In the days before the New Hampshire primary, Occupy Manchester set up a camp in Veterans Memorial Park to serve as daytime base of operations for activists who came from as far away as the West Coast to protest the perversion of politics by corporate money. On the night before voting, the proximity of this encampment and the Radisson hotel lounge across the street led to friendly conversation between Occupy activists and at least two notable people.

Michael Steele is former chairman of the Republican National Committee. When John Ford of Occupy Boston pressed Steele about why those who caused economic collapse have never been criminally investigated, Steele said “The system moves to protect itself.” When asked by Ford, “What can we do?” Steel replied, “Keep doing what you’re doing.” In regards to the protests and political birddogging the occupiers had done in New Hampshire over the previous few days, Steel said, “You did a great job. Keep it going.”

A while later, activists including Eric Binder of Occupy Boston talked to Juan Williams, a writer and commentator appearing on Fox News Channel. When asked his opinion of Occupy, Williams said “I like it.” When Binder mentioned freedom of speech, Williams laughed in a friendly way and said “imagine what I feel about freedom of speech” (probably referring to a 2010 incident when comments he made on “The O’Reilly Factor” led to NPR terminating his contract). Williams, agreeing with many of the protestors’ gripes, said “there’s a lot to be changed.”

Starting Wednesday (when Mark Provost asked Mitt Romney to update his opinion on corporate personhood to “corporations are abusive people”) through Tuesday, activists with the Occupy movement made themselves seen and heard wherever candidates appeared in public. On Monday, Occupiers staged a protest at Obama for America headquarters in Manchester to send the message that neither Democrats nor Republicans are currently serving the common good.

John Murphy (right) speaks to crowds in Harvard Square during an October rally. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

BLAST: Who are you?

JOHN MURPHY: Murph. I’m 24, from Boston, union carpenter, student at community college.

BLAST: What do you do?

JM: Making sure the movement moves forward. Putting a foot to people’s asses when need be. Simple as that. I would rather be part of history than read about it.

BLAST: What’s your gripe?

JM: I’m involved with the Occupy movement because Americans like to believe and claim that America is number one. But any educated human knows that is false. The US fails in healthcare and education, which are are two most important things any developed nation needs to move forward. Hopefully this movement wakes Americans up and makes them realize the US is only 5% of the world’s population, not 99% of the population. With that, hopefully, more people will realize that the US dictates how other nations should run. The US truly does police the world; that needs to end.

BLAST: Share a memory?

JM: Too many.

BLAST: What’s next?

JM: We move into a warehouse, or office, or open indoor space. In 2016, Occupy will occupy every local, state, and national branch of our government.

Al Suarez, Farhad Ebrahimi and Noah McKenna minutes before arrest on December 10. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

BLAST: Who are you?

AL SUAREZ: My name is Alexander Suarez. Most people on camp called me Al. My hometown is Boston. I’m 27, unemployed. I’m one of the 46 arrested December 10th at the camp, and one of the 25 first arraigned, and one of the 8 of them who plead not guilty and did not accept the deal.

BLAST: What do you do?

AS: On camp I worked with both media group and safety group. One of the reasons safety group was important is because outsiders would sometimes come into camp and seemed like they might hurt people. Media group is important because the mainstrem media is biased. We need to have our own voice.

BLAST: What’s your gripe?

AS: They’re taking our rights bit by bit. I’m involved with Occupy for a better future for our children.

BLAST: Share a memory?

AS: One of my best memories on camp is when I spoke at the GA [General Assembly] for the first time. I got to tell people I came from the camp in Vermont which was shutdown. And I got to tell them how much I admired the fact the Boston camp was still around in spite of what happened there and in NYC, that things were still working in Boston. I told the crowd that we must work together for a new society.

BLAST: Who are you?

NICOLE SULLIVAN: Well, it depends who you ask. First, important demographics: I am a twenty one year old queer women living in Somerville and going to school at a local community college. I have been involved in activism for over a year, I started with anti-rape activism (I am survivor of multiple assaults). I grew up in an upper middle class family, graduated with honors from a top notch private high school and was homeless by the time I was 19. I didn’t use drugs. I was working and in college. I became severely ill from an assault at 18, did not have familial support and the burden was not something I was able to carry. I managed to work my way out of poverty and am now back in school.

Basically, I am someone who has been on both sides of the fence. I’ve seen the amazing privileges that come from being born into the right family and having some modicum of wealth and I’ve seen the incredible hardship of living within a system that is stacked against the average person. I’ve been a hard worker most of my life, it wasn’t that I hit eighteen and became lazy or dumb or an addict. It was just once I lost the backbone of wealth, it did not matter how hard I worked. There is no way to win.

BLAST: What do you do?

NS: At Occupy, I do quite a few things. I am in several action oriented groups such as Direct Action and street teams. I believe that doing actions is the only way to create change. Its like that cliché, “actions speak louder than words.” The fact that Occupy is so action oriented is why I joined. I was sick of talking about things, I wanted change I am also in a couple of outreach groups – outreach and movement building – where we reach out into the Boston community to try to get really grounded in community issues and to bring our message out to the masses. I also do a lot of anti-oppression work. I came into activism through feminism and I see everything from an anti-oppressive standpoint. I fully believe that we need to include the full 99% percent to be a mass movement so the anti-oppression working groups I am in seek to create a space to do that. I also participate in more infrastructure related groups, such as in reach which works on internal communication. Occupy Boston keeps me pretty busy.

BLAST: What’s your gripe?

NS: Well, I could go for a long while about corporate control of our economy and government, income disparity and the like. Those are facets of why I am here. However, for me, there is something much deeper. At the heart of things, I just expect more. I expect more of my government. I expect more of my communities. I expect more of my neighbors. We can be better than mass poverty, income disparity, greed. We can be so much better. We deserve to be better than this. I think it is the very basis of our country, this idea of expecting more. It has gotten lost amid mass apathy and misinformation. For a while, I thought everyone had just given up. Occupy proves me wrong in the best way.

BLAST: Share a memory?

NS: There are so many. One that will always stick with me is the night of the first mass arrest on Columbus Day. I was part of the line defending the expansion camp when the police through us. There were screams, I saw my friends get hurt. I was extraordinarily scared. Then, I looked around. Everyone was scared, the girl next to me was shaking – but none of us were leaving. We were all here to do what was right. I didn’t even know half of the 141 people who were arrested, but it didn’t matter. In that moment, we were all much bigger than individuals. It was a unity I had never seen before in my life.

BLAST: What’s next?

NS: So much. The past two months were barely the beginning. We’re just getting started.

Elizabeth Holmes (left) and other Boston occupiers in Harvard Square on October 23 (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

BLAST: Who are you?

ELIZABETH HOLMES: Who am I? I’m Elizabeth, also known as Mom or Eli.

BLAST: What do you do?

EH: I am a part of medical, safety, wellness, legal and jail support; was in media and direct action.

BLAST: What’s your gripe?

EH: I’m tired of hearing that there are people starving, not receiving (and being billed for) medical care, without a shelter, without quality education. I work in the hemophilia community and teach; several of my gripes come from my experience in both the medical and education fields. Everyone will have access to free quality comprehensive care and free quality education. I’m not sure how that’ll happen but that’s why I’m involved in Occupy.

BLAST: Share a memory?

EH: I walked out of the medical tent at “Take Back the Capital” [in Washington, DC] grumbling about not being able to volunteer there and ran into a bunch of Occupiers mic checking about co-option. It was like running into my long lost family members at the mall.

BLAST: What’s next?

EH: I’m working on a few projects – comprehensive care training for occupations, supply acquisition solution so we can stop spending money, getting medical training to some Occupied Farms, a free comprehensive care clinic in Boston. I’m traveling and am currently at Occupy Wall Street doing research and completing apprenticeship-type experiences. I plan to bring this knowledge back to Boston and then travel about the US with a friend from Occupy LA.

November 19 – Awaiting the release of follow occupier “Ping Pong” from a South Boston police station, Mike Kostigan (center) reads while fellow occupiers sleep. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

BLAST: Who are you?

MIKE KOSTIGEN: I’m 22, Born and raised in Boston. Sailing Instructor. Former Marine Transportation major, transferring to study history.

BLAST: What do you do?

MK: Within Occupy Boston I work with the Direct Action working group. We help to plan marches, as well as try to keep everyone safe during the marches. We also help to coordinate different relevant trainings. Within my Affinity Group (a group of 6-12 people who you really really trust) I helped to build and maintain our sleeping quarters. We had one of the best sleeping areas within the camp. We had two tents, a porch, couches, bike generators and lighting. We all worked hard to build that place, and it showed in that it was one of the last tents standing.

BLAST: What’s your gripe?

MK: I have a laundry list of gripes with the state of our country today. The problem is, I, as a working class person, have no other method left to have my concerns heard.

BLAST: Share a memory?

MK: I have two favorite memories of Dewey Square. One was the second night. We had a big tent, and the next thing we knew the entire immediate neighborhood was over playing music and debating politics. Debate is almost the wrong word because even though we all has staunchly different views we all stayed up until at least 3 a.m. .talking about why we came to those ideas, and even if we disagreed we respected each others opinions and more importantly we gained more respect for each other. The other favorite memory is one I don’t really remember, but sometime along the way my affinity group came to the realization that we were no longer just friends, we had become the single most loving and dysfunctional family the world has ever seen.

BLAST: What’s next?

MK: As for the future there are a lot of plans. Most people agree that we need to hold out for the spring. Immediate plans are to get a home base, housing for everyone, and then plan for the American Spring which is only a few months away.

Editor’s note: John Stephen Dwyer, a contributing editor for Blast, has been writing about Occupy Boston and spending several nights a week in Dewey Square since the protest began on September 30. He also reports on Occupy Harvard, the protest that began on November 9 and continues behind the locked and guarded gates of Harvard Yard.

At 5 a.m. Saturday morning, hundreds of Boston Police officers converged on Dewey Square Park to evict the Occupy Boston tent community that was established on September 30 and had become the oldest standing Occupy encampment in the US.

Arrests began with almost three dozen activists, who sat down in the area used for the General Assembly and locked their arms in defiance. Shortly before 5:40 a.m., police arrested five more men who placed themselves on the ground in front of a front-end loader parked on Atlantic Ave on the opposite side of Summer Street. Things were relatively calm from then until just after 6:30 a.m., when four women bolted into the center of the intersection, sat down, and were arrested as well.

A total of 46 arrests were reported — 32 men and 14 women.

Overall, the morning up to the raid was characterized by warm sentiments between activists and uncertainty about how (but not if) Occupy Boston would carry on once the encampment was leveled. When the raid finally took place two hours before dawn, there was no riot gear worn, no tear gas or pepper spray used, and no angry-faced police thrusting or swinging their truncheons at non-violent protestors. Rather, it was clear many people on both sides of the arrest had a certain amount of respect for one another and, in some cases, were even on a friendly, first-name basis.

Emotional denouement

Although close to 2,000 people gathered around Dewey Square in the early hours of Friday morning in anticipation of a police raid, probably less than two hundred were present Saturday morning to witness the final hours of the Occupy Boston encampment. The atmosphere was one of sentimental camaraderie and triumph with relatively few indications of sadness or anxiety about the looming eviction. People who customarily bumped fists exchanged hugs instead. Looking for words for what they were feeling, they talked about one another as “brothers” and “sisters.”

With tense anticipation in the air, Bill the Medic lightened the mood of both police and protestors with a hand-made sign (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Around 1 a.m., a couple dozen people gathered in a circle on Dewey Square Plaza, the paved area just outside the entrance to Dewey Square Park. Not disturbed by the noise of heavy traffic or the din of a large crowd, they took turns speaking but didn’t need to rely upon the call and response of the people’s mic. The majority spoke in emotional terms about the transformative experience of being part of Occupy Boston for ten weeks and, in particular, about the friends they had made. Many said that the movement would outlive the encampment but no one dwelt on that point. It was, by this time, a common understanding that no one in Occupy Boston openly voiced doubts about.

Bill, an amiable member of the Medic Team popular with both protestors and police, approached the circle wearing his familiar blue vest with reflective patches and the letters “EMT” on the back. In one hand, he held a cigarette and a can of orange soda, in the other hand, a sign saying “medics want to go home / please start the raid.” His snowy-white goatee framed a grin. Pointing towards his sign, he made patrolmen smile, too, by kidding them about not doing their jobs. Protestors also chuckled at his sign, one murmuring to a comrade “Seriously. The wait is worse than anything.”

Balloon-gate

A while later, some young men and women began unfolding a huge, parachute-like sack of material they had somehow smuggled into camp. This tent-like structure was designed to be held up by wind, but they didn’t have success in erecting it in the General Assembly area. Patrolmen told them to end their efforts, but they didn’t speak with convincing authority or urgency. Gently teasing the cops, protestors joked about “balloon-gate” as a reference to the more tense and serious “sinkgate” incident of December 1 when police seized a sink and arrests were made.

Playfully defying the police still further, people grabbed the fabric and ran down the gravel path (briefly labeled “Sacco and Vanzetti Avenue” in mid-October but more recently adorned with a sturdy wooden signpost reading “Thoreau-fair St.”) until the light material caught enough breeze to partially inflate. A group of friends entered it, playfully laughing and joking about “occupy the balloon.” Police let them have some fun before insisting it be rolled back up because no new structures were being allowed.

Jacks attacked

The arrest of this man accused of striking a female activist in the face spurred a round of jests about how "white guys in suits" should be profiled as dangerous individuals. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

A while later, shouts were heard from Atlantic Avenue and dozens of people on camp ran to investigate. But instead of discovering that the raid had begun, they found police arresting a man in a white shirt and suit coat alleged to have followed, insulted and assaulted Robin Jacks — better known as @caulkthewagon, prominent representative of Occupy Boston’s tongue-in-cheek “Twitter Working Group.” After the man was arrested, Jacks hugged Detective Sergeant Jim O’Connor (a familiar plainclothes officer who had recently added a “I am the 99 percent” button to his outerwear) in gratitude.

When Jacks told her tale of ordeal to fellow activists and asked for a “temperature check” on the Boston Police, she received a positive consensus of “twinkle fingers” (the same hands-up, finger wiggling gesture used in American Sign Language to indicate applause) from the crowd. Elsewhere in camp, a stalwart who boasted about defending his tent (but ended up fleeing anyway when police arrived) had erected a small sign saying “no pigs allowed.” Reaction to it was primarily negative.

Police move in

As it got close to 5 a.m., few thought a raid was imminent and most expected the raid wouldn’t happen until Sunday morning. Robin Jacks, sharing her thoughts about the situation, said “It’s been a waiting game, not really knowing what’s happening. Seeing a lot of people here. That’s good. I mean, for an overnight, this is a lot of people, especially people who are out and active and not just people sleeping. Usually if you were to come here at this point on a Friday night, It’d be dead. Just Safety would be out. So, it’s been nice…[seeing] people I haven’t seen in a while. It’s been nice. I might go home and get some Z’s in like 15 minutes.”

Defiantly seated in the same area that Occupy Boston held its General Assemblies, these activists mic checked various messages before being arrested. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Holding an icepack to her face, she then described how she was attacked earlier in the night but was interrupted by the calm voice of her girlfriend, Meghann Sheridan, saying, “Robin, it’s happening” and the raspy voice of Alex “Troll” De Luca shouting “form up!” a split second later. Her head turning, Jacks said “shit” as she ran to see dozens of police vehicles — including prisoner transport vehicles and the white vans of the Special Operations Unit — coming down Atlantic Avenue.

Police, mostly in yellow vests or coats, lined up along Atlantic Ave spacing themselves at arms’ length away from one another as both similarly-dressed patrolmen and black-garbed Special Ops police approached from Summer Street. Soon Captain Bernard O’Rourke, the tall and stern-faced head of District A-1 who has been present at most of Occupy Boston’s marches and direct actions, walked through the camp with a megaphone, sometimes stopping to point it at a tent while saying, “Good morning. This is the Boston Police Department. You are trespassing on Greenway property. If you do not leave the park you will be subject to arrest.”

O’Rourke didn’t respond when a male voice coming from a tent asked how long would be given to collect his belongings but rather continued walking, repeating the above message, and adding, “Please leave the park in the direction of Summer Street and South Station.” Approaching the Medical Tent, O’Rourke gave his direction, “…leave in the direction of South Station, towards Summer Street, please,” without electronic amplification.

Walking along the path of what had been called “Main Street,” O’Rourke resumed his use of the megaphone while adding “…take your property with you” to his message. As a confused camper exited his camp O’Rourke pointed and said, “Go out towards South Station. You don’t want to be arrested.” Lifting the megaphone again, he urged haste saying “Let’s go, guys. Let’s go, gents. Head towards South Station, you won’t be arrested. Head towards South Station, you will not be arrested. Let’s go.”

The Stand-off

Then, coming from the North side of the park, came the call-and-response of the people’s mic and the defiant Occupy chant, “Show me what democracy looks like? This is what democracy looks like!” The noise was originating from the General Assembly area where the occupation had held its horizontally democratic meetings — many long and fairly boring, others long and filled with drama too overblown for film or stage. Now, some three dozen activist sat, facing Atlantic Avenue, on the zigzag paving stones. They locked arms, a gesture understood by many to invite a charge of unlawful assembly or, even, resisting arrest.

Jose, a sometimes member of the Safety Team evicted from a different area of the camp, was dragged out as he swore and complained about not being able to put on his shoes before arrest. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

When asked what would happen to their remaining tents and other property, Superintendent William Evans — the small-built police official who had walked through Dewey Square building relationships with protestors almost daily — answered them through a megaphone saying, “We’re going to throw it away…unfortunately…so if you have property, if you have valuables, anything that might disappear, please get it….we don’t want confrontation.”

John Ford questioned Evans further. Ford, with auburn sideburns and military surplus clothing, is the ever-impassioned “library guy” and “safety guy” whose larger-than-life personality caused a writer for “The Nation” to say, “it’s clear that he’s the de facto leader of Occupy Boston.” This statement ruffled many feathers among the devoutly leaderless occupiers of Dewey Square. Ford’s too. But it didn’t cost him any respect among the many people who rely upon his help, council and ability to, as he puts in, “to do things that need to be done. It’s not that hard. Fuck.”

