Ever since our previous eviction seven weeks ago, Occupy Tucson has been camping at Veinte de Agosto Park, a little scrap of land right downtown. Tonight Tucson police cleared the park (without drama), in anticipation of a charity event to be held there on Dec. 28.
What a strange coincidence that the organizer of the event is a noted Tea Party antagonist of Occupy Tucson. He's complained about the "smelly stinky presence" of the Occupation, but (sniff, sniff) Shaun -- the only stink I sense is your insincerity. You've clearly contrived this event to run the people out of their park.
Well, Shaun, you and the city council can shove us out of Pancho Villa Park, but you can't snuff out the fire that's been lit under the Occupy movement.
Read on, if you will, for how the evening unfolded. I think it was a night that made many of us redouble our convictions about the need for an Occupy movement, but the action was more internal than external. I don't know what Occupy Tucson is going to look like tomorrow or next week, but it's clear it isn't going to be the same as it was yesterday.
I have not camped with Occupy Tucson, but I've visited often. There were around 25 - 30 tents set up around the park, a fairly small triangle of green that is overshadowed by trees and a hefty statue of Pancho Villa. The city council has been split on supporting our presence, but they've mostly tolerated it, if you overlook the nightly citations that TPD has handed out to the campers.
Tonight that ended. Around 7 PM, police started parking cruisers around the park and set up cones, blocking off lanes of traffic. Then they set up floodlights. About two dozen uniformed officers stood around the edges of the park. There were at first maybe ten cruisers. Word went out that the camp had to come down, and it could be easy or hard. OT chose to cooperate.
They took down their tents and cleaned the park. As the evening went on, I saw all the tents disappear and all the stuff get cleared out or piled into a trash pile. I helped haul away a few truckloads of stuff. Many of those camping with OT are in fact lacking a permanent residence, and had nowhere to go besides the edge of the park. Our legal team worked to confirm with the city attorney that the sidewalks bordering the park were not closed, and also that people could, if they wanted, bed down with pads and blankets, etc., on the margins of the sidewalk so they are neither in the park nor blocking the pathway. Tucson has a significant population of people without permanent homes, and some have chosen to get quite involved with OT. I would estimate somewhere between 15 - 25 people are sleeping on the sidewalk tonight, forced to the edges of the city sidewalks, quite literally marginalized.
As the evening wore on more police vehicles arrived -- cruisers, SUVs, and paddy wagons. More officers filed into the park. The vibe from the police was mostly chilly, but not openly hostile. They let us take down tents and gather personal belongings, they let us park trucks nearby to load up stuff. How generous of them. Some of OT were shouting at the police, chanting "Who do you protect and serve?" "The badge means nothing if you don't uphold the oath!" "You are the 99%." Reporters arrived, dressed more smartly and thinly than the occupiers, with press cards dangling from their necks. Their camera operators hovered nearby, hoping to record some excitement.
The only excitement was the passionate conversation catalyzed by our eviction. "Hey, what brought you out here?" "Meeting tomorrow at such-and-such." "It's all been downhill since Ronald Reagan!" "Yeah, when Reagan died, why did we decide to deify him, for crying out loud??" "Look at these trash books they sell at Costco -- Bill O'Reilly and Sarah Palin. Look what they expect us to read!" I talked with people about leadership development in direct action, about Supreme Court case law, about sustainable practices for desert life, about horizontal democracy, about the power of good art on a protest sign, about eighteenth century barns in Massachusetts. We were all chattering away at each other and reminding each other of why we were here. I was also reminded of how much I like the other Occupiers: friendly, intelligent, aware. It was energizing.
That's about it. The camp evaporated, there was some shouting and sign waving, some fussing about trash, and a debate about where exactly on the sidewalk was permissible for sleep. As 10 PM, then 11 PM, then 12 AM rolled by, the police presence increased, but it seemed unnecessary. One of our number made a symbolic act of resistance; she marched back into the park, from the safety of the sidewalk, stood on some large boulders and held up a V for peace sign. After about ten minutes she was arrested, but she was the only one. As it got late, some hauled away camp stuff, some of us went home, some bedded down on the cold red bricks under the sodium lamps and tried to sleep.
Honestly, the situation at Occupy Tucson has grown a little fraught due to tensions both external and internal. Outside observers have not stinted with advice on how OT needs to grow up and get their talking points in order.
It's time for a change. The defeated Republican mayoral candidate has succeeded in forcing OT out of the park, but we will overcome. We are re-energized and defiant. We are the 99%! You (most probably) are the 99% too!