(Reuters) - Portland Police arrested more than 50 people on Sunday as the authorities cleared out and blocked off encampments of the Occupy movement that has been protesting nationwide over economic issues…. In Portland the authorities had issued an eviction notice, and then moved to empty the camps and fence them off. Many protesters left on their own after the notice, but others chose to stay. A police statement said: “the Portland Police Bureau has cleared both Chapman and Lownsdale Square parks. During today’s operation, more than 50 arrests were made of people who either wanted to be arrested or refused to leave Chapman Square.”…. There were no injuries during the park clearance, police said.
So, Portlanders got a couple of their parks back on Sunday afternoon. Sort of. After allowing a 12:01 a.m. deadline to pass on Sunday, police waited out protesters and then (as gently as is possible under the circumstances) cleared them out after allowing about 12 hours to pass.
The good news is that while protesters weren’t happy, Mayor Sam Adams achieved his objective of clearing Chapman and Lownsdale Square parks without major incidents or injuries. Police faced downed protesters, allowing them to tie up traffic in downtown Portland (never much of an issue on a Sunday) until they figured out that they weren’t going to prevail. Eventually, the crowd dispersed and everyone headed home.
The question now becomes “What next?” Where does the Occupy Wall Street movement go from here? Will they be able to translate their momentum into something that generates real change…or was the past few weeks just so much mental masturbation and empty sloganeering? Personally, I think there’s a golden opportunity here, especially when you consider that we’re heading into an election year. Will increased focus on the issue of income inequality translate to concrete, positive action? Time will tell, I suppose, but I remain hopeful that the American Sheeple might finally wake up and realize that voting against their interests isn’t a recipe for success.
After the jump is a 500-word opinion piece I submitted to The Oregonian. It wasn’t accepted for publication, but I thought I’d share it….
So Portland Mayor Sam Adams has finally drawn a line in the sand. He’s provided a Sunday deadline for Occupy Portland to decamp…or the full wrath and fury of the City of Portland will be loosed upon them. It’s time to restore order and for Occupy Portland to reconsider where it goes from here.
At it most basic, this is a textbook example of what can happen when First Amendment rights bump up against the business community’s right to unimpeded commerce. Throw in the expense to taxpayers and legitimate concerns about public health and safety, and the idea of maintaining the status quo seems very unappealing.
No reasonable person would deny Occupy Portland its right to free speech and ssembly, but when is enough too much? When are First Amendment rights outweighed by the need to protect public health and safety? Does the First Amendment guarantee the right to take over a public park and indefinitely inconvenience merchants, visitors, and shoppers? Of course not; so who decides when enough is too much?
Here in Portland, that job falls to Mayor Adams, who’s been walking a fine line. On the one hand, he’s responsible for maintaining order. Occupy Portland’s encampment arguably poses significant public health and safety concerns. On the other hand, protesters have the right to express themselves, and Portlanders generally look kindly on those protesting injustice. Unfortunately, in this case you can’t have both.
With the onset of winter, there’s real concern for the health and safety of those camping in downtown Portland. Mayor Adams now finds himself in a position where he’ll either be accused of thwarting free speech and assembly or of ignoring public health and safety concerns. Not exactly a win/win situation, but such is the nature of leadership. At this point, maintaining the status quo is no longer a viable option.
Mayor Adams has fairly and reasonably allowed Occupy Portland a good deal of leeway. Part of it is self-interest; the last thing he wants is to be held responsible for Portland being (unfavorably) compared with Oakland. Part of it is recognizing that most Portlanders generally support the goals of Occupy Portland. The problem is that the encampment has been in place long enough to raise legitimate concerns about health, safety, and diminishing returns.
The time has come for Occupy Portland to reconsider their goals and methods. I’d argue that the usefulness of their encampment in a public space has run its course. It’s placed a strain on police, and it’s cost the city an astonishing amount of money- money that Occupy Portland is relying on taxpayers to cover.
The organizers and leaders of Occupy Portland need to begin considering how to turn their protest from occupation to action. How do they translate their movement into momentum that result in satisfaction of their demands? How do they create a solid foundation of support that will provide the numbers and moral force to create real and lasting change?
Occupy Portland, along with the rest of the Occupy Wall Street movement, has been successful in raising awareness of income inequality. That was Stage One. Now it’s time for Occupy Portland to stand down and move on to Stage Two- converting that awareness into concrete action that will translate into results.
It’s time. Downtown Portland isn’t yet ready for a semi-permanent modern-day Hooverville. Enough has become too much.