Ford – who fought at Thursday’s General Assembly for the idea that Occupy Boston might leave the park better than it was found – asked Evans to give occupiers until morning to clean the camp themselves if they promised to leave. “We’ve given you two days to get your stuff out, John,” Evans replied, “No, John, We’ve given you two days. Alright? You had plenty of time. You work with us; I know you tried to help. But people have chosen to stay. If that’s what their choice is, unfortunately…”

Interrupted by Ford’s insistent pleas, Evan’s amplified voice stammering a bit saying, “you guys…want to get arrested. We’re doing this nicely as possible, Alright? Please. We don’t want to have to force on anyone or anyone hurt. Alright? We’re gonna use as least force as we have to. Alright? So please. Go easily, if you can.”

Behind this scene, among the many police assembled, a protestor stood with a wooden sign that had been displayed prominently in Dewey Square since early October. Its square, black letters on a white background spelled out a phrase used by many occupiers with military or law enforcement experience. It read, “I took an oath to defend the Constitution / So here I am!”

Parting mic checks

Waiting for arrest, a male occupier shouted for and got the people’s mic. He then yelled, “the officers…are enforcing…the law…in the past…people have…stood up against…laws…so their voice…could be heard…It’s sad…that this…is what it took…for us…to get our voice…but now…we have a voice…and we’re not going to…shut up…we are relevant…listen to us!”

Seconds later, a female occupier mic checked saying, “we have a right…to assemble…it is not up to them…to tell us when…to stop assembling!” Another male voice, mic checking as well, complained that the press had been pushed too far back to record what transpired. A fourth voice, belonging to a person holding a camera and weaving between the police, assured his comrades that the live stream was broadcasting it and had thousand of viewers. Someone yelled, happily, “Thank you, Internet!”

Ford spoke again, standing, mic checking, and calling to his fellows “I am now…going to protest…[using] my individual right here…to not give them my [bail?] money…I have given you my sweat…my blood…my tears…my advice…but I will not give you any here…that’s what I will say…’you will not get another dime from me today’…but I’m right here.” He walked away down Atlantic Avenue, head characteristically bowed, fists characteristically clenched. It looked like he was leaving but returned after passing his car keys off to Robin Jacks and was arrested along with his comrades.

Al Suarez, an activist who had joined Occupy Boston after the Occupy Burlington encampment was leveled by police, had rushed back from the “Take Back the Capitol” action in Washington, DC when he heard Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s ominous words about a midnight Thursday deadline. Suarez mic checked, “I’d like to give a shout out…to Occupy Vermont…we were shut down then…this time…I’m ready to be arrested…for my country…and for the future of this country…for all of our children.”

Another man, indicating that many occupiers called Dewey Square home and had no where else to go to, mic checked, “how do you think…Menino would feel…if we took his home…out from under his feet…and threw all his things away?…He’d sing a whole different song!”

Air Force vet Alex Ingram yelled his mic check so loud it forced the molassasy twang from his thick Georgia accent as he declared, “We are all witnesses…we were witnesses when…they were taking homes…we were witnesses when…the financial system collapsed…we were witness when…we watched other Occupys across the country…taken down one by one…and tonight…we are witnesses…to solidarity…as long as our eyes and ears are open…we will be a witness…to the good…and the evil…through all the world.”

A woman’s mic check, her voice possessing less volume but no less message than her male comrades, declared, “what does…President Obama…have to say…about the over 4,000…arrests of…peaceful assembly…in the United States…when he encouraged….assembly in…Tahrir…Hamas, Syria…Bahrain…Yemen…Tunisia…and Libya…why are they…getting more support from him…than we are?”

Arrests and dismantling of the camp

The flag on the left was added to this display by Sgt. Robert Merner, Boston Police officer who rescued if after it had fallen on muddy ground in a different area of Dewey Square. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Their combined voices booming, the demonstrators call-and-response chanted “from Mattapan to Allston…Occupy Boston!” again and again as sanitation workers and police began dismantling tents and throwing them into a garbage truck. Arriving on site, Commissioner Ed Davis told reporters “…just some arrests being made, that’s all” and wouldn’t say much else.

Among these uniformed men and woman was Sgt. Robert Merner, an officer with a shaved head who was around Dewey Square all the time for the first month and a half or so of the occupation. Merner took a small flag that had fallen off a tent and carried it over to where the fire extinguisher near the sign tent once rested. He planted the flag at eye level, displaying it next to an identical one atop a sign reading “Occupy is the highest form of patriotism.” But this tableau, too, eventually made it into the trash truck. Whether the flags were ultimately rescued or just tossed in with the rest isn’t known.

As press was lined up on Atlantic Avenue waiting for those arrested to be filed past their cameras, some occupiers felt it was the bankers, not the people protesting corruption, who deserved a perp walk. “We are not here,” said the people’s mic, “for a publicity stunt…we are here…to voice our voices!” Perhaps in reaction to this, or perhaps as part of a plan to avoid media scrutiny, the police backed their transport vehicles into the General Assembly area, loaded them with hand-tied protestors, then drove them away.

Captain Bernard O'Rourke (right), a frequent presence at Occupy Boston events, displayed stern demeanor on Monday when occupiers attempted to bring a winter-proof tent into Dewey Square. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, speaking less than 24 hours after Suffolk Superior Court Judge Frances McIntyre lifted a restraining order that kept the city from raiding Occupy Boston’s tent city at Dewey Square Park, seems to have issued an ultimatum to the activists by saying “We’re going to ask the occupants of Dewey Square to be out there by midnight … [or] we’ll take further action.”

Occupy Boston encamped across from South Station on September 30. It’s now the longest-running “physical occupation” in the US but activists often assert that occupations — including Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Denver and Occupy Los Angeles — are actually communities of people rather than the physical spaces in which they congregate or set up tents.

Today Dewey Square is busy with activity as people move valuable items – such as supplies stored in the Food Tent and books kept in the Library Tent – to safe locations away from the encampment. Many activists involved with Occupy Boston are trying to return from the union-backed actions in Washington, DC where they arrived by bus Monday afternoon. On the home front, many Occupy Boston activists enrolled in college classes are struggling to concentrate on final exams or term papers today but have pledged to be in Dewey Square by midnight.

Occupy Boston posted the following statement today at OccupyBoston.org:

This morning, Mayor Menino issued a midnight deadline for Occupy Boston to leave the Greenway. The articulated threat of eviction is a clear and present danger to the community we have built over the past ten weeks. We came to Dewey Square to practice true democracy and give visibility to injustice; we came to see if we could not–in providing for basic needs–maintain a standing indictment against their enforced deprivation within our broader community. With this commitment came hard evidence of economic suffering, evidence that we present at the doorstep of the Federal Reserve along with our democracy, our songs and our chants that echo daily through the financial canyon. Today, the city threatens that community. It threatens the library, where we hold our classes and discuss ideas. It threatens our food tent, which has served thousands of people many more thousands of meals. It threatens our medical tent, which has provided treatment and care to the sick and to the injured. Not only these, it threatens the lives of those of us who have no place else to go. The city has cited concern for our safety as the reason for forcing us back into the streets. But make no mistake; the city’s concern for our safety will disperse when we do. We have therefore taken steps to ensure the safety of the infrastructure we have built, and to protect the most vulnerable among us in the event of the eviction. We are taking down the food tent, the medical tent, packing up our logistics supplies for safe-keeping and working with social service providers and other allies to secure shelter for our brothers and sisters most likely to experience homelessness if and when the city throws away their tents. We take action–today and always–in the name of economic and political justice, freedom of expression and our entire community.

Chris Ott from ACLU of Massachusetts sent out an email today with a message from the ACLU and the National Lawyers Guild which said,in part:

“Across the country, even people who have not been sympathetic to the Occupy movement have been shocked by images of the force used against peaceful protestors, including beatings, and the use of pepper spray. Mayor Menino’s announcement today has ensured nationwide attention for whatever happens next in Boston. We call on the City to show restraint and not repeat the mistakes made by carrying out heavy-handed crackdowns. If the City feels it must act, it at least has the responsibility to ensure a peaceful transition. Midnight deadlines and actions taken suddenly or under cover of darkness are rash and unhelpful. Boston, as part of the long New England tradition of town meeting and grassroots democracy, has an important role to play again in how it responds to Occupy Boston. We believe that Boston can – and must – set an example for the entire nation in protecting the rights of Occupy Boston participants, and the many other concerned citizens they represent.”

Gunner Scott, a well-known transgender activist involved with the Media Working Group at Occupy Boston since its establishment, told Blast, “I think the judge did not grasp the reality that free speech cannot be zoned, that a 24 hour protest is possible and that it is protected by the first amendment.”

Sage Radachowsky, an activist involved with both Occupy Boston and Occupy Harvard, expressed a different perspective in saying, “We are breaking the law. This is civil disobedience. We are breaking a law to show that we care immensely about the issues that we are raising. We should never have gone to court. We should have admitted that we are breaking laws, and for good reason. To protest the way that our economy has been gutted by a huge bailout to banks who got paid for ruining our economy, and against an undemocratic political landscape in which some people sleep on cardboard while others sleep in five homes.”

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino has issued an ultimatum to Occupy Boston Protesters: Leave by midnight, or the city will force you out.

The news comes just a day after a Suffolk Superior Court judge lifted a restraining order that kept the city from raiding the tent city at Dewey Square.

The ultimatum brings a likely end to the country’s longest-running occupation and sets up an equally likely late night conflict with Boston police today.

At least 20 arrests were reported Wednesday in connection with an Occupy-related march in Washington D.C.

Urszula Masny-Latos of the Massachusetts Chapter of National Lawyers Guild wrote at 5 p.m. that at least four people from Occupy Boston were among those arrested. Another source said that at least two are known to be associated with Direct Action, the working group within Occupy Boston that organized demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience.

Dozens of Occupy Boston denizens went down to Washington to attend the “Take Back The Capitol” march organized by labor unions.

The Sacred Space tent at Occupy Boston, now the oldest Occupy encampment still standing in the United States. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

According to McIntyre, “the injunction is denied because, while Occupy Boston protesters may be exercising their expressive rights during the protest, they have no privilege under the First Amendment to seize and hold the land on which they sit.”

With visibility blocked by umbrellas and cameras, the general mood of the assembly was one of excitement and resolve rather than panic. Many reported that connections within the Boston Police Department said that no raid would take place last tonight. Ben Wish, a lawyer for Occupy Boston speaking at the General Assembly, assured those assembled that no police action will be taken immediately. But others, especially non-locals, sent different reports. @RyanRiceLA, for example, tweeted “#OccupyBoston has SWAT staging 4 raid” and @Occupy_PolicePolice wrote “ALERT! Spec Ops Staging in BOSTON NOW!”

The city stated clearly on Wednesday that no police action was imminent.

In the wake of the decision, a spokesperson for Mayor Thomas Menino’s office said:

“We are pleased with Judge McIntyre’s strong decision to repeal the restraining order that prohibited the City of Boston from removing the Occupy Boston camp at Dewey Square. We applaud the judge for clearly recognizing the City’s authority to protect all of our residents, including those currently at Dewey Square. Our first priority has always been and will always be to ensure the public’s health and safety. As outlined in the court proceeding and affirmed in the judge’s ruling, the conditions at Dewey Square have deteriorated significantly and pose very real health and safety risks. The city strongly encourages the Occupy movement to abide by the Rose Kennedy Greenway regulations and remove their tents and refrain from camping in that area. Today’s decision provides clarity surrounding Occupy Boston’s status at Dewey Square and the city will act appropriately to fulfill our duty to preserve the public’s peace and safety.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the National Lawyers Guild-Massachusetts Chapter released a statement which said, in part:

“We are disappointed with today’s decision and are reviewing the decision with our clients to determine all their options. The Occupy Boston community is making a significant contribution to national discussion of important issues – not merely through what protestors are saying, but their modeling of an alternative to what they see as imbalances and injustices in our society. Just because the court ruled today that the city can shut down the encampment at Dewey Square does not mean that it should. As city officials have repeatedly – and recently – stated, there is no immediate need to remove Occupy Boston from Dewey Square. If city officials decide, nonetheless, to do so, how they go about it also sends an important message. Occupy Boston has always been a peaceful political protest, aimed at drawing attention to the growing inequalities in our society. At a minimum, Boston city officials and the police must exercise restraint and respect with regard to the Occupy Movement and the concerned citizens it represents attention devoted to Occupy sites, and most articles, per journalistic custom, restate the Occupy position…With the exception of the heavy-handed removal of demonstrators from the Rose Kennedy Greenway early in the morning on Oct. 11, Boston has already become a model of respect for freedom of speech to other cities around the country, where Occupy encampments have been broken up with levels of force that have even shocked people who were not involved in the Occupy movement or sympathetic to its aims. Boston, as part of the long New England tradition of town meeting and grassroots democracy, has an important role to play again in how it responds to today’s decision. We believe that Boston can – and must – set an example for the entire nation in protecting the rights of Occupy Boston participants.”

A activist who is the principle maintainer of the Sign Tent at Occupy Boston and uses the name “Guy Sands” when talking to the press explained, “I feel, personally, based on what the mayor has put out consistently, that they’re going to act within the near future to remove Occupy Boston from Dewey Square for violations that they won’t let Occupy Boston remedy.”

He added: “I feel this ruling is somewhat confusing in that the violence towards occupy seems to be the rational used to say that the ‘public’ doesn’t understand the message and that the police reaction is why she judges that Occupy Boston is not expressive speech. I also think the statement in ruling ‘There is scant evidence of how the occupation began’ is foolish due to the sheer number of media articles based in fact, reporting the entire occupation. I also feel that due to the Mayor, police superintendent, fire marshal, and code inspector all making statements about removing Occupy Boston have spoken for themselves regardless of the Mayor’s statement today that there is no plan in place to remove Occupy Boston.”

Speaking at the rainy and muddy General Assembly, Occupy Boston lawyer Ben Wish said he will appeal Judge McIntyre’s decision today. When he mentioned the possibility that Occupy Boston protest might move to the Harbor Islands – the only legal campground within city limits – the crowd responded with laughter. Jeff Fueur of the National Lawyers Guild, speaking at the same assembly, reiterated Wish’s belief that no raid will occur immediately.

Shortly before 4 p.m. today, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Frances McIntyre lifted the temporary restraining order to protecting the Occupy Boston camp at Dewey Square from being raided or cleared out by the city.

In her decision she wrote, “Plaintiffs claim that their occupation of the site and the community they have established thereon are protected by the First Amendment. They seek a preliminary injunction against their removal by the defendants. But the injunction is denied because, while Occupy Boston protesters may be exercising their expressive rights during the protest, they have no privilege under the First Amendment to seize and hold the land on which they sit.”

The tent city established in Dewey Square Park is now the oldest Occupy encampment still standing. The Occupy Wall Street encampment at Zuccotti Park was leveled by NYPD on November 15. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Dot Joyce, spokesperson for Mayor Thomas M. Menino, said, “We are pleased that there is a decision that appears favorable to the city and that gives the city clarity on this issue.”

Sage Radachowsky, an activist well-known around Dewey Square, reacted saying, “I think this is underhanded. I think we can make ourselves safe if given time to do so. I don’t think they are letting us have the conversation with them that we need to have.”

He also said that while he and others were rushing to Dewey Square, children were being removed from camp for their safety in case of a raid by the Boston Police.

Several dozen inhabitants of the Occupy Boston encampment are currently away in Washington, DC to attend the “Take Back The Capitol” march organized by labor unions. When told about the lifting of the injunction in Boston, Kiean Michael Lyons — one of three protestors arrested at the Burger King across from Trinity Church in Copley Plaza on November 5 — commented via Facebook that “A few people from OB in DC are about to be arrested.” At least 20 arrests have been reported today in association with the DC march but it’s unknown if Occupy Boston activists are among them.

Although not as busy as it was in October, Occupy Boston still gets thousands of visitors a week. Most live locally, but others are activists associated with out-of-state occupations. Among those coming to Dewey Square recently was a group from Manchester, N.H. who mic checked Obama on November 22 and a person arriving from Burlington, Vt. to settle in Occupy Boston since the camp he came from no longer exists. Blast interviewed them both.

Occupy Manchester and Obama’s mic check

Paul Brochu, Nikki Brant, Elizabeth Grunewald and Ryan Hirsch were all involved with mic checking Obama during his recent appearance in Manchester. Hirsch was the person who later handed the president of the United States a note with a transcription of the message they tried to deliver.

The note read, “Mr. President: Over 4000 peaceful protestors have been arrested. While banks continue to destroy the economy with impunity. You must stop the assault on our 1st amendment rights. Your silence sends a message that police brutality is acceptable. Banks got bailed out. We got sold out.”

Describing the encounter, Hirsh said, “I was already right up there, and he looked like he was listening to the first part, but then his supporters started to drown us out and I was like, crap…he’s not even going to be able to hear this speech, he’s going to be able to say ‘I never heard it.’ So…[later] I handed it to him…it looks like I just shoved the note in his hand, but really as he was coming down the line to shake hands I was just like, ‘Hey, Mr. President, I just want to say I’m sorry for interrupting your speech…here’s a copy of your mic check.’ He grabbed it out of my hand, and actually he read it…he responded to it by saying…’I wouldn’t exactly say I’ve been silent on the issue, but I admit that I could be more vocal.’”

“That’s a pretty good response,” said Hirsch, “If he actually does do it, I will be impressed. He will gain a little bit of points with me. Probably not enough for me to vote for him. But he will gain some points…he handled it pretty graciously.” Hirsch also dispelled the notion that “nobody can get that close to the President, nobody can hand the President anything…I was just this dumb guy, Forrest Gump-ing his way up to the President…and everybody’s blowing it out of proportion like it’s this crazy, unprecedented thing…he doesn’t live in a bubble.”

Beth Grunewald described the mic check saying, “there were some other people from other occupations in New Hampshire, but I would say the majority was Manchester people.” Paul Brochu described how they practiced the mic check beforehand in an area with a high ceiling to determine how loud they were.

