents caused at least four deaths within a few days. The Occupy movement — born in New York in September in the wake of the Spanish “indignados” movement — is feeling the wear and tear of an action without any outlets and is fighting against the inclement weather of the season. In several places in the U.S., winter is in full swing now. Staying overnight in the open, in parks, while the thermometer goes down is not comfortable, especially in installations with conditions that are deteriorating with the passage of time. Besides, in America the seeds of violence are always lurking: Everywhere, there are armed people who react to provocations by shooting. Mayors and police, of course, use the pretext of these episodes to “clear away” annoying and unusual situations. The culture of the Far West doesn’t align with civil protest.

Irony and creativity, the weapons that Mediterranean “indignados” tend to confront problems and difficulties with, are not the American people’s strong points. And so Occupy literally has to decamp, while in Italy — once the storm of riots and devastation passed, from black blocs hijacking a demonstration in Rome in October — the movement flaunts banners against the headquarters of Bankitalia [the Italian central bank] and the credit institutions in Venice, Genoa, Bologna and Florence. Meanwhile, in Rome, it is organizing a student exhibition in the streets. And in Naples, it blames the “BCE [European Central Bank]-made technical government,” even before there is one.

It remains to be seen whether the evacuation orders will be respected in the U.S. The anti-Wall Street activists have many followers; the rapper Jay-Z has just launched a line of T-shirts to support them. Surely, the news of the last week is tragic. In Oakland, Calif., a man was hit by a bullet near the activists’ camp. According to the press, the murder took place during a violent quarrel between groups of demonstrators. However, the movement argues that the clash happened among people unrelated to the demonstration. Still, for Mayor Jean Quan, the incident is proof that “the camps must end.”

In Burlington, Vt., a man died from a gunshot wound to the head. The victim was a former soldier, 35 years old. It could be suicide, but in the meantime, the police cordoned off the part of the park where the camp had been and stated that no one could stay in the area any longer. In Salt Lake City, Utah, a man died in his tent due to a lethal overdose of drugs and poisoning by carbon monoxide. Finally, a 53-year-old man was found dead in his tent in New Orleans, La., perhaps stricken by an illness.

Even the authorities in Portland, Ore., where there were no deaths, ordered the closure of the camp, hoping that the protest will focus now on “economic and social justice,” and not on organizing makeshift camps.