Eviction in process

It's raining and cold, and Occupy Portland is packing up and clearing the parks. I spent the morning at the Occupy site, and I have come home to rest for an hour and gird myself for the night. As I see it, there are three groups who plan to occupy the two parks in adjacent city blocks after midnight: (1) the police, who have been ordered to clear the parks;  (2) nonviolent protesters who are part of  the Occupy movement and are choosing to be arrested as an act of Civil Disobedience, fighting for their right to assemble; and (3) people who have moved into the Occupy parks but are not part of the political movement and have not accepted guidelines forbidding violence, drunkenness, and drug use. The third group is what I am most concerned about, as their actions are unpredictable and could lead to an escalation of conflict that none of us wants to see.

In a couple of hours, the planned potluck dinner should begin--in cold and pouring rain. Will the weather dampen spirits? Will the bike riders and the bunny suits show up? We don't yet know. But someone has slapped duct tape over the mouths of the figures in this statue in one of the occupied parks.

A coalition of ministers has decided to come down and join us at 10 p.m. One of those ministers was present yesterday when a young man, not part of the movement but living in a tent in the Occupation, suffered a heroin overdose. His friends , shouting "Pigs!" harassed the first-responders and made it difficult for the police to reach this man and save his life--which they did, finally, under duress. This morning I interviewed that minister and wrote the press release about the ministerial coalition, and through an accident of spacing, the headline proclaims "Clergy Bear," which brings to my mind a number of big huggy rabbis, imams, and ministers.  It's good to be able to laugh.

Many economic refugees, including some drug addicts and alcoholics who refuse treatment and have no political views, are part of the 99% who continue to suffer from the economic and social inequities of unrestrained capitalism. Occupy Portland and the Mayor agree on one thing: BEHAVIOR MATTERS. We are hoping that those who are not part of the political movement and have not accepted the nonviolent guidelines will forbear...maybe hug a minister instead of hit a police officer. I am carrying that hope with me as I go downtown to join the witnesses.

In any case, the movement will go on in some form. Many people feel there must be a visible public space where we can all meet and work together. In all the other Occupy locations, when police have evicted the occupiers, the occupiers have moved to a new site and have continued their protests. I expect that will also happen in Portland. There are plans to meet on Sunday at noon in a new park space, to continue the work of the movement.