Occupy Burlington and the wake of tragedy

Al Suarez and some fellow activists from Vermont first visited Occupy Boston the weekend after Josh Pfenning, 35, a veteran living in the Occupy Burlington encampment, fatally shot himself with a handgun on November 10 thus prompting the dismantling of the tents shortly thereafter. After these visitors talked about the suicide in Occupy Boston’s library, Elizabeth Holmes, an Occupy Boston medic who has also spent time counseling rape victims at Occupy Wall Street, told them they needed to deal with that tragedy as individuals and as a community. The group had planned to stay in Boston for a few days but one member of that contingent, feeling threatened by what he perceived as gang activity in Dewey Square, insisted they leave early.

When Suarez, having no where else to go, returned to Occupy Boston recently he explained, “I’m here to stay this time.” He added, “unfortunately we couldn’t bring the [Burlington] camp back yet, and the cops have been after us, especially the homeless members…everybody knows each other at Burlington, so the cops are very discriminatory in their methods and the media is not very cooperative with us…we’re literally not occupying anything. We have [General Assemblies] at parks.”

Suarez, who has an online radio show, also describes “a very serious [homeless] shelter issue….because they’re overcrowded, they’re small shelters, we’re talking about Vermont here, so they’re small shelters…there’s a lot of people on the street. They’re going to suffer from extreme cold. They’re going to die from the cold…they’re treated like scum of the earth…they’re victims of society.”

Saying that half the people in the Occupy Burlington were homeless, Suarez attests, “just because they’re homeless doesn’t mean they’re there to hang out…they’re there because they’re activists like us. And I also became homeless when they closed out the camp…instead of being sensitive to these people who suffered a tragedy, ever since the tragedy’s happened a couple weeks ago, all [the police have] done is take advantage of it.”

Suarez also described the raid saying “they lured us into City Hall…then one of our fellow campers got a text saying they’re taking over the rest of our encampment, they’re taking over our teepee. They lured us there to talk, and then we ran out, and the cops came out ready to shoot tear gas and they started randomly detaining people.” He said events in which the mayor of Burlington was made to like a “hero” for helping to get a detainee released “didn’t exactly happen that way…there’s so many media distortions.”

Editor’s note: John Stephen Dwyer, a contributing editor for Blast, has been writing about Occupy Boston and spending several nights a week in Dewey Square since the protest began on September 30.  He also reports on Occupy Harvard, the protest that began on November 9 and continues behind the locked and guarded gates of Harvard Yard.

CAMBRIDGE — On November 9, a group calling itself Occupy Harvard set up camp in Harvard Yard.  As the university has closed the gates to anyone without a Harvard ID, all of the occupiers are Harvard-affiliates (mostly students, plus some faculty and employees) and only a few have previous involvement with Occupy Boston or other occupations.  Their unofficial logo, as shown on the @Occupy_Harvard Twitter account, is the Harvard coat-of-arms with the word “Oc-cu-py” replacing “Ve-ri-tas” on the three open books.

They’ve been there more than two weeks.  Camille, a member of Occupy Harvard and a post-doctoral fellow who asked that her last name not be used, told Blast, “…we will be camping during Thanksgiving break. We will have our GA at the usual time (Thursday at 6pm) and will still be here next Monday.”

Tents and attention

The occupation has about 30 tents.  But unlike Occupy Boston, which supports dozens of people with no where else to go, no one can honestly call the Occupy Harvard encampment “home.” Instead, these tents are occupied between classes or other responsibilities — scholastic, social and otherwise.  Harvard’s occupiers donate considerable time to the business of the movement, and some do sleep in tents when they could be in beds just hundreds of feet away, but they make no claims about roughing it, much less mortification of the flesh.  The tents, say Occupy Harvard members, are a specific form of protest used as a gesture of solidarity with people living in poverty and with the Occupy Movement in general.

Idyllic compared compared to the ramshackle tent city of Occupy Boston, the cluster of tents in the Old Yard is new, clean, and safe at night under the constant gaze of both John Harvard’s statue and the Harvard Police.  The activists have the falling autumnal leaves of the Harvard elms and all the amenities of the university.  But undergrad and Occupy Harvard organizer Sandra Y. L. Korn shook her head at media accusations that the encampment consisted of Eddie Bauer and L.L. Bean tents and answered “most of these tents cost forty-something bucks.”

But the tents aren’t the occupation, the people are.  Occupy Harvard has a decent-sized group of activists – around 100 – and they get attention.  They were featured in the national media just for walking out of a particular Economics class a week before they pitched tents in the Yard.  More recently, they stole the spotlight from Newt Gingrich when they mic checked the presidential hopeful at the Kennedy School and caused him to cancel a book signing at the Harvard Coop.  And they’re definitely on people’s mind around campus.  Last week, before “the Game,” student entrepreneurs having nothing to do with the protest were outside the Science Center selling $20 t-shirts that said “Occupy Yale” on one side and “We are the 6.2% (referring to Harvard College’s acceptance rate) on the other.

Harvard’s occupiers seem to have leveraged this attention effectively.  “Theoretical issues are important, but we here can make a difference in the next week in the lives of hundreds of janitors,” said Gabriel Bayard, 18, when the Occupy Harvard encamped on November 9.  Bayard’s prediction seemed to come true last week when SEIU Local 615, a union representing many of the janitors working at Harvard, avoided a strike and won a new, five-year labor contract with competitive wage increases and benefits improvements.

Closed gates

The shutting of Harvard’s gates has determined the character of the protest and the criticism made against it.  Whereas Occupy Boston has attracted all kinds of wild characters, the atmosphere at Occupy Harvard is calm and polite.  The occupiers are almost invariably well-groomed and articulate.  The donation jar took in $130 one day, most of it in $20 bills, and it didn’t disappear when no one had their eye on it.

It is, to use a word popular in Dewey Square, “bougy” (fancy, bourgeois).  Many holders of Harvard IDs have a decent shot of joining the 1% if they weren’t already born into it.  The occupiers in the Yard say this privilege – earned through hard work in many cases, inherited in others – gives them more obligation to try to fix the system rather than less.  Despite the difference in character between the two occupations, bad feelings towards Occupy Harvard seem absent at Occupy Boston; full-time inhabitants there tend to shrug and say “if they’re with us, great.” There’s also some overlap between the two groups, as well as a thread of associations starting with Harvard Divinity School students who went to Occupy Walls Street when it was new, formed the Protest Chaplins upon their return to Massachusetts, became involved with Occupy Boston, and now frequent the very civilized GA’s (General Assemblies) behind Harvard’s guarded gates.

Since no one can enter the Yard without ID, everyone who wanders by the Info Tent is a Harvard affiliate.  Faculty and students stop by in about equal proportion; Harvard employees seem less apt to approach the desk.  The vast majority of these are sympathetic to the demonstrators, although many have specific reservations or questions about the movement’s methods and goals.  Those opening their mouths in opposition to Occupy Harvard invariably complain about having to show ID at the gate (although investigation revealed less than a minute wait during the busiest time of day).

An Abercrombie-ish jock came by one afternoon, waving a petition for stop the University to crush the protest and open the gates.  And there’s a Hugh Grant-esque grad student and self-identified member of the 1% who has come by several times on his bicycle to troll the undergrads.  When told stopping a war with a million casualties was more important than not inconveniencing people at the gates he sniped “that’s your opinion.” Another time, he advised a Haitian freshman his people should be better cab drivers.  This comment from “Go home” left at OccupyHarvard.net is a good example of criticisms made against Occupy Harvard.  Minus the f word, it’s similar to gripes heard in the Yard itself:

Seriously just get the fuck out of Harvard Yard. The only thing you’ve done is taken a space that used to belong to ALL Harvard students and made it the property of the 1 percent of them that are dumb enough to think that this is actually making a difference…Stop pretending like you’re not eating in the dining halls, sneaking back to your dorms for hot showers and sleep, and attending classes. If you don’t like this place, leave. There are plenty of other students who would be happy to be here without disrupting everyone else.  Stop ruining the rest of the ’1 percent’s semester, go home.

Occupy Harvard members say publicly and privately that the closing of the gates seems like a university ploy to turn opinion against the occupiers.  “What Are They Afraid Of?” they ask on the website, “Occupy Harvard has repeatedly reached out to the administration to end its absurd lock down of the Yard, but has been continually rebuffed. We want the lockdown ended.” But there are dozens of homeless people in and around Harvard Square.  Homeless people – or “houseless people” in the lingo of some who call Dewey Square “home” – are a big part of many occupations in the United States.  The Harvard occupiers and their supporters can’t deny that opening the gates would, at least, change the character of Occupy Harvard overnight.

Open letters

Befitting a place of letters, much of the most important dialogue surrounding Occupy Harvard is done in writing.  Approaching the Info Tent, one might be offered a slip of paper that says:

We are here in solidarity with the Occupy Movement to protest the corporatization of higher education, epitomized by Harvard University.  We see injustice in the 180:1 ratio between the compensation of Harvard’s highest paid employee—the head of internal investments at Harvard management Company—and the lowest paid employee, an entry-level custodial worker.  We see injustice in Harvard adoption of corporate efficiency measures such as job outsourcing.  We see injustice in African land grabs that displace local farmers and devastate the environment.  We see injustice in Harvard’s investment in private equity firms such as HEI Hotels and Resorts, which profits off the backbreaking labor of a non-union immigrant workforce.  We see injustice in Harvard’s lack of financial transparency and its prevention of student and community voice in these investments

The letter goes on to suggest that “a university for the 99 percent would offer academic opportunities to assess responses to socioeconomic inequality outside the scope of mainstream economics.” While visitors from Occupy Wall Street sometimes note Occupy Boston has a academic, “college-town” flavor to it, precise and relatively complex language like this characterizes Occupy Harvard to an even greater degree.

Drew Faust , President of Harvard, released an open letter on Monday to “to share more fully some of the principles and realities that have informed our decisions and actions.” She wrote, “As President, I am deeply committed to freedom of expression: it is a fundamental university value, defining our most essential purposes.” But Faust also justified the lockdown saying:

Our concern about the safety of our students has been greatly influenced by our observations of the behavior of outsiders who participated in the demonstrations on Wednesday, November 9, as well as by web postings from individuals outside Harvard urging confrontation and disruption on our campus.  Several hundred people converged on the Harvard campus that night.  The conduct of many of them was deeply troubling.  Some attempted to enter the Yard by force, assaulted at least one Harvard police officer, grabbing his gun belt and stealing his radio.  The crowd included individuals who, according to external law enforcement agencies, have engaged in violent behavior elsewhere with the explicit goal of causing disruption and with little connection to any particular cause.  Incidents of violence–including shootings and sexual assaults–have occurred at other Occupy sites…Sustaining both freedom and security always requires difficult and nuanced judgments, both in a university and in the wider world.

The next day, in an “Open Letter to Drew Faust from Harvard Faculty,” faculty from several departments (Romance Languages and Literatures,  Comparative Literature, Linguistics) and the Committee on Degrees in the study of Women, Gender and Sexuality expressed their opposition to the decision to lock the gates of Harvard Yard.  The academics politely explained to Faust:

We sympathize with your difficult position, but all of us agree that locking the gates is contrary to the principle of open inquiry for which the university stands. Historically, Harvard has never locked its gates (at least, not in recent memory), and we believe that security issues can be addressed differently.  We do not share the perception that the Occupy movement constitutes a threat to Harvard. To the contrary, we are in sympathy with protests against increasing inequality in the United States and believe that Harvard should welcome discussions of the issue.

Wednesday brought another open letter to Faust, this one from Francis X. Clooney, a Jesuit priest at Harvard Divinity School who is Parkman Professor of Divinity and Professor of Comparative Theology and Director of the Center for the Study of World Religions.  In it, Clooney writes, “Dear Drew…I’ve had occasion a number of times in the past few days to walk through the Yard, most recently tonight at 7pm, and observe our students and colleagues in their ‘occupy’ activity – which I might think is better called a Vigil of concern and for justice. Just a few comments.” He continues to refer to the occupation as a “Vigil” throughout the letter and said:

I realize that one of your responsibilities is to maintain order and security at the university, and care for the well-being particularly of those who reside in the Yard. Some security is therefore necessary, and I appreciate your care for this matter, as the Vigil proceeds. But even to me as a member of the Harvard community, who knows much of what is happening, the security seems unduly strict, disproportionate, unnecessary. Indeed, it would not be appropriate to allow everyone and anyone to camp out in the Yard, but nevertheless it is also for the well-being of the university to make clear, as I stated above, that those keeping Vigil are dear and welcome members of the community, some of our best, and not a security challenge. Monitor the site yes, but soon enough, please re-open the gates.

Clooney’s suggestion, that the gates be open but “it would not be appropriate to allow everyone and anyone to camp out in the Yard” might be a unique one.  He doesn’t indicate any details of this idea, such as who would be allowed to occupy a tent in Harvard Yard and who would only be allowed to visit.

The greater good

Occupy Harvard members tend to be especially concerned with two specific things.  The first is a desire for a better relationship between Harvard and its workers.  The second is a call for Harvard’s $32 billion endowment to be managed with more transparency and social responsibility.  In the first area, this well-focused protest already claims one victory – the previously mentioned janitors’ contract.  If Occupy Harvard influences how the endowment is handled, they could credibly claim victory and voluntarily decamp with their heads held high.

But labor and the endowment aren’t the only issues.  Occupiers everywhere have a tendency to want to change the world, and 375-year old Harvard is a world unto itself.  Camille, the post-doc and occupier mentioned above, wants to “make the Harvard Corporation a more ethical and socially responsible institution…an even better teaching institution that is committed to the greater good.” She says the “goal is to reaffirm Harvard as a marketplace of ideas where all viewpoints are discussed and analyzed without regard to the amount of money supporting the different ideas.” Camille explains that occupiers “are cognizant of the role that ideas at Harvard had on the economic collapse” and remain committed to the idea that Harvard “can and should generate solutions that promote social justice and equality for all.”

“We stand in support of the global Occupy movement,” she adds, but doesn’t speculate if Harvard Yard will remain occupied as long as the movement itself.  “After Thanksgiving, the future of the camp is in discussion so we have nothing to say yet about what will happen after next week.”

NEW YORK — I stand behind the tenets of Occupy Wall Street. But, Thursday night’s assembly at Foley Square and subsequent march across the Brooklyn Bridge was an exercise in futility and misguided sloganism. Commiseration does not equate consequence and without consequence for the targets of this movement, I fear it is quickly going the way of the Dodo.

I arrived at Foley Square just before 5pm and the park was abuzz. Rude Mechanical Orchestra could be heard above the din of cheers and chants. Entering the pool of my fellow Americans, I steeled myself for what I thought would be an emotional convergence of like-minded and like-hearted citizens. Instead what I got was a lesson in framing. And a headache, caused by excessive eye-rolling.

The microphone passed among the unseen faces of musical acts, union leaders, members of clergy and the assembly, projected songs and speeches made up of iterative clips and phrases about the 99 percent movement, meant to electrify the crowd. We were informed that Wall Street is corrupt we’re not going to take it anymore! We were told that “this is what democracy looks like” and “we are unstoppable, a new world is possible.” The commiserating stories shared by our fellow 99 percent-ers were meant to inspire solidarity and strengthen our resolve to keep going, but therein lies the crux of the problem. Aside from from our plans to successfully march across “our” Brooklyn Bridge, where were we supposed to go?

Occupy Wall Street is at an impasse right now. It has the spotlight, but the movement is lacking in both leadership and a clear message. An epitomizing example of this void came when the NYPD stopped half of the assembly from moving forward toward the bridge. An ensuing mic-check (a whisper-down-the-lane style of disseminating announcements among the crowds) informed those of us near the front that “50 percent of the assembly has been barricaded back at the square. What do we do?” True to form of an OWS mic-check, the crowd repeated the announcement. As the masses around me dutifully, if not robotically, repeated – for the second time – “what do we do?” I found myself stifling a growl of frustration. The crowd fell silent in response to this question and it became clear that no one really knows what to do next.

The highlight of the evening came in the way of a rogue bat-signal shining its beam of movement rhetoric onto the Verizon building. As the projection ran through the list of subsequent occupations around the globe, I remembered why I came to Foley Square in the first place – we are 99 percent strong and there are more than enough of us to truly revolutionize the way America does business. Unfortunately, until the movement outlines some clearer goals, I’m not sure I can stomach going back. What can I say? I just didn’t have the same ethereal experience as one Gothamist-quoted protester who said he could “literally feel the ground shaking.” Don’t get me wrong, I felt the ground shake too, but it wasn’t so much the energy of the crowd as it was the movement of the subways, directly below the park.

As I have said, I stand behind the tenets of Occupy Wall Street. I would like to see this movement make strides in the democratic process of America, but the pace of this movement has me so worried that I would like to humbly make the following suggestions to my sisters and brothers on the front line:

1. Occupy Wall Street needs to hone its message so that it resonates with more than just a handful of the 99 percent. OWS must do for the word “revolution” what Obama did for the word “hope” and Charlie Sheen did for the word “winning.”

2. When using the microphones to communicate with the crowd and it’s loud enough to be heard by everyone in a five-block radius, Occupy Wall Street should not employ the mic-check system. It is a painfully redundant waste of time. Furthermore, precious time on said microphones should be used to disseminate worthwhile information, not useless rhetoric. Fine, “this is just the beginning,” but it’s been two months. Can we please start talking about the middle?

3. Everyone should do their best to be vigilant with the truth when it comes to reporting about Occupy Wall Street, particularly about rally head counts and police brutality. Someone erroneously reported that there were over 32,000 people present at Thursday night’s march, which was just an absurd estimate that ran through the crowd like wildfire. NYPD reports the numbers were closer to 5,000. I surmise it was somewhere in between.

4. Yes, police brutality has occurred and excessive forced has been used, but not as much as the media glorification of these incidents would have us believe. These stories are being used to incite distrust and hatred and serve only to further the “us versus them” mentality the movement is trying to overcome. A general discourse among protestors and the NYPD needs to be met with clear and cool heads. We the people of Occupy Wall Street should start by refraining from antagonizing officers so that when brutality does happen there is no doubt as to who is to blame. Recent events at UC Davis are a perfect example.

5. Finally, please, for the love of all that is sacred, STOP LITTERING and shame those who do. Every once in a while, OWS should use a mic-check to have protesters take a moment and check their surrounding area for litter. It’s pretty difficult to buy the movement’s love of the land when we’re shitting all over it. If we clean up our streets while we clean up Wall Street, maybe we can have it all.

All photos by Sarah Berman for Blast Magazine.

