I offer this as a companion piece to leftycoaster's diary on this topic, which you can read here. Thank you lefty, hope to see you tomorrow, send me a PM and let me know how I can find you in the crowd.
Last night it was rumored that the police would come and attempt to break up or dismantle the tiny tent city in Westlake Plaza. Before I went to sleep, I checked the breaking stream over at the Occupy Seattle website and as of around midnight, no arrests had yet been made. Upon awaking, I checked again and lo, there still had been no arrests.
And then my workday began and I had no idea what was happening just a few blocks away from my office. After work, I decided to stop by and see what was going on, and what I saw was quite a lot different than the picture I had painted with my photos in the diary I posted last night.
Follow me over the the little orange croissant for some of my observations (and photos)!
The first thing I noticed was the increased police presence. They mostly stand together and talk among themselves, without mingling with the crowd, those who ostensibly are fighting for their jobs and pensions as well. They seemed neither interested nor dismissive, just doing their jobs.
You can see it's its very wet here in Seattle. The crowd was considerably thinned, but that's because earlier in the day, many had been arrested and removed from the park.
There were still a few really good signs.
A man holding an upside-down flag spoke of revolution. Just at the edge of the plaza, practically on the sidewalk, people took turns speaking. One woman spoke of being arrested and released. I approached her a little while later and she recounted that around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon, police had arrived at the plaza telling people the tents must come down.
Some people did not leave their tents, and they were taken away. Some people who were standing around the tents were also taken away. There were no reported acts of violence on either the side of the police or the demonstrators.
I noticed some people with the microphone spoke of police brutality. Though there was none of that here in Seattle, there were more batonings, macings and kettlings in New York today.
I like this guy's sign, he himself said it was the best damn sign in the joint.
Where once stood tents now were parked large Parks & Recreation Department vehicles.
Where once tents bloomed, they now lay deflated.
I read leftycoaster's diry on the bus on the way home, then when I arrived home, I checked the live feed at Occupy Seattle, and here is the message:
We, the General Assembly of Seattle, thank the mayor for ordering our arrest. Though the arrests were made on the false pretense that the occupation would be in conflict with future scheduled protests--when, in fact, these protests have all expressed their support for the occupation--though we have a right to peaceably assembly, and though we have done nothing to agitate the police: nevertheless, we thank the mayor. Our numbers will only grow stronger as the public contemplates the unjust arrest of thirty workers raising signs and tents, while the corporate thugs remain pampered in their private villas.
But the hand of justice is not long delayed. Let the strength of our resolve today serve to put Corporate America on notice that the ninety nine percent in Seattle will no longer bow to the will of the one percent.
We will not relent. We will not retreat. We are the ninety nine percent.
Again, I did not stay long, but I stopped in, hung out a little, listened a little, took some snaps and now I am spreading the message the best I can. I'll stop back over there tomorrow, perhaps I'll catch a snapshot of the elusive leftycoaster.