Below the break is a post I put in as a response to the piece written about the St Louis Occupation at the following link: Occupy St Louis and Mayor Slay get aggressive?
Mayor Slay is in a hard place. We, members of the Occupy Movement, put him there along with the mayors of Boston, NYC, Nashville and Oakland. We put him there by being steadfast in our own support of our 1st Amendment right which can NOT be trumped by any local Ordinance. The other mayors put him there by mistreating their Occupations. I fully believe that had these other police departments not mistreated those in their cities we would probably have been content to sit at home and converse with our compatriots at Occupy Wall Street online or by phone. Unfortunately for Mr. Slay, we were moved to act locally while thinking globally. We have a Federal Reserve Bank here, Bank of America, a very large coal interest and several other national banking institutions as well. These are symbols of our disenfranchisement in a system that does work. Since money now is protected speech and corporations have personhood, we have to use the tools we have to fight back. We choose to do this in a peaceful way but with steel in our spines and iron in our resolve.
Mayor Slay, as a member of the Occupy Movement but not as the voice of the movement, I apologize. I am truly sorry that your direct supporters feel we are an eyesore and want us to go away. I am sorry that we do not fit your tight schedule. I'm sorry we have burrowed into the plaza like ticks. I am sorry, but as long as those who decided to classify insurance policies as tradable items are brought before the people of the United States and apologize for their misdeeds I feel that the Occupy movement will continue. Others do think as I do and are the ones that spend their nights in tents as opposed to a home with their families. I am also sorry that we here in St Louis have an ordinance that tries to keep us from our 1st Amendment right to peaceful demonstration for extended periods of unrest and trouble. Also remember, we are voters.
At three pm today Mayor Slay will be meeting with the Occupy Movement today at 3 pm CST at the Edward Jones Dome. Please come by if you want to see for yourself what is going on.