It's been seven days and I'm happy to tell you that we are still here, we are still strong, and we are still growing! This movement will not be cowed by the police's attempts to intimidate us, nor will we allow the challenges ahead to cause us to give up hope.
I've been here virtually non-stop since the beginning of the occupation. As many of you know I quit my job and got a one way ticket. At the time there was much trepidation, but there is nothing now that I would do different. The occupation of this space, and the constant marches on Wall St. Despite police harassment we remain committed and strong.
And there is much harassment and intimidation. There have been a number of violent arrests for minor infractions. There have also been two women who were sent to Bellevue and committed by police. Both were thankfully released the next day. The police have also been arbitrarily enforcing rules that may or may not be on the books. What is perhaps worst is the psychological campaign being waged against us. Until yesterday we were extremely unsure about our position here, and the police have taken advantage of that consistently. They have been driving by in large groups with their lights, and sometimes siren, on at various times in the day and night. They regularly move their foot forces to different positions around Liberty Plaza. The point of all of this is to take advantage of our insecurities in our position and to increase our mental distress. I won't call this torture, though it feels like it when you have little sleep from the constant flash of lights on top of a general exhaustion.
Along with material donations we can also use personnel. We are in desperate need of more medics and, even more so, trained therapists. Those of us who have been here for the entire occupation are beginning to fray. The numbers are beginning to show up, and even more will be here today and tomorrow, but the work is not done, and we are mentally and physically tired. We've already had to deal with a couple of situations, which were thankfully resolved without problem.
The outpouring of support we are seeing from people here in New York is nothing short of amazing. Once residents found out about the occupation they have regularly come by to offer their support, material or moral. This has meant the world to us. This is what keeps us going and keeps us strong.
I'd like to give you more updates on the situation but I have limited time as it is predicted to rain heavily sometime soon and the media center will have to be moved. I will be able to respond to a few comments from my phone, but I will likely be offline for the majority of the day.