CAMBRIDGE — Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House (R-GA) and current Republican candidate for president, appeared at Harvard University last night to introduce a documentary he helped create, “A City upon a Hill: The Spirit of American Exceptionalism,” at John F. Kennedy School of Government. But was soon interrupted by members of Occupy Boston and Occupy Harvard using the “mic check” call and response popular throughout the Occupy Movement.

The conservative non-profit organization Citizens United Productions is producer of this documentary and was the lead plaintiff in “Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission,” the 2009 Supreme Court case which resulted in unions and corporations being allowed to spend unlimited amounts of money on political ads. Citizens United produces a variety of media – from television ads to feature-length documentaries – and describes itself as being dedicated to “…American values of limited government, freedom of enterprise, strong families, and national sovereignty and security.”

The protestors interrupting Gingrich used sarcastic mockery and said, in part, “Mic check / mic check / we love you Newt / thank you for standing up for corporations / they have rights too / thank you for understanding / that simple point / we are / the ninety-nine percent…”

Gingrich is the latest in a line of Right Wing figures (including Karl Rove, Michelle Bachmann and Scott Walker, Governor of Wisconsin) who have been “mic checked” by members of the Occupy protest in recent weeks. The male demonstrator leading the mic check in Cambridge, whose words were repeated by fellow protestors, seems to have been ad libbing his lines. This stands in contrast to interruptions in other states where protestors seem to have been reading prepared statements. Gingrich, standing with his wife, Callista, remained smiling and composed throughout the interruption but another person in attendance admonished the demonstrators by yelling “go back to your tents.”

Harvard security guards quickly removed the protestors. No arrests were made. Newt and Callista Gingrich where scheduled to sign copies of his book about American exceptionalism, “A Nation Like No Other,” at the Harvard Square Coop following his appearance at the Kennedy School. The cancellation of this appearance was celebrated on Twitter for several hours by Occupy supporters who tweeted messages such as “rare yellow-bellied newt sighting in Boston” and “@newtgingrich enjoy this while it lasts- you’ll never be this popular again!”

Nancy Brennan, Executive Director of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy (seen at right), appeared at the occupiers' General Assembly on October 10 hours before 141 early-morning arrests were made. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Up to now, there has been a good relationship between Occupy Boston and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, the non-profit organization that stewards the publicly-owned Dewey Square Park.

Although crowded and desirous of more space, the occupiers have stayed off the strip of land along the gravel path since the Conservancy indicated the plants there are delicate and could easily be damaged. And when Nancy Brennan, Executive Director of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, appeared at the occupiers’ General Assembly a few hours before 141 arrests were made on October 11, her address ended with the words “…another thing that the Greenway stands for is freedom of speech and I ask, for as long as you are on this land, would you please help us take care of it?” Her smile beamed as the crowd chanted her name in appreciation.

Last week, however, the Conservancy sent Mayor Thomas M. Menino a letter saying, in part, “we respectfully request that the City of Boston act to enforce our regulations and City permitting regulations.” The letter cites noise, sanitary conditions and crime among the reasons to evict the tent city.

On Tuesday, a day after the New York Police Department leveled the Occupy Wall Street encampment at Zuccotti Park, plaintiffs representing Occupy Boston showed up at Suffolk Superior Court where Judge Frances McIntyre granted a temporarily injunction preventing police from raiding Dewey Square Park and removing the occupiers. The order, however, does allow police to act in case of fire, health issues, and violent outbreaks. McIntyre also ordered occupiers meet with city officials for a mediation session, and there is a hearing on a preliminary injunction scheduled for December 1.

According to text on the Occupy Boston website: “Some are saying that no police crackdown is immanent because the letter is over a week old and was written before a Boston judge recently granted an injunction barring the city and police from removing the occupiers. Others are arguing that injunctions will not prevent a crackdown because mayor Bloomberg disregarded a similar injunction to remove the occupiers from Liberty Plaza in NYC, and then got a judge to over-rule an injunction that was to pave the way for the protestors return to the plaza.”

Click here for a transcription of the letter sent to Menino by the Greenway Conservancy.

November 8, 2011

The Honorable Thomas M. Menino
Boston City Hall, 5th Floor
One City Hall Square
Boston, MA 02201

Dear Mr. Mayor,

The Board of Directors of the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy finds itself in an increasingly difficult situation with regard to current events affecting public use of the Greenway. We take very seriously our role to welcome all park users as we oversee this wonderful public space in the heart of Boston and we honor the long tradition of free speech in our city and our country. However, our Park Use Guidelines expressly describe a goal of offering beautiful, well maintained spaces where people can relax and enjoy a variety of activities and celebrations of all sorts. We recognize that the Greenway may be used for a multitude of purposes, including use by individuals to gather together and express opinions about important issues of the day. Indeed, our Guidelines expressly provide that “[p]rotests and free speech…and allowed so long as such protest is disruptive to the public,” and that “[r]ules for public assembly established by the City of Boston will apply.” After much thought and discussion, we have come to the conclusion that, as fiduciaries for public use of the Greenway, we must request that you enforce our regulations and remove the occupiers from the Greenway.

We believe that the current use by Occupy Boston is not compatible with our obligation to ensure that everyone may enjoy the Greenway, and with the spirit and letter of the rules governing use of the space. The footprint of the encampment has literally taken over the Dewey Square Park and a portion of the plaza, preventing: a) passive enjoyment by the public; and b) other permitted activities for the public. Although we have not sought until now to have the Boston Police Department enforce our rules with regard to Occupy Boston, we have always taken the position that the current use of Dewey Square Parks a violation of our rules. Our rules prohibit overnight sleeping in the park and have specified general operating hours between 7:00am to 11:00pm. Like city parks, we also require that uses that necessitate set ups, like tents and amplified sound, seek a permit from the City of Boston. The Conservancy depends on the Boston Police Department to enforce those rules.

We have experienced the following specific problems:

• The Conservancy abandoned plans to have a food festival on October 15 on Dewey Square Park (a permitted event) from public safety concerns. We anticipated large crowds of attendees and there was inadequate space due to Occupy Boston. Fifteen small businesses lost income they were counting on.
• On our Farmer’s Market days, the farmers are experiencing a real reduction in income due to the noise, odors, and interference by the members of Occupy Boston and other protest groups.
• Our neighbors are buffeted by noise and wary of aggressive confrontation when they are passing through Dewey Square Park.
• There are disturbing incidents of drug dealing.
• Sanitary conditions are deteriorating significantly over time. Although we do not currently have a rat infestation problem, it is only a matter of time given the current conditions.

The Conservancy must also ensure that park rules are implemented equitably. Any use of the park that requires set ups and anticipates crowds requires a permit. Numerous groups have abided by this process, and the Conservancy and the City have been pleased to assist and accommodate them. Occupy Boston has not sought a permit, and its continued presence created a dangerous precedent for future groups that the Board — as stewards of the Greenway — cannot support.

In recognition of our responsibilities as members of the Greenway Conservancy Board, we respectfully request that the City of Boston act to enforce our regulations and City permitting regulations. We note that officers of the Boston Police Department have been present, conciliatory, and, all in all, done a tremendous job in keeping this peace in this difficult situation. We are confident that the end to this use of Dewey Square Park can be accomplished in a way that ensures respect for the rights of everyone.

Sincerely,

(signature)

Georgia Murray

Chair — Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy

cc: Peter O’Connor, Deputy Secretary of Transportation for Real Estate and Development

William Sinnott, Corporation Counsel

Edward Davis, Commissioner, Boston Police Department

Occupy Burlington, the protest encampment in Vermont’s largest city, was largely gutted on Monday in the wake of the suicide of a 35-year-old occupier last Thursday.

Most of the tents were gone yesterday. Some of the protesters did take their tents and belongings with them, but many others left the city to clean up the tents.

Protesters, who had been camping in City Hall Park since Oct. 28, agreed to move over the weekend.

CAMBRIDGE — Occupy Harvard, the latest local manifestation of the Occupy Movement, started with almost 30 tents last night in the Old Yard directly in front of the iconic statue of John Harvard. Police kept those without Harvard ID out of the Yard. Some protesters have complained about treatment by police, but no reports arrests or injures have been reported. Once the encampment was created, between 50 and 100 stayed there peacefully through the first night.

In the tense first moments of occupation, protestors scramble to erect tents in the middle of a protective circle of their comrades. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

This encampment took form after weeks of planning and appeared seven days after 70 Harvard students walked out of Greg Mankiw’s lecture after delivering an open letter that said “Today, we are walking out of your class, Economics 10, in order to express our discontent with the bias inherent in this introductory economics course. We are deeply concerned about the way that this bias affects students, the University and our greater society.”

Closing of the gates

Hours before the encampment was put in place, a reported 500 protestors assembled in Harvard Square but were prevented from entering Harvard Yard by police and security people who locked most of the university’s wrought-iron gates. Police and security positioned themselves at the few gates that were not padlocked and intermittently allowed either no one at all or only those possessing Harvard ID to enter. Several graduate students and a faculty member said they couldn’t recollect any time in the past when the university experienced such a severe lock down of the campus.

During one point in the night, a mass of people tried to force their way into the Yard as police pushed the gate closed, making for a chaotic scene. Hannah Hofheinz, 32, a student at Harvard Divinity School later described the police “slamming the gates on us and crushing people – a very violent response.”

More accounts of roughness emerged later including a Facebook post by Taras Dreszer that said “as we were trying to enter Harvard Yard, a Police officer grabbed me by my collar and forcibly stopped me from moving forward. I showed him my ID and he said ‘I don’t give a fuck.’ He then said ‘I want to sock you in the face but I decided not to.’”

While some students with ID had to wait before getting in, throughout the night there were a few people with no Harvard ID who successfully made it inside the Yard by climbing over (or, at one specific spot, under) the fence without being observed. It was reported that one move obvious fence climber was seized by police but was released without being arrested as protestors chanted the questions “Who do you protect? Who do you serve?” to the uniformed law-enforcers. Security also prevented media from entering the Yard, but Blast was able to get inside.

Assembly at the Law School

“Adrenaline was present for a good portion of the night,” Hannah Hofheinz later described, “we heard that Harvard was closing the gates at around 5:30…the question was ‘What do we do? Only Harvard people can come inside, but occupations are about openness.’” After meeting inside the gates the group decided to move. “The choice was made to gather outside the gates where we could all talk. So we did so, and we started to march in order to get out, then they closed all the gates,”said Hofheinz, “but we were able to go out, and we walked up the street, and ended up over at the Law School.”

Around 8 p.m., with hundreds of protestors in attendance, Occupy Harvard held a General Assembly at Harvard Law School (which stands near but outside the university’s iron gates). The meeting was heavily Tweeted about and was broadcast over a live feed creating interest and drawing more supporters to Harvard Square as the night went on. The General Assembly discussed the idea of erecting tents at Harvard Law School but the group ultimately remained committed to occupying the Old Yard location that had been previously discussed and decided upon during a series of meetings over past weeks.

Occupying the Old Yard

Those protestors who made it inside the Yard assembled in front of the statue of John Harvard. This group was mostly made up of those with Harvard ID (student, faculty or staff) but did include a few people who gained entry to Harvard Yard by stealth. One woman, who asked not to be identified but is associated with the Direct Action working group at Occupy Boston, said “Harvard police seemed to have some issue with our right to assemble. I’m not sure what that is. That’s their issue. But we got in. We managed it.”

Around 10:30, as if on cue, about a dozen people suddenly and hastily began erecting tents in front of the statue while protected by a circle of about 100 of their fellow protestors. The people in this human barrier were initially tense and stood with their arms locked but they relaxed when it seemed apparent that police and security would not interfere with their efforts. They also got assurance from the presence of Suzy M. Nelson, Dean of Student Life and overseer of the Harvard College residential system (Harvard College is the division within Harvard University in which full time undergraduates are matriculated).

Nelson participated in the General Assembly that then took place. The dean, like all who spoke, used the repetitive call-and-response technique of the “people’s mic” so as to be better heard by the circle. Expressing a desire to minimize the negative impact on students’ efforts to sleep and study, Nelson asked the protestors to move their tents from the Old Yard to Tercentenary Theater, an adjacent area (framed by Widener Library and Memorial Church) that is not so closely surrounded by student residences. Some questioned the validity of the noise concern. Through consensus, the General Assembly decided not to comply with Nelson’s request but will discuss it again when it meets today, at 5 pm, with more of the student body in attendance. Nelson promised to help publicize this assembly so that as many students as possible might participate.

By the time the General Assembly finished after 11 p.m., almost 200 people (perhaps a dozen of them bystanders) were gathered in a wide ring around more than two dozen tents. An ad hoc group made mostly of Harvard College students gathered on the stairs to the left of the John Harvard statue to compose a press release while the last few tents were being set in place. Later, some students took a sign that said “Welcome, we’re glad you’re here,” propped it on John Harvard’s lap, and took pictures with him.

Response and reaction

While the above events were unfolding, Harvard University released a statement that said, in part, “speech and the free exchange of ideas are hallmarks of the Harvard experience, and important values for the university community to uphold…(but) it is important that we assure the safety and security of our students, particularly those who live in the Yard.’’

However many members of the Harvard community expressed displeasure at the way in which the situation was handled. Rick Heller, an alumnus of Harvard Kennedy School of Government, microblogged “where you stand depends on where you sit…In other words, the office you hold biases your perspective. I believe this accounts for the defensive and bureaucratic decision of supposedly progressive Harvard leaders to lock its students out of the Yard…Harvard is mostly progressive on social issues. On economic issues, it promotes the theories and behaviors that caused the crash of 2008.”

While the campus was under lock down, some students not involved with the protest complained about Occupy Harvard subjecting them to inconvenince. Most protestors, conversely, place that blame squarely on the actions of law-enforcement.

The ninety-nine percent

Hannah Hofheinz, when asked about what Occupy Harvard might accomplish, said “I think occupations are not about demands…My guess is this occupation will be like the many others in which various voices will raise various concerns and expect that they’re answered. And there will be actions that spin out from this site. But I think the main point is…to set up tents here and say ‘the ninety-nine percent are here, and we’re living together – we’re really human.’ She added, “what I care about is people realizing how deeply our system is hurting, and how deeply people are hurting, even here, at Harvard….at this point Harvard is admitting a good number of people that come from everywhere, and anywhere, and all kinds of backgrounds, whose families may not have homes anymore and that’s a hard reality…the Harvard population is part of the ninety-nine percent.”

Gabriel Bayard, 18, one of 70 students who walked out of Greg Mankiw’s Economics class last Wednesday, agreed that Occupy Harvard should address society-wide concerns. But he also expressed keen interest in the occupation addressing Harvard-specific issues such as labor contracts and said “I definitely think this occupation has the ability to make an impact directly on the ninety-nine percent. Theoretical issues are important, but we here can make a difference in the next week in the lives of hundreds of janitors. I think that immediate impact is really important. I think we should keep that in mind as we go forward.”

Another student who participated in the class walkout, Rachel Sandalow-Ash, 18, added, “I would agree that union contracts are very important, especially since they don’t come up for negotiation very often and this is a real, immediate and pressing issue. I also think that Harvard’s use of its 32 billion dollar endowment – that makes it the largest university endowment and the second richest non-profit in the world after the Vatican – is important because where Harvard puts its money has a huge effect. Right now Harvard invests in [HEI Hospitality] hotels, which are basically the worst places for labor. They invest in land grabs in Africa, denying people’s basic human rights…Harvard, like many other very rich corporations, does a lot of harm to people in the ninety-nine percent in the United States and around the world. I think we have the power to change that, here.”

Gates still guarded

As of this morning, only about three of Harvard’s gate were unlocked and each of these was guarded by a group of police and security people. A Harvard cop guarding the gate from Quincy Street told Blast that this state of security would be in affect indefinitely. When asked how they would deal with Harvard Extension school students (who take evening classes but don’t have Harvard ID unless in a degree program) the officer laughed and said “I won’t deal with it. I’ll be home in bed then so it isn’t my problem.”

At approximately 5:55 p.m. yesterday, Sean Cormier, 21, of Westport, Kiean Lyons, 17, of Norwood, and Jeffrey Nunes, 17 of Westport, were arrested outside the Burger King at 553 Boylston Street across from Trinity Church in Copley Plaza.

A police spokesperson told the Boston Globe the three were masked when “they burst through the front door and ran through the main dining room, which was at capacity…(customers) cowered in fear, with a look of shock and disbelief on their faces.” The three are charged with disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.

Minutes earlier, the trio broke from away from an Occupy Boston protest march heading west on Newbury Street and, carrying large banners with them, cut over to Boylston Street. Two Boston Police officers mounted on bicycles gave pursuit.

This freshly-painted banner, shown here the night before the arrests, was carried by one of the protestors. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

An anonymous source at the Occupy Boston encampment later indicated the three were headed to Prudential Center to hang their banners before the arrival of the 100+ person march but may have chosen to run inside Burger King when police blocked their way. The same source said the protest march did make it to Prudential Center and demonstrated there (similar to as they have done at Fanueil Hall and Quincy Market Several times in the past) until a complaint to the Boston Police from a store manager led to the demonstrators’ departure.

When Blast caught up with the three protestors who had separated from the march, they were being detained on the sidewalk outside Burger King by approximately 10 uniformed police officers and several in plain clothes. Overhearing a policeman describe sticks the trio was carrying, Jeffrey Nunes (the most outspoken of the three) responded “are you kidding me.? It’s tied to a banner” before adding sarcastically, “those are definitely weapons.” He added, “You got to be fucking kidding me. This is what a police state looks like. This is what happens when police have nothing better to do.”

When a bystander asked him what happened, Nunes said “they think we’re about to commit a robbery or some other bullshit. We were just at a march.”

Minutes later, the three detainees began chanting “Show me what a police state looks like? This is what a police state looks like!” using the call-and-response pattern popular with Occupy protests nationwide. A man in a backwards baseball cap began heckling them asking, “Don’t you sound a little rehearsed?” causing Nunes to respond “What does that matter?” before starting the chant “from Boston to Greece, fuck the police” which the others joined. While “fuck the police,” “I smell bacon” and other phrases taunting police officers are vastly unpopular among Occupy Boston protestors, that community did (during its first week of occupation) decide through consensus to respect “diversity of tactics” as expressed through “autonomous actions.”

