This latest settlement from the city points to the fact that the cops broke the law while protesters didnt. But such a legal fact is only ever pointed out post hoc. In the street, in the moment of a police-protester stand off, cops act with the brashness and certainty — backed up with badges, batons, and guns — that they are the law itself. The Occupy participants were probably in the right that night (and on many others), but what does that matter when police can readily shut down dissent? Sure, the city (and the tax payer) later have to foot the bill, as when it settled with thousands of arrestees from the 2004 Republican National Convention protests for a whopping $18 million. But the heavy policing of Occupy was grimly successful in stymying continued dissent. Id argue it was the primary (while not the only) reason for the Occupy moments fizzle out. Bloombergs army surrounded us. The settlement is important in publicly highlighting the police misconduct to which protesters — not mention New Yorks poor and minority communities — are all too accustomed. The $20,000 that each plaintiff will reportedly receive will benefit their lives, no doubt. But there is something that nags, too, around headlines that this week read: New York settles with Occupy. New York settled with Occupy: The streets of downtown Manhattan now flow smooth with capital and its servants, undisturbed by marchers and occupiers of not-so distant history. But the matter and the spirit that meant New Years Eve 2011 was marked by protest, the collective anger and passion, should not be considered settled, should old acquaintance be forgot, nor confined to auld lang syne.
Posted on: Fri, 13 Jun 2014 13:08:13 +0000
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