OCCUPY WALL STREET

[Toughy]

<snip> The idea that a few thousand citizens in the US are taking over public parks which is actually taking away the use of them from other 99%ers <snip>.

If memory serves, it was a few thousand folks who were involved in all the civil rights protests and marches, a few thousand who protested Vietnam, a few thousand people can do many many things.

I also think it's more than a few thousand when you start adding all the people in Occupy camps across the country, plus those who turn out for the marches. Oakland has consistently turned out a thousand people marching around the streets at 11:00pm........with a couple of thousand for the beginning of the marches/rallys. It's bigger than a few thousand.....probably bigger than any of the 60's protests.

I'm not sure what you mean by taking away the use of public parks. Nobody is doing that. If you go to Occupy SF....it's at Justin Herman Plaza across from the Ferry Building.......there are bunches of vendors selling stuff everywhere on that Plaza and the tourists certainly have not stopped going. The last time I was down there folks were playing boccia ball (however you spell that game of rolling a ball and knocking other players balls out of the way...it's Italian I think) on one of two spaces for that. Lots of folks reading all the signs and talking with protestors.

In Oakland, Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, is directly in front of City Hall. Occupy folks are camped out on the grassy area and using the steps of City Hall for their General Assembly every day. You can still go down there and sit on the benches and enjoy your lunch just like you always could.....

Business owners around City Hall and downtown are saying they are losing business because people are afraid to go down there. Who made them afraid? Certainly not the Occupy folks although they are getting the blame for it. It's the police who caused the violence. There are tents set up and there is a childcare tent and a first aid tent and a cooking tent, folks playing hacky sack, playing musical instruments, drumming ....what the hell is so scary about those things?