The heckler, later characterized by someone in the crowd as “that drunk guy,” continued making comments even after a policeman addressed him saying “Chill out…I don’t need you to get that fired up, alright?’ The protestors’ chant stopped when police turned Lyons to face the building and handcuffed him behind his back. Lyons asked several times, “what am I being arrested for?” before yelling “I was walking down the street; this is why I’m being arrested! My name is Kiean Lyons…I’m an American patriot. I’m being arrested for walking down the street and defending my rights!” He was then put inside a police car.

The vociferous bystander continued yelling at the two remaining detainees saying “You’re being arrested for disorderly (sic).” Nunes, wearing a keffiyeh (a traditional Arab headdress) loosely around his neck responded, “No, we’re being arrested for dressing in a Arabian scarf and walking down the street, or running down the street. We’re apparently about to commit a robbery…” As police handcuffed Cormier he repeatedly asked “how am I disturbing the peace?

As Nunes and Cormier awaited transport, the hostile sidewalk commentator shouted “everyone needs to do two years in the military or two years in prison” to which Nunes responded, “Yeah? I ought to kill people for unjust reasons? I ought to kill people for oil?” and, sarcastically, “that’s what I ought to do, right? That’s a real American right there.”

The heckler continued his taunts saying “you can get arrested for disorderly…you’re just shooting your mouth off, you can get arrested for that…yeah you can!” Nunes retorted “that’s what this country was built on: freedom of speech.” In the final seconds before Nunes was put inside a police car, the heckler asked him “so what do you have to say?” Nunes responded, “What do I have to say? This is what a police state looks like.”

Earlier this same day, during a separate Occupy Boston march around 1:30 p.m., Langston Peace, 29 of Boston, was arrested and charged with larceny over $250 during for allegedly walking off with a police officer’s departmental bicycle. It’s unclear whether this incident was an act of protest connected with Occupy Boston. If so, the arrest of Peace and the three men at Burger King brings the total number arrests since September 30 of Occupy Boston protestors to 170 (with some demonstrators — such as Nunes and Cornier who were arrested along with 141 others on October 11 — being arrested more than once during this time).

Friday, September 30 — After meeting for a few days in encuentro5 (a space in Chinatown for community and progressive groups), the pioneers of Occupy Boston reached consensus to occupy Dewey Square a week earlier than was initially planned.  Before setting up tents, they joined a protest of 2000-3000 people organized by Right to the City (RTTC) and local unions.  The presence of the Raw Mechanical Orchestra, visiting from NYC for the Honk! Festival in Cambridge and Somerville that weekend, added a cheerful atmosphere despite 24 people being arrested for refusing to leave the lobby of Bank of America headquarters.  Reacting quickly, corporate spokesperson T.J. Crawford called the protest “aggressive public-relations stunts” and asserted that “Bank of America has a lot to be proud of.” Despite the protestors’ refusal to seek permits (“we’re protesting, not camping”), Mayor Menino instructed Boston Police to allow  Occupy Boston to set up their encampment without interference.

Monday, October 3 — After just one weekend, tents devoted to special functions such as medical, logistics, food, sign-making and media were already in place, giving the Occupy Boston encampment a basic form similar to what it has now.  Over the next four weeks, however, many improvements were made as flimsy bowers and makeshift tents were replaced with sturdier, more weather resistant alternatives and the route bisecting camp, called “Main Street” by inhabitants, went from a path of cardboard to a wooden walkway of pallets and plywood elevated inches above the ground.  On October 3, as people bustled around the camp improving things, Ariana Webb, 47, described  “We will stay here as long as necessary. We will stay here through the snows. We’ve started to acquire warm weather gear already. We will be here as long as it takes.”

Saturday, October 8 — Returning from a large march through the city, about two dozen Occupy Boston protestors sat in the doorway of the Federal Reserve with a wall of police and motorcycles separating them from several hundred more supporters in attendance.  At one point, Jeff Nunes, 17, involved with Occupy Boston since its initial meetings at encuentro5, climbed atop the building entrance and waved a homemade flag with an anarchist “A” and the words “no government…true freedom and equality” painted in white on black material.  Tara, a much older woman involved with the protests, began yelling for him to get down but Nunes’ climb was defended by several others as an “autonomous action” in support of the movement.  After several minutes, the smiling Nunes hopped down anyway.  Realizing that there are other ways in and out of the building, and blocking the door indefinitely might not accomplish much, protestors negotiated with police to move their motorcycles and allow them to leave as a group.  Demonstrators then made their first trip to Fanuel Hall and Quincy Market, marching loudly through the interior of both while police and baffled tourists watched passively.

Monday, October 10 — An Occupy Boston protest that began on Boston Common ended with thousands of demonstrators blocking the North Washington Street Bridge that leads from the North End to Charlestown.  One middle-aged man was arrested almost immediately, but police prevented the bulk of the protestors from moving onto the bridge.  After a stand off of over an hour, protestors seemed to accept the police claim that bridge might not support their weight, and left.  The “Battle of the Bridge,” was later viewed as a diversionary tactic, however, as occupiers back at Dewey Square expanded their encampment while police attention was on the bridge.  From there, the mass of protestors rushed back to Dewey Square and formed human chains to protect their tents in both the new camp and the original one.  Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis warned if Occupy Boston didn’t return to its original footprint by midnight, police would act to remove the tents in the new area.

Tuesday, October 11 — Hundreds of law enforcement officials (including Boston, transit and State Police, as well as members of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s department) descended upon the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.  They began making arrests around 1:20 a.m. as protestors sang “God Bless America” or chanted slogans such as “this is a peaceful protest” and “the whole world is watching.” Among the 141 people arrested was a Rachel McNeill, an Iraq War vet there with fellow Veterans for Peace members.  She describes, “I was holding the American flag. The rest of the veterans were carrying Veterans for Peace flags. I was standing with arms locked in the center of the line of Iraq and Vietnam veterans. We were the first targeted, knocked down, and dragged away for arrest by police…I saw [the American flag] hit the ground in one video…I am told it was thoroughly trampled by police and it was not returned. It is either now a trophy for some policeman or it is in the trash.”

Friday, October 14 — John Carlos, an athlete much-remembered for displaying a black power salute from the podium at the 1968 Summer Olympics, visited Occupy Boston to speak and sign some books before heading to another engagement at Northeastern University.  Moments later, in one of countless tense moments this month between occupiers and police, two patrolmen prevented men from bringing a wooden pallet onto the site.  The protestors explained the pallet was needed in order to build a safe passage along “Main Street” so people wouldn’t slip in the mud, while the obviously perturbed patrolmen said they wouldn’t allow any more building materials into the campsite (this remains an ongoing conflict).  The following Saturday morning, after rain had subsided, Gov. Deval Patrick visited the Occupy Boston and told Boston Phoenix “…it was fascinating. I met with a couple of the organizers — very thoughtful, responsible people. It’s incredibly well organized…I saw the library and the media tent and the food distribution and logistics — really beautifully organized.”

Friday, October 21 — As many demonstrators were en route to Roxbury to rally with Occupy the Hood, police arrested Issac Bell, 34, and Charlene Dumont, 31 for allegedly selling heroin to an undercover cop in Dewey Square.  After dismantling and searching their tent, police tossed it in a vehicle and removed it from the scene.  Monday, noting Bell’s prior conviction on a drug distribution charge, Assistant DA Matthew Fitzgerald requested his bail be set at $25,000 and Dumont’s at $1,000. Judge Michael Coyne released both on personal recognizance and ordered them to stay away from Occupy Boston.  Bell, who used the nickname “Shorty,” allegedly told the undercover officers that he sold “dope, not crack”   when they tried to buy cocaine from him on Thursday.  The arrest of Bell and Dumont came amid a week of headlines about crime in Dewey Square and fueled a false rumor that someone in camp had lethally overdosed from heroin sold by the pair.

Saturday, October 22 — MIT professor Noam Chomsky, having been rained out of his scheduled appearance on Wednesday, arrived at twilight and was greeted by 1,000 or more people.  Chomsky lectured for about a half hour and answered questions for approximately as long.  While he saw many failures in the modern system, Chomsky identified two — nuclear proliferation and environmental destruction — as the most urgent and warned “everything else won’t matter in a generation or two.” While many close to the front seemed ecstatic to be hearing Chomsky speak, at least half those present couldn’t hear Chomsky despite his use of two hand held microphones.  Acknowledging this difficulty, Chomsky told the audience, “you can see why I’m not a public speaker.  Later in the night, about 100 protestors returned from a march, assembled in the same spot as the October 11 arrests, and held an impromptu general assembly to discuss whether or not to make a stand.  After discussion, however, they retreated back to the established camp.

Sunday, October 23 — About 50 protestors from Occupy Boston took a meandering route from their encampment to “the Pit,” an area in Harvard Square associated with various countercultures over the decades.  En route they stopped to flip the bird at what may be the Beacon Hill townhouse of local Bank of America president Robert E. Gallery, temporarily hung a “We are the 99%” banner from a footbridge over Storrow Drive, blocked traffic one-way on the Mass Ave bridge, and paraded through the Head of the Charles Regatta chanting slogans such as “we got sold out, banks got bailed out” and “this is what democracy looks like.” In Harvard Square, they held a rally where they used the people’s mic to explain the purposes of their protest before talking to people one-on-one.  Deeming their first trip beyond Boston city limits a great success, the group took the Red Line from Harvard Square back to South Station, each person paying their fare.

Tuesday, October 25 — Paul Carnes (a.k.a. Paul Fetch) defended his reputation during one of the most drama-filled General Assemblies of the month.  Previous to this, Occupy Boston’s Financial Accountability Working Group (FAWG) voted unanimously to remove Carnes and Sidney Sherrel “due to their lack of accountability and transparency, as well as their failure to provide information to both the FAWG and Occupy Boston’s General Assembly…[they] also repeatedly failed to follow established procedures for financial expenditures.” At one point, Carnes appeared to be leaving the camp, causing people to sprint after him.  Later, when he sought shelter inside the Info Tent, a few people outside mockingly chanted “who’s peacoat?  Our peacoat!” in reference to a garment thought to be purchased with donations to Occupy Boston.  While maintaining his innocence, Carnes, who has also attracted unfavorable attention at other occupations on the East Coast, remains a subject of derision within the Occupy Boston community.

Thursday, October 27 — A group of supporters left Occupy Boston and walked in the early morning rain to US District Court where Tarek Mehanna, of Sudbury, accused of supporting Al-Qaeda, was starting trial (this photo is from the previous day). Jacob Dinklage, 22, said via the Boston Anarchists Against Militarism (BAAM) announcement list, “The FBI and the Massachusetts US Attorney are accusing Dr. Mehanna of ‘material support for terrorism’ and related charges. His real offense in the eyes of the US government was his courage as a Muslim and a man of conscience: his opposition to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; his vocal support for other Muslims falsely imprisoned by the US government and; his refusal to work as an informant for the FBI in the Muslim community. For these stands he now faces the possibility of life in prison.” Occupy Boston participants had previously shown support for Mehanna in an October 9 rally which drew national criticism from the Far Right.

Sunday, October 30 — Days before, when an unseasonal nor’easter was predicted to hit New England, winterization efforts at Occupy Boston were kicked into high gear.  While Boston didn’t receive as much precipitation as some other parts of Massachusetts, the storm made for a cold and miserable night.  The wet slush  caused a few structures in camp to collapse, but no one froze to death despite the most malicious wishes expressed online by Occupy Boston’s detractors.  The occupation’s supporters, on the other hand, poured out their support for Occupy Boston as it survived the first of what promises to be many “Valley Forge moments.” Those who weathered this slushy snowstorm in the encampment were especially grateful to the woman who got up early and (according to a Facebook post) “donated over $270 worth of hot coffee and a lot, we mean a lot, of pastries/bagels.” Later, Occupy Boston devoted a few midday hours to celebrating its one month anniversary and renewing participants’ commitment to remain encamped (as a movement motto says) “as long as it takes.”

DENVER — Yesterday afternoon riot police clashed with protestors at the Occupy Denver camp in Civic Center Park, resulting in minor injuries and the arrest of 20 protestors.

The violence began when riot police moved into the park to tear down the protestors’ tents. Police say officers were kicked by the protestors, and one officer was knocked off his motorcycle. Protestors attempted to occupy the steps of the State Capitol building, and were pushed away by police.

From there the situation escalated, and Denver PD used pepper spray, and pepper balls (projectiles much like paint balls fired from a gun, which Boston police banned after the death of Emerson College student Victoria Snelgrove at the hands of police improperly trained on the weapons in 2004. Seattle police also banned the weapon after her death) to subdue the crowd. Several protestors were hit with the projectiles and needed to rinse the pepper spray from their eyes.

Video from the Denver Post shows riot police and protestors locked in a shouting match before 3 p.m., at which point a stalemate arose with the protestors regrouped in Civic Center Park and the police backed away to shut down one block of Broadway between Colfax and 14th Ave. in front of the State Capitol building.

During the stalemate, U.S. Representative Ed Perlmutter (D) spoke to the Occupy Denver protestors via bullhorn. Perlmutter urged the protestors to continue using nonviolent, peaceful tactics in their protest.

At 6 p.m., hundreds of riot police wielding batons, pepper spray, and pepper balls attempted to remove the tents from Civic Center Park again, announcing over a megaphone that the structures were illegal.

During this action, 15 arrests were made. According to the Denver Post, one police car was vandalized with the phrase “99%” and the DPD reacted to taunts from the protestors.

Saturday was the most violent day for the Occupy Denver chapter of the Occupy Wall Street movement since it began more than a month ago. Today the police blockade on Broadway is over and protestors are regrouping in Civic Center Park.

Demonstrators hang their banner off a footbridge over Storrow Drive (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

This week, the fourth since setting up camp on September 30, Occupy Boston has increased its visibility through a series of marches including a trip to Harvard Square (by way of the Head of the Charles Regatta), several hostile visits to FOX News and the home of a Bank of America president, angry protests against the police response to Occupy Oakland, and a somber, rainy morning walk to the trial of Tarek Mehanna, 28, a Sudbury man accused of being a propagandist for Al-Queda.

March to Cambridge 

On October 23, about 50 protestors from Occupy Boston took a meandering route from their tent city in front of South Station to “the Pit,” an area in Harvard Square associated with various countercultures over the decades.  En route they temporarily hung a “We are the 99%” banner from a footbridge over Storrow Drive and blocked traffic one-way on the Mass Ave bridge.  They also paraded through the Head of the Charles Regatta chanting slogans such as “we got sold out, banks got bailed out” and “this is what democracy looks like” as a few people gave them thumbs up.

While certain previous marches – boosted by the support of labor unions and student groups from local colleges – have swelled into the thousands, this smaller protest was notable as Occupy Boston’s first excursion outside the city.  Dozens of people along the route showed their approval of the demonstrators; no detractors were obvious.  The protest, though small by Occupy Boston standards, had style.  Marching to a drum beat, they followed three masked flagbearers with the America flag flanked by a “don’t tread on me” flag on each side.  The demonstrators stopped along the route as often as necessary to regroup behind their banner or, even, sit down and decide where to go next.

These protestors, some active within the Direct Action working group, wear masks and hold a sign. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Despite many of the participants being masked or otherwise dressed in a way that might intimidate, the flag-waving march was oddly reminiscent of a patriotic scene from Boston’s historic  past.  A few onlookers seem frightened by this loud group of people unaccompanied by uniformed police.  Some clutched their children or scurried to give the marchers a wide birth.  Most merely gaped.  Plenty took pictures or video.  A few punched their fists in the air to the beat of the protestors’ drum.

Among Sunday’s masked marchers, several are associated with Direct Action, a close-knit cadre of young people within Occupy Boston that plans protest marches and, more rarely, bolder acts of civil disobedience.  But the demonstration also included parents, young children and at least one grandmother, Mary Andriotakis, 53, who came in from Sudbury with her husband, Chuck Andriotakis, 62, and grandsons Levi, Sam and Joe (ages 5, 6 and 11). 

“I come into Occupy Boston whenever I can, and I bring whoever I can,” Mary Andriotakis said. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to go today because I have my grandchildren.  But it’s a beautiful day and I brought them.  It’s great for them to be able to be a part of this.”

John Murphy, 24, of Falmouth, speaks to people in Harvard Square while wearing a shirt he made back at the Sign Tent at the Occupy Boston campground. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Her grandsons held signs and obviously enjoyed chanting “We are the 99 percent” along with demonstrators drawn from local colleges, towns, and the streets.  At one point, the boys shyly tried out the people’s mic, a movement phenomenon through which a crowd repeats and amplifies a speaker’s words.  Andriotakis, having two children who volunteer at the Medic Tent in the campground, later said “I asked [my grandsons] which they like better, Occupy Boston or the Children’s Museum and they said ‘Occupy Boston, Occupy Boston!’”

After going through Downtown Crossing and cutting through Boston Common, the march turned left at the State House and headed down Beacon Street. They stopped to jeer and flip the bird at what may be the Beacon Hill townhouse of Robert E. Gallery, a local Bank of America president.  Reaching a footbridge to the Charles River, the protestors ran onto it quickly and suspended a banner over Storrow Drive for several minutes on each side.  The banner, the same one they march behind, reads “we are the 99%” and is decorated with white hands on a pink background. Less legibly, “occupyboston.com” is printed above the motto and “and so are you and you and you and you and me” is written in cursive writing below.

When they finally arrived in Harvard Square, protestors held a rally where they used the people’s mic to explain the purposes of their protest.  They also answered questions and talked to people one-on-one.  At the end of the day, the demonstration left the marchers in high spirits.  One elated woman said, “We’ve had marches much bigger than this, but I don’t think we’ve ever seen so much positive attention.  The movement is definitely growing.  People are becoming more aware.”

The group took the Red Line from Harvard Square back to South Station, each person paying their fare.  They re-entered the tent city just as a group of smiling Sikhs was serving hot tea and warm food they had prepared off-site.  By this hour, Occupy Boston was teeming with people who jostled shoulder-to-shoulder to pass along the narrow paths.

Chomsky and an almost-confrontation 

Protestors young and older are visible as Occupy Boston parades through the 47th edition of the Head of the Charles Regatta. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Last weekend, Occupy Boston showed signs of losing momentum as the majority settled into activities that didn’t bring them into contact with those outside the camp.  A march was planned for 6 pm on Saturday night, but when Noam Chomsky was rained out on Wednesday he moved his lecture to that time instead.

