So the fatal shooting near Occupy Oakland last night has finally pushed Mayor Quan to call for the camp to be shut down…voluntarily. She sent an open letter asking the Occupiers to leave peacefully last night, which they promptly ignored. After what happened last time Quan sent the police in to clear out the park, will she have the guts to do it again? We can only hope, but somehow, I doubt it:
We asked the mayor’s spokesperson what’s going to happen if people don’t leave voluntarily and she did not answer the question. By the way, a recent Chamber of Commerce poll found that 73 percent of those surveyed disapprove of Quan’s handling of Occupy Oakland.
With two-thirds of Oakland voters also fed up with the protests, the mayor’s reelection chances all but hinge on shutting down the protest – or at the very least figuring out a way to maintain peace and order among the protesters.
There’s no word yet on the identity of the shooting victim, but activists continue to insist the person killed wasn’t involved in the movement. Their claim would be a bit more believable if the Occupiers hadn’t formed a human chain around the victim to prevent media from observing the scene, and even beat up an ABC cameraman who tried to get a glimpse.
Another wrinkle in the story: someone claiming to be the shooting victim’s cousin reportedly spoke last night about sharing a tent with the victim at Occupy Oakland.
But whether or not the shooter or the victim were directly involved with Occupy Oakland, it’s clearly become a magnet for crime and a citywide concern. Quan needs to stop kowtowing to the movement and listen to her constituents, or she may soon find herself out of a job.
"Clearly become a magnet for crime?" n nOne could just as easily describe Oakland that way: "Clearly Oakland has become a magnet for crime." We need to focus on real problems and real solutions, rather than trying to scapegoat the camp. n nAs for the chamber of commerce, they have been rabidly against the protests from the beginning. No one should trust a "poll" from such a blatantly biased source.
You're right, Adam. The murders, beatings, rapes, theft, public sex, public urination and defecation, spread of TB, trashing of local shops (owned by the 99%, BTW) and local restaurants.. they're not the fault of those at the Camp…. moron. n nLet's "focus on real problems and solutions…" n nOK: FIRE all unionized K-12 teachers and outlaw teacher unions. Then the next generation won't be a utterly, appallingly ignorant, rude and dumb as these kiddies.
The kiddies formed a human chain around the body???
Lord of the Flies – more relevant every day.
It’s almost like these kiddies can’t tell fantasy from reality and both thought Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm and 1984 were REAL…. and were unable to learn the lessons trying to be taught by Golding & Orwell, isn’t it?
Gee – ya think maybe unionized “teachers” had anything to do with that?
Formed a human chain around the body…. n n"Lord of the Flies" – more relevant every day… n nIt's almost as thought these kiddies can't differentiate fantasy from reality, and think that Lord of the Flies, 1984 and Animal Farm were real, completely m issing the lessons the authors were trying to teach. n nUnionized teachers, anyone?