An estimated 1,000 people were present but Chomsky, 82, spoke at conversational volume and didn’t use the people’s mic.  Despite him holding two microphones, at least half those assembled couldn’t hear him.  Many occupiers and visitors, happily anticipating Chomsky’s visit for days, had their spirits dashed.

An impromptu march took place when Chomsky finished and culminated in about 100 protestors assembled on the same spot of Rose Kennedy Greenway where 141 people were arrested on October 11.  A tight cluster of Boston Police stood by, frowning and talking into radios.  Using the method of direct democracy popular across the Occupation Movement, the protestors held a General Assembly.  People spoke from atop the gray pumpkin statue that makes a good soapbox.

Despite tough talk about taking that park again, it didn’t happen.  Some didn’t like the idea of doing something so important without the consensus of the whole Occupy Boston community.  Some argued the park should be seized during the day so people working in the surrounding office buildings could see whatever ensued.  Some, it was clear, simply didn’t have the nerve.

Out of the park and into the streets 

With the Boston skyline visible beyond crew teams on the Charles River, demonstrators use a hand signal to indicate approval during discussion. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

The next day, Sunday, the Occupy Boston encampment seemed to be under a lull.  Certain tents designed for communal functions had lost their identifying signs days before or otherwise appeared closed for business.  A few busy volunteers complained too many people were holed up in their tents avoiding the gritty realities of life in Dewey Square.  Positive energy at the campsite seemed in short supply; even the mellow people at the Sacred Space were getting cranky from the struggle to prevent it from becoming another messy public dormitory.

At 1 p.m., only a dozen people assembled for a march planned by Direct Action (“DA”).  Members of DA, who tend to be younger than the camp as a whole, were livid at the low turn out.  Young men and women clenched their fists and snarled in frustration, “people need to get the fuck out of their tents!” Rather than cancel the march, DA members led their small contingent four times around and through the Occupy Boston camp chanting “out of the park and into the streets” and, specially for this occasion, “out of your tents and into the streets.”

Some habitués of the drum circle agreed to go to the march when confronted by DA members but soon sneaked back into camp.  In the end, about 50 people accompanied Occupy Boston all the way to Cambridge.

Joan Prum, 85, is a supporter of Occupy Boston who wanted to discuss the protest at her local senior center but was told, “Oh, we couldn't do that, people would get excited!” (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Earlier this month, 85 year old Joan Prum took a stroll down “Main Street,” a precarious pathway of pallets and muddy plywood that divides the main area of Occupied Boston into some 40 tents on one side and about 50 on the other. Although 60 or more years the senior of many protestors, Joan, a retired Social Security claims representative from Watertown, was a typical visitor in that she heard about Occupy Boston through the media and came from a neighboring town to show support by dropping off supplies. She was accompanied by Valerie Fullum, 59, a social worker from Cambridge and longtime friend.

Joan explained, “I was brought up to believe in justice. When a particular situation makes it clear justice is being imperiled?” She finished her thought with just a hand gesture as if the conclusion was too obvious to state. Joan added that one of her first jobs after college was at the New York World-Telegram where she participated in the newspaper guild strike of 1953. She describes it as a “searing experience.”

She remained interested in social justice while raising a family and boasts, “I have 5 children, and 8 grandchildren, and when I get home I am going to send them an email to tell them I was here and why I was here…[Occupy Boston] may be hopeless, it may be fruitless, but I still want to be here.”

Valerie Fullum, 59, is a social worker who is “enraged by the Wall Street bail out” and felt she needed to visit Occupy Boston “and help in some way.” (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

As for herself, Valerie said, “I have a history of doing social activism. I saw Occupy Boston march in support of the health care workers’ union and that was wonderful. As someone who is self-employed, I have growing concern and worry about the health insurance dilemma. I see clients every day who have to make some very tough decisions…I’m enraged by the Wall Street bail out…I felt like I had to come see [Occupy Boston] and help in some way.”

Valerie was bothered by the fact that local figures such as Governor Deval Patrick, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Senator John Kerry and Seán Cardinal O’Malley hadn’t yet made an appearance at Occupy Boston but considered it, in part, their loss saying, “I’m reminded of the fact there isn’t anyone here I couldn’t have an interesting conversation with.” (Governor Patrick did stop in last Saturday morning and was given a tour by Gregg Housh, 34, one of the occupation’s most prominent faces.)

Jumping back into the conversation, Joan described how her enthusiasm for the Occupy Movement made her interested in discussing it with peers in her own age group. “So I asked at the senior center if they have a group for currents events,” she says with laughter, “but was told, ‘Oh, we couldn’t do that, people would get excited!’”

Except when the weather is really bad, thousands of people a day visit the Occupy Boston shantytown that turns 3-weeks old today. Ranging from babes-in-arms to (at least one person) over 100 years old, the vast majority of these visitors are – like Joan and Valerie – sympathetic to the occupiers and the values they seem to represent.

Bob C., a protestor who prefers a degree of anonymity, wears a shirt with a message, uses a red bandana as a mask, and carries a “don't tread on me” flag designed in the 1770s. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Photographers encountering Occupy Boston and similar occupations gravitate towards folks dressed or coiffed distinctively. Unusual looking people make photos more interesting. But the truth is, most people in the Occupy Boston community dress pretty boring without much hint of a hippie, hipster, or any of the other cultural stereotypes being associated with the movement. Visually, the most noticeable thing about many Occupy Boston protestors is the gear and accessories they carry.

These can jokingly be called “protest-ssories” but they have more serious uses than fashion. Just five days before Occupy Boston took Dewey Square, Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna used his pepper spray on protestors in New York, and that image is still strong in people’s minds. Police haven’t used pepper spray on Occupy Boston, but much of the gear carried by local occupiers is designed to protect against it. While none of the items listed here are just for show, if enough are worn properly at the same time, even a devotedly non-violent occupier can look like a total bad-ass.

Eyewash: These look like small plastic water bottles full of milk, but it’s really a mixture of Maalox and water designed to lessen the effects of pepper spray. It’s mostly carried by occupation medics as well as by members of Direct Action, the group within Occupy Boston most likely to clash with the police over acts of civil disobedience. Eyewash needs to be readily available in an emergency, so it’s typically hung from the belt or worn in some sort of bandolier.

The Guy Fawkes mask, worn here with a red bandana, indicates a connection to the Internet hacker group “Anonymous” (except when it doesn't, which is often). (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Bandana: Paisley patterned and otherwise, bandanas and scarfs are a popular accessory among Boston’s protestors. Their most important use would be to deter breathing pepper spray from entering the lungs, but in the meantime they mostly get used to wipe sweat off peoples faces when Occupy Boston goes marching around the city for four or five hours.

Mask: A bandana works, but other kinds of masks are worn too. The creepy mustache face (actually a mask representing Guy Fawkes, a terrorist who plotted to blow up the House of Lords in 1605) is associated with the hacker group “Anonymous,” but some wear this mask without any sympathies for that group. Other protestors wear half-masks of the kind popular with skiers, and a some young men in Direct Action have adopted these as part of a ninja-like costume. Some people wear masks for anonymity as well as protection against the threat of pepper spray. In contrast to this, one curly-haired young man in a Grateful Dead t-shirt explained that he goes masked “to emphasize that I’m the everyman, I’m representing more than me out here.”

Glasses: While wearing contact lenses is supposed to make getting hit by pepper spray worse, eyeglasses offer some protection from it. Sunglasses offer an equal amount of protection, and they also help conceal one’s identity. When combined with sunblock available for free from the medic tent, sunglasses are useful protection against the autumn sun at long rallies and marches.

Masks help conceal the wear's identity, but their most important use is to prevent the inhalation of pepper spray should it be used. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Ink: The scribbles on protestors’ arms aren’t tribal tattoos (mostly). It’s the phone number of the National Lawyers Guild, written on the skin in case of arrest. Some also write these digits hidden beneath their clothes where it’s less likely to get washed away by perspiration or rain. Besides having this number handy, people engaging in civil disobedience as part of Occupy Boston have a network of supporters behind them, including lawyers who will work pro bono and people willing to donate bail money.

Camera: Many protestors, perhaps even a majority, carry a camera or some device to record images. It’s no secret that they are especially interested in capturing images of police misbehavior that will rally more people to their cause; more remarkable is the fact that Occupy Boston protestors seem unanimously uninterested in goading the police to violence. While some photographers are consciously saving space on their memory cards in case of confrontation, lighter subjects abound. Last Saturday, for example, featured a visit from Governor Deval Patrick, a performance by Native American dancers, a colorful rally, and a march that took a twisted route to Back Bay and back.

Flashlight: These help a bit when trying to shoot photos or video in the dark. In the closing hours before the 141 arrests on October 11, a savvy person from the Occupy Boston media team distributed cheap flashlights to those hoping to photograph whatever might take place. Some of the images from that night – especially that of Veterans for Peace members getting arrested – are said to have brought new people into the movement.

Sign: Often there are just a handful of people holding signs along Atlantic Ave. But when Occupy Boston goes on a major march, thousands of people take to the streets and they take hundreds (if not thousands) of signs with them. Occupy Boston has a whole tent devoted to signs and sign-making supplies. Some people are eager to make their own while others help themselves to the considerable “library” of messages the sign booth has collected over the past three weeks. Some are serious, some are funny, and a few of the most popular signs have been seen at numerous marches, each time carried by a different person.

Rainbow pride flags, anarchist flags and many other banners have been displayed at Occupy Boston protests but Old Glory remains a potent (and very photogenic) symbol of what occupiers are fighting for. Note also the bandana worn as a headband. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Flag: Signs are easy to make and easy to read, but flags are more romantic. The American flag is a popular emblem to carry into a protest; Veterans for Peace fly this and their own flag at rallies. The rattlesnake “don’t tread on me” flag from the 1700s was recently popular with the Tea Party, but at Occupy Boston it has been carried for several weeks by a young man called Bob C. who explains, “this flag has many different iterations, and I feel it’s a strong part of our American history and we need to preserve that. It has been tarnished by several groups, and we need to reclaim it.”

Graphic-T: Some people are writing directly on their t-shirts or other garment so as to broadcast a message even when when they aren’t lugging a sign around. Last weekend, hundreds of people – from preschoolers to octogenarians – got the words “Occupy Boston” emblazoned on their clothes (for free, of course) by volunteers working outside the sign tent with stencils and cans of spray paint.

Rechargers: Responding to the needs of occupiers, the Dewey Square shantytown now has a “recharge tent” where one can power up phones, laptops and other devices. Here, electrical power doesn’t come off the local grid but is instead generated by peddling one of two mounted bicycle generators created by people with experience at MIT and Burning Man.

Armbands: Interestingly, these were used at Occupy Boston at one time and then abandoned. Green represented members of the legal team, logistics used blue, and both the medic team and Direct Action used red arm bands. There may have been others in use as well. Armbands’ popularity peaked the morning of the October 11 arrests and they pretty much disappeared from camp immediately after. While color-coded armbands are gone, legal observers still use green hats and the medic team still identifies themselves with red crosses. Members of the camp’s security team – better know as the “safety team” – never used armbands but do tend to employ reflective safety vests that make them easy to locate.

Shoes: The camp gets muddy. The marches go on for hours. Comfortable, sturdy shoes are one of the most important things a protestor needs.

Editor’s note: Blast writer John Stephen Dwyer has been staying with Occupy Boston protesters since the beginning of the protest. He has been filing longer stories every few days with breaking news when it happens.

Main Street, Occupied Boston (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Two weeks ago, 300 people illegally seized a portion of the Rose Kennedy Greenway and set up tents. The mayor told the police not to stop them, and today the tent city still stands.

More than a campsite, it’s a well-managed shantytown complete with its own reflections of what you’d find in most communities — police, government, restaurant, hospital, school, theater, church and even a home goods store. Groups of grade school and middle school students take field trips here, and thousands of people of all descriptions visit daily. Many drop off donations of food or other supplies. Some stop to ask questions.

Many come just to tell at least one person “I think what you’re doing is great.”

This ragged community occasional fields groups of protestors to march around the city or, as they did earlier this week, engage in acts of civil disobedience such as blocking the bridge to Charlestown and stampeding through the interior of Faneuil Hall screaming for justice as both police and baffled tourists watched passively. This is Occupy Boston.

Part of something bigger

Occupy Boston is part of a movement that exploded in New York City on September 17 as a protest called “Occupy Wall Street.” It has since spread to dozens of cities across the U.S. CNN reports more than two dozen cities around the world, “stretching from Hong Kong to Buenos Aires, Dublin to Madrid,” will be joining the protest today, on what’s already being called “a global day of revolution.”

In a historical context, the Occupy Movement will be remembered as a response to worldwide economic problems that became obvious in December 2007 as well as a protest against a increasing disparity of wealth and a civil rights battle.

Like anything of its size, the movement includes people that don’t agree with each other about a lot of things. Some of its most devoted members are young radicals, whose ideas might shock the soccer moms and dads who stop their SUV’s on Atlantic Avenue to drop off food and blankets to the Occupy Boston community.

But one small sign perched on the curbstone at Occupied Boston says “it’s not radical to want love, equality and compassion for our fellow humans.” From the unbathed Maoist on day eight of an occupation, to the millions of apolitical people whose only affiliation with the movement is through social media, almost all people aligning themselves with the group seem to believe three very broad notions. First, they insist that hurting innocent people is bad. Second, they believe powerful corporations exert too much power on government and have hurt innocent people in numerous ways. Third, they think everyone should get involved in correcting that problem.

It does take some skilled organizers to strike the spark of protest and fan the fires in the desired, non-violent direction, but the Occupy Movement is still intensely grassroots. A handsomely-written and well-circulated text, “Open letter and warning from former tea partier to the OWS movement” is posted on the Occupy Wall Street website and describes how the Tea Party began as a diverse, well-intentioned populist movement before being hijacked by the Christan Right, the GOP and, ultimately corporations. It warns how the media will assist in a similar take over of this new movement and advises ways to navigate these issues.

Whatever its origin, the text reflects a general sentiment among the Greenway occupiers that donations from companies are suspicious, the media can’t be trusted, and both the Republican and Democratic parties can go to hell.

Close Quarters

There’s a pathway lined with metal barriers separating Occupy Boston from the paved area around the entrance to the Red Line. It’s been called “Music Row” and even “Tin Pan Alley” as it’s a popular place for people to gather, sit on the wide benches, and play musical instruments. Someone has set up a few tiki-like wood carvings here, and an immense statue of Ganhdi, made of relatively lightweight materials and property of the Peace Abbey in Sherborn, facing South Station.

“Main Street,” a path of wooded pallets bisecting the grassy area, starts here. It’s a precarious route, and the mud on either side gets to be several inches deep when it rains. It’s been muddy often these past few weeks, as the occupiers have endured days of light rain and several downpours. About 90 tents squat on either side of Main Street, 40 tents on the side bordered by Atlantic Avenue and 50 on the side where sparrows have been raiding a wilted sunflower garden.

A path runs past the sunflowers, connecting the welcome tent at one end of the park with the media tent at the other. This route was in place before the occupation, but only recently has someone erected a simple sign naming it “Sacco and Vanzetti Avenue.” As part of the effort to keep their community clean, volunteers have been combing though the gravel with rakes on a regular basis.

Occupy Boston is overcrowded and has been for at least a week. Tents are tightly packed, and there’s no room for more. Even finding a place to lie down in a sleeping bag is a challenge. There’s plenty of empty space around the park, but the Occupy Boston protest — while illegal because participants refused to seek permits — is an un-choreographed dance between the city and the protestors, as each tries not to overly piss off the other.

The paved area of the park (the end of it nearest South Station where at least two police officers are standing at all times) is therefore understood to be off limits. Nevertheless, Occupied Boston recently annexed a little sliver of it first occupied by ten tents that formed a sort of “student village” of protestors from local universities. At the opposite corner of the park, almost a dozen tents have spilled out along Atlantic Avenue along another strip of glass declared off limits by the mayor and the commissioner. While apparently no more or less interesting that any other part of the camp, this strip was named “Weird Street” over a week ago and the name has stuck. Weird Street has been an ongoing point of contention with the police from the start. The message conveyed to the police a week ago is that the protestors, as a community, can’t force the owners of those tents to remove them, and individuals in the community are likely to come to those people’s defense if it appears they are threatened.

According to patrolmen who spoke to Blast Magazine last weekend, police were planning on clearing Weird Street on Tuesday. Instead, they ended up turning their attention to a more significant expansion of the tent city that sprung up suddenly as police attention was diverted by hundreds of protestors blocking the bridge to Charlestown. As police demanded protestors leave the new site, Greg Housh, a 34-year old father serving in the center of many conversations between the occupiers and the city, explained “This place is full. We need to expand this site if we’re going to expand the movement. Other cities have expanded, we need to expand as well.”

During the six-hour standoff that followed, Occupy Boston received a visit from Nancy Brennan, Executive Director of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy. Addressing the crowd with the call-and-response of the “people’s mic,” Brennan reminded protestors that the Conservancy had asked them not to expand onto a new portion of the park because of special concerns regarding a new irrigation system put into place and works on loan by various artists. But she ended her comments saying “…another thing that the Greenway stands for…is freedom of speech…and I ask, for as long as you are on this land, would you please help us take care of it?” Her smile beamed as the crowd chanted “Nancy! Nancy! Nancy!” in appreciation.

Despite these words of support from the director of the Greenway, hundreds of police marched into the area around 1 a.m. Tuesday. More than 160 people locked arms in a tight circle around their tent city annex and chanted slogans such as “the whole world is watching” and “this is a peaceful demonstration.” Starting about 20 minutes later, the police made 141 arrests and tore down all tents pitched in the new area. In the aftermath, protestors generally expressed the position that the police were just doing their jobs, but they could have done so less roughly. Many report cell phones, cameras, medication and the flags held by a veterans group were thrown away.

One woman, around 60 years old, said “the sight of the American flag being thrown in the trash will haunt me forever…if something like that happened to the Tea Party three years ago FOX News would still be showing footage of it.”

In the wake of the 141 arrests, Occupy Boston made international headlines and Weird Street was left untouched.

Missing the message

Most people passing through Occupied Boston are there because they support what they believe the protest stands for. Many can’t help expressing their solidarity to any stranger who will listen. There are also some, including many who meander in from the surrounding skyscrapers around lunchtime each day, who come just to gawk at the people and their signs. A few visitors — especially business school graduates in neckties — come to tell occupiers how they should be better getting their message across. The community isn’t very receptive to people broadcasting on this frequency as they insist there are multiple interrelated messages that shouldn’t be oversimplified for the benefit of the half-interested. More than one occupier said “either you get this or you don’t.”

Around 11 p.m. last Friday, a very well-groomed young woman with blonde hair stood near the Gandhi statue in a tense argument with several other people. No matter how broadly or how narrowly the small crowd tried to explain the purpose of their efforts, she continued to insist “I just don’t get it…I read the things online, like that thing from New York or whatever, and it doesn’t even make sense!” In sheer volume, hers was the loudest voice in the conversation as she claimed a genuine desire to understand. But it was clear that no useful communication was going back and forth between her and the others.

During the day, when traffic is heavy, beeps of support from cars passing on Atlantic Avenue get as frequent as three or four per minute. At night, this tapers off to a few honks an hour. There’s also the occasional jeer such as the “get a job, you fucking bums” yelled from a truck around 3 p.m. or the “cocksucking douchebag faggots” shouted from a car full of young men just after 2:30 a.m. last Saturday.

Occupy Boston, like many other occupation groups, has not released anything resembling a manifesto or list of demands. Participants don’t seem to care if this frustrates the mainstream media or confuses many of the people whose rights they say they’re fighting for. They’re acutely alert to anything that might serve as a wedge within the movement, and see decisions arrived at too hastily as the perfect example of this. As such, when it comes to defining their message, prioritizing their concerns and (eventually) proposing solutions, occupiers seem determined to proceed carefully even if it takes them a long time. Although individual protestors might be impatient, or frustrated about the lack of this or that, the overall spirit of the movement seems to be a that of patient resolve. “How long? As long as it takes!” is becoming one of the group’s many informal mottoes.

Fayez Kazak and Nowar Yousef in "Speaker's Progress"

This is a chance to see something revolutionary—in every sense of the word. Performed by a cast culled from throughout the Middle East, “Speaker’s Progress” is not only a rich, layered satire on government censorship but also a work-in-progress negotiation of just what theatrical performances can achieve in an atmosphere of suppression. In many ways, this is the best play that could be staged so close to Dewey Square at this particular moment in history.

Playwright, director and starring actor, Sulayman Al-Bassam created the piece just before the Arab Spring had bloomed. He is the founder of the Zaoum Theatre in London and the head of the SABAB Theater and “The Culture Project” in his native Kuwait. The play is the third installment in his “Arab Shakespeare Trilogy.”

His character is a playwright exiled from an unnamed Middle Eastern country in which theater has been banned as a subversive art form, rife with Western influence. The play beings with this character’s endorsement of the law and renouncement of his former work in the theater. What he proposes to show this audience is a document of a characteristically subversive work: a production of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” adopted into Arabic with built-in revolutionary overtones. The production will be reconstructed, purely for the benefit of historical understanding, through the use of a few surviving film clips, and live performance to fill in the gaps in the audio/visual record. Its performers include a former actress, and representatives from a women’s league, a cultural ministry and a tourism board.

At its beginning, the exercise is quite funny to watch. Petrified of appearing in anyway subversive, the actors strive to keep their presentation of this poetic romance as drily scientific as possible. Positions on the stage are announced in the manner of chess moves. The men are armed with yardsticks to ensure that the head-dressed actresses never step within an inappropriate distance of their male scene partners.

L-R: Amal Omran, Carole Abboud (seated), actor not coming to Boston (Fahad Al AbdulMohsin), Fayez Kazak, Nassar al Nassar (hidden behind), Faisal Al Ameeri

Even in these conditions, even in Arabic with English subtitles, the message and the passion escape. In fact, the more they are restricted and forbidden the more attentive one becomes to them. As this fact becomes apparent, the cast seems to divide among those who wish to further the production’s original cause and those who wish to battle it back.

The greatest threat  to  the cause is the representative from the tourist board, played by Fayez Kazak. This stern figure has been cast as the play’s equivalent of Malvolio, the haughty puritan who gets his comeuppance. In the Arabic adaptation, Malvolio is a Mullah, the very figure who would have censored the play.

Malvolio/The Mullah is undone by falling into a trap in which he is led to believe that he is beloved of a woman more powerful than he—in the Arabic version, her name is “Freedom.” He winds up behind bars, tortured. A similar trap is set for this member of the tourism board. He is seduced by the freedom of playing the juicy role of the Mullah, and while his guard is down, his fellow actors try to strip him of his power.

Like much of “Speaker’s Progress” this drama plays out on at least four planes of reality at once. Engaging with it gives one some sense of how Sulayman Al-Bassam must feel as he strives to create works about conflicting cultures that speak to Arab citizens, government censors and Western audiences. It also speaks volumes about life under censorship and repression. It must indeed feel like a series of theatrical performances, full of  potential for subtle subversions and charged with the constant threat of cages of all kinds.

“Speakers Progress” is a deeply challenging work for a complex historical moment. It’s also funny, engaging and unique. Occupy a seat at the Paramount while you still can.

“Speaker’s Progress” plays at ArtsEmerson’s Paramount Mainstage through October 16.

Moments after the Tuesday morning arrests, Rev. Jason Lydon collects donations for bail money. Lydon has marched with the Occupy Boston protest several times and his congregation, the Community Church of Boston, is a Unitarian Universalist church in the Back Bay vocal in its solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and similar movements across the globe. (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

This is a collection of Blast Magazine photography from the Monday Occupy Boston protests and the police arrest of 129 people who had built a tent city in a second part of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway that police had said was off limits.

Protesters link arms as police approach (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Dozens of the protesters arrested during Occupy Boston’s expansion into a renovated portion of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway on Monday will not face criminal charges if they pay a $50 court fee and accept a civil infraction.

This was done at Boston Municipal Court this afternoon the request of the prosecutors in the office of Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, said Jake Wark, his spokesman.

Most of the protesters had no prior criminal record.

“Most had no prior records and had their misdemeanor trespassing charges amended to civil infractions at prosecutors’ request,” Wark said.

But some declined the offer of a civil infraction, equivalent to a speeding ticket, and will now have to press on with their criminal cases.

“A small number insisted on proceeding criminally,” Wark said. “Another small number had criminal records, and they were arraigned with court dates in December.”

A protester is arrested during the bridge rally (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Yesterday, thousands of people swelled the ranks of Occupy Boston in a march that began at the Boston Common and snaked through various Boston neighborhoods to protest — among other complaints — high unemployment, government malfeasance and corporate greed.

Student groups and representatives from local labor unions were well-represented.

The throng stopped at several points, sitting in the streets and blocking traffic in an act of non-violent civil disobedience. Then, in what one local commentator has since called the “battle of old North Washington bridge,” the protestors blocked the bridge to Charlestown for over an hour but were prevented from advancing onto the expanse itself. One protestor, a gray-haired man in a baseball cap, was arrested.

According to many within the Occupy Boston movement, the “battle of the bridge” was a diversionary tactic enabling protestors to expand their protest community in front of South Station to a part of the Rose Kennedy Greenway that Mayor Thomas Menino and Boston Police had declared to be off-limits. Protestors, arguing that their camp is too overcrowded to accommodate the number of people who arrived daily to join their cause, see physical expansion as vital to the success of their mission. They note that similar protests in other US cities have been allowed to expand and unsuccessfully implored Boston to afford them the same opportunity.

"Medics" stand by on the Greenway during the protests (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

By early evening, police and protestors were at a standoff. Tents had been pitched in the new area and some of the infrastructure of the main camp, such as the protest group’s logistics and medical tents, were in place as well.

Gregg Housh, a 34-year old father of two serving as liaison between Occupy Boston and the city, reported having been given conflicting information. Word from the mayor was that the new site had to be surrendered by midnight or it would be cleared by force, while Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis threatened to tear down both areas if the new site wasn’t vacated by midnight.

Boston police, in an official statement later, said this was not true and that police only wanted the protesters to vacate the Greenway expansion.

The new encampment held a general assembly meeting to decide if they should stay or go. Nancy Brennan, Executive Director of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, stood up to address the crowd and, like all speakers, used the call-and-response of the “people’s mic” being used in occupy protests across the country.

The “people’s mic” involves the crowd simply repeating what the speaker is saying so that the message carries across a large group.

Police form a line during the bridge protest (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Brennan reminded everyone that the Conservancy had asked protestors not to expand onto the other portion of the park because of special concerns regarding a new irrigation system put into place and works on loan by various artists. But she ended her comments saying “…another thing that the Greenway stands for…is freedom of speech…and I ask…for as long as you are on this land…would you please help us take care of it?” Her smile beamed as the crowd chanted “Nancy! Nancy! Nancy!” in appreciation.

After the meeting, she said that the lawn planted in the space in question is deep-rooted, grown without chemicals, and was likely to survive the occupation, “If not,” she explained, “they’ve promised to replace it…and I have no doubt they will.”

As midnight approached, protestors locked arms and formed a human barrier to protect their occupation sites. A tight circle of more than 160 people surrounded the new campground while a ragged line of more than 220 people protected the original site. Legal advisers went around dispensing pamphlets and legal aid phone numbers, helping people write a contact number on their bare skin should they be arrested.

Medical volunteers were also present, most of them equipped with bottled cocktails of Maalox and water to neutralize pepper spray should it be used.

Jason Lydon, a Unitarian Universalist minister with the Community Church in Boston’s Back Bay, offered comforting words to the largely young and frightened protestors.

“Remember to relax and to breathe … remember that whatever happens, if you get arrested or whatever, this community will not abandon you,” Lydon said. “We will take care of you.”

Shorly after 1 a.m., hundreds of law enforcement officials, including Boston, transit and State Police, as well as members of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s department descended upon the scene.

They began making arrests around 1:20 am as protestors sang “God Bless America” or chanted slogans such as “this is a peaceful demonstration” and “the whole world is watching.”

A contingent of gray-haired war veterans and one young female Iraqi war vet, from the group Veterans for Peace had their own chant: “We have a permit. It’s called the Constitution.”

The police gave several warnings by bullhorn for the crowd to leave or face arrest. Those who stayed were quickly taken into custody. Just minutes after the first protester was cable tied, 141 arrests had been made.

Some protestors complained about what they saw as excessive use of police force.

A member of the veterans group said they were prepared to come along peacefully, “they didn’t have to rough us up and walk all over the American flags we fought overseas to defend.”

Protestors were also upset that police may not have seen the difference between the protestors who locked arms in resistance and the medical and legal advisers, identified by their clothes, who stood close by to help.

Protestors also claimed that phones, cameras and other valuables belonging to the protestors were thrown into the trash along with the mangled remains of their tents that were taken down.

Blast recorded footage of a woman being arrested on a sidewalk adjacent to the park after she yelled at police.

A statement at the Occupy Boston website objected to both the way the arrests had been conducted and the way the protestors had been characterized saying:

“…hundreds of police in full riot gear brutally attacked Occupy Boston, which had peacefully gathered on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The Boston Police Department made no distinction between protesters, medics, or legal observers, arresting legal observer Urszula Masny-Latos, who serves as the Executive Director for the National Lawyers Guild, as well as four medics attempting to care for the injured….Following the raid, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis made no mention of veterans, organized labor, students, or families, nor did he issue an apology for his department’s aggressive tactics. Since the beginning of its occupation, Occupy Boston has worked tirelessly and successfully to maintain a positive working relationship with city officials. Today’s reprehensible attack by the Boston Police Department against a movement that enjoys the broad support of the American people represents a sad and disturbing shift away from dialogue and towards violent repression…Despite the city’s attempt to silence us, Occupy Boston remains, and bears no ill-will towards the men and women of the Boston Police Department who were simply following orders.”

In the wake of the arrests this morning, Mayor Menino maintained that he has a certain degree of sympathy with the protestors and told the Boston Globe, “I understand they have freedom of speech and freedom of expression, but we have a city to manage…I’m open to suggestions, but civil disobedience will not be tolerated.”

Talking to NECN, Menino expressed his mistaken belief that anarchists – a minority contingent within the Occupy Boston community since day one – had recently entered the movement and had changed its character.

Charged with unlawful assembly and aided with bail money donated by supporters, most of those arrested were released today but are due to be back in court later in the week.

The original Occupy Boston encampment, set up on September 30, remained in place this afternoon.

(Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

A few hundred people in Boston — 200 to 600 depending on the time of day and the weather — are illegally occupying Dewey Square Park, the portion of the Rose Kennedy Greenway directly in front of South Station. They’ve built a colorful community of about 60 tents in the shadow of the Federal Reserve Building, the skyscraper owned by Bank of America, and other symbols of financial power. During the day, they line Atlantic Ave with signs denouncing corporate greed. At night, they train each other in useful skills or gather for assembly, a sort of egalitarian legislature in which anyone can have a say and everyone gets a vote. They call what they are doing “Occupy Boston.”

It’s a diverse group with long lists of complaints about the way society is run, especially in regards to corporations and the power they yield. While members tend to be well left of center politically, most insist that what they are doing isn’t about Left or Right, Democrat or Republican. Noting the game-changing wealth the richest 1% of families have under their control, many like to call themselves “the other 99%” and insist that anyone within that same wide percentile is who they are fighting for.

Even in countries where no declared war is being fought, 2011 hasn’t been a peaceful year. The Arab Spring toppled regimes. In summer, parts of London burned. And in New York City, exactly three years after the especially sharp economic plummet of September 2008, thousands of people physically took themselves and their anger to the doors of Wall Street itself.

Who are the people “occupying” Boston and what do they want? What connection – if any – does this peaceful gathering on the Rose Kennedy Greenway have to do with the overthrow of leaders like Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Gaddafi? This is a story of Boston’s newest and smallest “neighborhood,” a small patch of dirt and grass some are calling “Occupied Boston,” and the story starts in Canada.

Origins of Occupation

(Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Adbusters, an anti-corporate activist group registered in British Columbia way back in 1989, has been clamoring for social change ever since. But it wasn’t until this year, in the wake of the Arab Spring, that the idea for Occupy Wall Street started to really come together. On July 4, 2011, they registered the domain name “occupywallst.org.” Nine days later, a group of hackers devoted to civil disobedience via the Internet and calling themselves Anonymous, asked its members to join the demonstrations soon to follow. After two more months of planning, Occupy Wall Street exploded into a protest of more than 1,000 people on Monday, September 17, in New York City.

On day eight of this extended protest, many of those involved headed uptown, forcing the closure of several streets. At least 80 arrests were made that day, some of them roughly, and video of a New York City police officer chemical macing a group of young women intensified world attention on the event. On day 13, in front of South Station during Friday rush hour, Boston became among the first of many cities to field its own version of that same protest.

Occupying Boston

(Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

Compared to their compatriots in NYC, the men and women of Occupy Boston received a warm welcome from the city. Word came down from Mayor Menino that tents pitched outside South Station would be allowed despite lack of permits. Before hitting the streets, some Boston cops received reminders about what holds are less painful for the person being restrained. Whatever else Boston’s powers-that-be might think of the protestors and their complaints, it’s clear they wished to avoid a replay of the public relations fiasco caused by the violent arrests in NYC just two days earlier.

Folks gathered at the State House and then marched towards the Financial District. The Rude Mechanical Orchestra, a NYC marching band scheduled to be in town anyway for the HONK! Festival taking place in Cambridge and Somerville that weekend, was a conspicuous presence at the moment of Occupy Boston’s actual birth. Dressed in trademark black and green, bedecked with sequins and playing exuberantly sloppy Dixieland, they made what was happening seem more like a holiday parade that the wild-eyed images we received of Arab Spring protestors. It helped set the tenor for what was to follow.

The cops, apparently in a non-confrontational mood, seemed amused by the marching band and a few folks in costumes. As people flocked into Dewey Square Park, police and protestors exchanged nonthreatening looks and polite words. “Hello…hiya…hello…howyadoing?” Even “welcome.” According to one police officer, a 30-plus-year veteran of the Boston Police Department who spoke on condition of anonymity, “What they’re doing here? It doesn’t bother us…(but) a few people barged into the bank and were trying to get arrested. So we helped ‘em out.” At least two dozen people, largely middle aged folks who had lost their homes, were gently taken into custody.

Emerging from their workplaces, waves of people stopped to gawk at the spectacle or tap their toes to the sound of horns and drums before catching the next train home. Widely circulated estimates that this first night drew about 1,000 people don’t seem to take into account the number of individuals and groups coming and going during these first hours. Two thousand plus seems more accurate.

It almost didn’t happen. Local organizers were targeting the following Friday, October 7, to hit the streets. But planning went surprising well and consensus was reached on numerous issues earlier than expected. The Occupy Boston movement was able to mobilize on September 30 instead, the same day that local groups were showing up on Beacon Hill – each with its own specific grievances regarding housing, labor or other issues. Most left with the sunset, but a few hundred people now firmly identifying themselves with the “Occupy Movement” encamped for the first night of the protest. Even torrential downpours during the night couldn’t dampen their impression that Occupy Boston had gotten off to a very auspicious start.

Teyvan Lowe

Teyvan Lowe (Blast Staff photo/John Stephen Dwyer)

People came and went from the event throughout the weekend. By Monday, day four of the Boston protest, it looked like those in the camp were enjoying a decent level of comfort. Good planning meant that such essentials as the medical tent were in place from the start. People of various descriptions had dropped off carloads of food through the weekend, meaning a surplus had begun to be stockpiled. What had been a patch of turf was now a bustling shantytown of colorful tents in the gray shadow of America’s financial colossi. Some of its inhabitants – especially those with no roof over their heads before joining the protest – were already calling it “home.”

Teyvan Lowe, 18, was one of them. During the evening rush hour, as people held up various messages for the benefit of motorists, Lowe stood alongside them playing his guitar, dressed like a sort of bandito in a mask and stocking cap. Pulling down the bandana that covered the bottom of his face, he said “This is basically where I live. The streets.” He explained that trouble with his family and the lack of a job had given him no other choice. Lowe, who had arrived at the protest on Friday, said “I’m here mostly on behalf of the homeless population. As a community of homeless people, no one is going to take us seriously. It’s hard enough to find a job if you haven’t showered in three weeks and have dirty clothes.”

Arania Webb

Arania Webb, 47, of Wakefield, wasn’t much better off. “I was in investment bank law. I was in the legal profession for twenty-five years. I was good at what I did. I was laid off in 2008…when our clients went under, so did we.” Since then, she’s done everything she can to survive, “temp work, housecleaning, dog-walking, you name it. People who mock the unemployed by saying ‘get off your ass and get a job?’ There are no jobs. I have zero income. I used all my savings. I had to liquidate my 401K…now I am sleeping on the floor of my friend’s home office.”

Seeing a chance to again put her professional skills to good use, Webb joined Occupy Boston’s legal team six days earlier. “Where else could I be?” she asked. She then referred to those outside the top 1% saying, “if you were in any way touched by the market crash, you are the 99 percent…if you are one illness or hospital stay away from bankruptcy, you are the 99%…this is a nationwide movement turning into a worldwide movement.”

Some at Occupy Boston found it difficult to articulate their topmost demands, while others said that capitalism itself must be forced out of existence. Webb fell into neither category, and her demands were surprisingly simple and modest: single-payer health care, FDR-esque work programs, and “some kind of campaign finance reform.” When asked how long she’d tough it outdoors, Webb said “We will stay here as long as necessary. We will stay here through the snows. We’ve started to acquire warm weather gear already. We will be here as long as it takes.”

A diverse crowd of protestors gathered Friday afternoon on Boston Common and marched to the Bank of America building at 100 Federal Street, across from South Station. Right to the City (RTTC), a group organized in 2007 as a response to the gentrification of low-income urban neighborhoods, seems to have been the primary organizer of the gathering although several other groups were represented, most notably Occupy Boston, a local protest group in the mode of the demonstrators getting attention in Manhattan this week. Rude Mechanical Orchestra, a New York-based marching band in Greater Boston for this weekend’s HONK! Festival in Cambridge and Somerville, brought horns and drums into the equation.

Opposing corporate greed was the general theme of the 2000-3000 person gathering, but specific protests differed. Many signs – especially those held by people middle-aged and up – called for a halt to foreclosures. Others demanded an end to the Bush tax cuts, or just generally appealed to the government to “tax the rich.” One sign simply impugned the integrity of FOX News, and at least one guy passed out leaflets advocating that money itself should be abolished.

“The problem is, they’re all over the map….so no one gets what they’re protesting,” said a 30-plus-year veteran of the Boston Police Department who, because of department policy about talking to the media, declined to give his name. He added with a smile, “But what they’re doing here? It doesn’t bother us…(but) a few people barged into the bank and were trying to get arrested. So we helped ‘em out.”

At least 24 people were taken into custody.

When asked if the BPD had gotten any special warnings in the wake of the widely-criticized use of pepper spray by New York City police officer Anthony Bologna at the Wall Street protests a few days ago, the Boston officer said they had been briefly re-trained in the use of holds that cause minimal pain to the person being restrained. He added that Mayor Menino sent word that the tents being erected on Dewey Square should be left undisturbed despite the lack of the requisite permits. “It getting cold,” he said, “it might rain. We don’t want to make it hard on them.”

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis confirmed that some participants were taken into custody after entering the Bank of America building. According to a police spokesman Officer Eddy Chrispin, they were charged with trespassing.

Bank of America spokesperson T.J. Crawford called the protest “aggressive public-relations stunts” and asserted that “Bank of America has a lot to be proud of in Massachusetts.”

Bank of America, based in North Carolina, has more assets than any other lender in the United States.

At one point, several sub-groups left the area of South Station and marched to Beacon Hill for continued protest in front of the Massachusetts State House. Several hundred people remained around Dewey Square, however, as some individuals and groups planned to rendezvous there again later in the night. When the protest would draw to a close was uncertain, but one person was overheard saying to a fellow protestor, “This is ‘Occupy Boston’…not ‘Visit Boston!’”

The Egyptians weren’t the first peoples in the Arab world to rise up against an oppressive government in 2011. Before that Facebook group was made, the people of Tunisia rose up against their (now former) president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, kicked him out, and have had an acting president since mid-December.

Egypt got so much attention because of the sheer scale of the protests, the millions that marched and demanded democracy, and the fact that they are a major receiver of U.S. aid. But now, as Part I of Egypt’s fight for freedom has come to a close, several of its Arab counterparts are learning from it and Tunisia’s example.

Here is a list of the top five countries (in no particular order) in the Middle-East facing a major uprising against oppression and for democracy. And you can bet, a lot of it will be organized on Facebook and Twitter.

1. Tunisia

Just like in Egypt, this fight isn’t over. It all started when Mohammed Bouazizi lit himself on fire, an act of self-immolation that has been emulated in other countries as a symbol of governmental oppression and humiliation. Now, even though Ben Ali has stepped down, Tunisians are protesting against high food prices and high unemployment, and are trying to put together a reliable temporary government until a free and fair election is held later this year for the first time since Ali took office in 1987.

2. Bahrain

Bahrain has an overwhelming Shiite majority that wants more of a say in governmental procedures and a larger share of economic opportunities. They want their king Sheikh Hamid bin Isa al-Khalifa to rewrite the country’s constitution to include those amendments, and an end to the 39-year reign of prime minister Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa (the uncle of the king). Add that to concerns over corruption, torture and the jailing of 500 presumably innocent Shiites last year and Bahraini’s have plenty to protest against. The government has tried to stop protesters by offering each family nearly $2,700 each, but this movement can’t be bought. There have been clashes between protesters and pro-government forces here, too. Forces fired on the funeral procession for a fallen protester in the capital Manama early Feb. 15, and killed at least one person, Al Jazeera reports.

3. Iran

We all remember the green revolution; the 2009 uprising after the results of a disputed election that put President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad back in power. But now that fire has been rekindled, thanks largely to Egypt’s success in overthrowing Hosni Mubarak, and Iranians are now back in the streets. Ironically, after Mubarak was overthrown, Ahmadinejad’s government supported the protesters, but are now banning their own people from voicing their opinions in the streets of Tehran. There were many clashes in Tehran on February 14th, as police used tear gas to disperse protesters who were chanting “death to a dictator,” in reference to Ahmadinejad. Iranians aren’t happy at their country’s hypocrisy, and while the people obviously support the Egyptian cause, they can hardly believe their government’s words of encouragement.

4. Algeria

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been in power since 1999, when he was elected amidst widespread allegations of fraud, as several candidates pulled out just before election day. This one is for democracy, much like Egypt’s, and on Feb. 13 hundreds of Algerian protesters were met by thousands of police who were deployed to stop the protest. The people want a legitimate government and an end to the state of emergency that has plagued the country for almost two decades, which President Bouteflika said he’d lift soon, according to Al Jazeera. Bouteflika also promised Algerians more political freedom, but that hasn’t stopped them from organizing a massive protest set for Feb. 19.

5. Yemen

Monday, Feb. 14 marked the fourth straight day of protests in the country, but the first day of major clashes between the people and the police. During a sit-in at Sanaa University, hundreds of protesters clashed with pro-government forces, where at least 17 were injured and 165 arrested. President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he would not run for re-election in 2013, but that hasn’t been enough to stop Yemenis from airing their grievances in the street. This protest is of special concern to the U.S., as the New York Times reports the movement has spread because of the president’s relationship with the U.S., and possibly his role in covering U.S. involvement in trying to eliminate the Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda.

None of the above uprisings have reached numbers anywhere close to what was happening in Egypt. However many of the country’s populations are smaller and many of the protests are still in their infancies. Amazingly, these aren’t the only Mid-East countries rising up. Here are a list of countries and corresponding dates for their next planned major protests (via twitter user @Blindust): Libya Feb. 17, Morocco Feb. 20, Cameroon Feb. 23, Kuwait March 8.

Along with these, the people of Jordan, Syria and Sudan are standing up to governments they see as illegitimate.

For a near constant stream of updates on the situation in the Mid-East, you can watch Al Jazeera English live on their website by clicking here.

Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak has resigned as president after 18 days of protests by the country’s people, and 30 years as the country’s ruler.

The move was a surprise, as many thought Mubarak planned to step down yesterday during his speech. Emergency law however is still in place and will be until the military sees fit to remove it. The Supreme military council, now in control of the country, also asked protesters to return to their homes in an address on Egyptian state television.

Blast reported this morning that Mubarak left Cairo for Sharm-el Sheikh, a resort town a few hundred miles away from the capital.

The news was announced by appointed vice-president Omar Suleiman, in an address this morning: “My fellow citizens. At these hard circumstances our country is experiencing, President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has decided to waive the office of the President of the Republic, and instructed the Supreme council of the Armed forces to run the affairs of the country. May God guide or steps.”

It is still unclear if elections will take place soon, of if their are plans to institute a civilian-controlled government.

However, today, the mood in the streets of Cairo has changed from anger and agitation, to joy and relief, now that the ruler the people so despised has finally given into their demands.

“Feb 11 is (a) Historic day in Egypt! We will celebrate it forever,” tweeted Egyptian Blogger Mahmoud Salem, 29, a 2004 graduate of Northeastern University, who has been active in the protests since the beginning.

Salem, who was nearly beaten to death in Tahrir Square last week, returned on Friday, victorious.

“People (are) jumping up and down. Everyone hugging. We did it. I wanna cry from happiness,” he tweeted.

Click here for a live stream of the celebration in Egypt from Al Jazeera English.

A protest sign held by a member of the WBC (left) and Elizabeth Edwards. (Media Credit/www.Huffingtonpost.com)

The Westboro Baptist Church announced in a memo on its Web site, www.godhatesfags.com, that it plans to picket at Elizabeth Edwards’ funeral Saturday, to be held in Raleigh, N.C.

The group, based in Kansas, frequently protests soldiers’ funerals and is famous for its many hateful–and distasteful–picket signs, including “God Hates Fags,” “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” “Thank God for Breast Cancer” and “Thank God for 9/11.”

Edwards, the estranged wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards, died of breast cancer earlier this week at the age of 61. The WBC’s memo claims that “God hates” Edwards and that she is a “resident of hell, where her rebellion and rage will take full flower.” The group’s anger towards her seems to be rooted in her statements to the media regarding she and John’s 16-year-old son Wade, who died in a car crash in 1996. The WBC deemed her statements “blasphemy.”

The WBC’s memo can be read in its entirety below.

In front of the Newbury St. location of Lush, a handmade soap and natural cosmetics store, a small group of female employees wore nothing but barrels reading “Time For An Oil Change Or We’ll Lose It All” on Wednesday. The small protest was a result of Lush’s campaign against the Unites States Government’s ongoing support of Canadian tar sands oil.

Tar sands are a mixture of clay, sand, water, and bitumen, which is a glutinous and heavy black oil. Since tar sands cannot be pumped from the ground, they are generally strip mined using open-pit techniques. Because of its viscous nature, bitumen requires lighter hydrocarbons and water to be mixed in, which leads to a significant amount of fresh water being boiled and potentially poisoned. The production of tar sands emits three times more greenhouse gases than conventional oil.

The majority of tar sands production in Canada occurs in Alberta, and according to a press release from Lush, could turn an area the size of Florida into a toxic sacrifice zone.

"This is the most destructive project on the planet", said Emily Calvin, a Lush Harvard Square employee who was participating in the protest. "We are working on all of our dependence on tar sands and promoting renewable energy".

Lush is launching the campaign because they believe that the government needs to cease the subsidization of tar sands, and invest the billions of dollars into wind and solar power, as well as fuel efficient cars. For the next two weeks all of Lush’s locations nationwide (103 in all) will be transformed into campaign centers with pictures of deforestation and open pit mining strewn throughout the stores, while leaflets supporting the Rainforest Action Network will be handed out to customers.

The protest was met with general confusion by pedestrians who did not necessarily stop long enough to know what was going on, let alone sign postcards for President Obama encouraging he reallocate funds currently used for tar sands into renewable energy.

The Wild Country Rose bath bomb was created for the two week campaign and all of the proceeds will go towards the Rainforest Action Network’s efforts to end tar sand production. For more information visit www.lushusa.com and www.ran.org

Supporters of‚ ousted Honduran‚ President Manuel Zelaya‚ defied roadblocks and a city-wide closure to surround the Brazilian‚ embassy in which Zelaya has taken refuge in‚ Tegucigalpa, Al-Jazeera reports.‚ 

The men and women danced and cheered in the streets and after power was cut around the embassy, they used‚  their cell phones to complement the moonlight in a stunning display of unity.

On Tuesday however,‚ Honduran security forces disassembled the‚ thousands of pro-Manuel Zelaya supporters. Police chased and fired tear gas at the protesters, some of whom responded by throwing stones at the armed forces. No arrests of injuries have yet been reported, however there are thought to be several.

Zelaya returned to the Honduran capital on Monday, a claim which the military-backed coup government had previously denied.

The ousted president said he believes the police are preparing for an attack on the embassy, which would be‚ a grave violation of international law.

“The embassy is surrounded by police and the military … I foresee bigger acts of aggression and violence, that they could be capable of even invading the Brazilian embassy” Al-Jazeera reports he told Venezuelan Telesur network.

Brazil’s Foreign ministry has accused the de facto government of severing power and water lines that lead into the embassy.

Kicked Out

Zelaya was ousted by a military-backed coup on June 28, driven out of his home in his pajamas in the middle of the night. The coup was‚ due‚ largely in part to his attempts at a constitutional referendum that, potentially, would have allowed him to run for another term.

He was sent in to exile and told not to return.

The de facto leader, Roberto Micheletti, previously stated he was open to talks with foreign nations; however he recently stated he would not negotiate and demanded the transfer of Zelaya to his government so the ousted president could stand trial on corruption and constitutional violation charges.

TORONTO — While speaking to an Iranian Ph.D student at Ryerson University yesterday, I began to truly understand the magnitude of what is currently happening in Iran. These protests and demonstrations represent much more than a disapproval of election results, but also an uprising of a people historically oppressed by a power-hungry supreme leader.

It’s a revolution against an Islamic Republic that puts its own needs and wants in front of the people that it governs, or so the Ph.D student put it.

Saturday’s protests in Iran were full of violence. People were shot, beaten and tear gassed in the streets. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the public in his speech Friday that more demonstrations were prohibited. He said that if the people continued to revolt, Mousavi and the opposition would be responsible for what happened to them.

He also said these protests won’t force the ruling regime into a corner. He said, basically, these outbursts are useless.

The people are however challenging the very foundation of not only the supreme leadership, but the Islamic Republic as well.

Protests turn deadly

Some sources say a bomb went off outside a mosque and killed three or four people. Other say people were being shot dead in the streets. Some claim military tanks were deployed. Reports of helicopters landing at universities are coming through via Iranian twitter accounts. More twitter accounts claim Basiji are ntering homes and attacking civilians.

CNN reports hospital officials say 19 died today during the demonstrations. The death toll could be as high as 150.

According to this video, one woman was shot and killed by Basiji during the protests.

WARNING: THE VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES.

In terms of severity and risk, the situation may be getting out of hand. The woman killed is now being used as a rallying point for Iranians, an example of horrid government brutality. Her name was Neda, which, so fittingly, means “voice” in Farsi.

If Iran were to give in and approve a re-election, it could start a dangerous trend across the Middle-East. As Obama said, “the world is watching. An Islamic Republic that gives in to the demands of the people could set a precedent for the citizens of other Islamic countries.

Countries that are successfully oppressing their people. These protests could mean widespread unrest throughout the Middle-East.

Thoughts of an Iranian student

But what does all this mean for Iran? What are these people fighting for? When will these protests end? How far will the supreme leader go to ensure his republic maintains some degree of control?

Yesterday I spoke to an Iranian exchange student, Mahdi Takaffoli, about the protests, the election results and the behind-the-scenes power struggle between Ayatollah Khamenei and Assembly of Experts Chairman Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president.

Takaffoli could not comment on the specifics of some issues since his media access is like ours. Restricted. Living outside of Iran during a period of extreme internal turmoil summons feelings of guilt within him. He said on one hand he’s glad he’s not there. His life, in Canada, is not in danger.

“But then I thought about it and I think I would like to be in Iran so I can show I have the courage to speak out against Khamenei,” he says.

Even though he can’t be in Tehran, Takaffoli is showing his support. He attended a protest in Toronto last week, which drew a crowd of more than 1,000. He and I also attended a candlelight vigil on Friday night for those who died during the protests in Iran. He also plans to attend a rally in Toronto on Sunday.

Takaffoli even took a five-hour bus ride to Ottawa to vote at Canada’s only polling station. He voted for Mousavi, as did 85 per cent of the nearly 3,000 Iranian-Canadians who made the trip to the nation’s capital, he says.

After the interview Takaffoli expressed some regret over the harsh words he spoke against Khamenei. Not because he believed them to be untrue, but because his family still lives in Iran. “I am not afraid though,” he says.

Takaffoli spoke of his devotion to Iran and his allegiance to the reformist party and Mousavi. He admitted that when the election began he did not know much about Mousavi, but after watching the debates and reading about his policies, he decided Mousavi, as an artist, would be a good stepping stone to reform Iranian politics and help promote freedom of expression.

He says there’s been a reformist movement brewing for a while, especially among the educated youth. He’s happy that this movement now has a leader, though he did acknowledge that while Mousavi may not be everyone’s ideal candidate, he is a figure people can rally behind to look for real change. He criticized Ahmadinejad for acting like he works for the people.

He believed, along with his friends in Iran, that an election was the best way to have their oppressed voices heard. Now that may have been taken away from them, too.

Now, with a tainted, corrupt democracy, he doesn’t know what the future of his country will bring.

Takaffoli said there’s no way he could believe Ahmadinejad won so much of the public’s vote when so many citizens wanted reform.

He doesn’t believe in toppling the entire Islamic Republic though. He wants to achieve reform through the system because, as he put it, overthrowing the entire regime would result in the deaths of too many Iranians. Throughout our talk he made it clear he was against violent revolution of any kind, no matter what it could achieve.

Takaffoli doesn’t know what these protests will bring, but he is extremely proud and hopeful that his countrymen and women will force the republic to reform.

But that won’t happen if Khamenei has his way.