Politics: Married to the Mob

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Politics Married to the Mob It may make sense for OWS protesters to end the occupations—but they just don't want to. By David Weigel Posted Wednesday, Nov 16, 2011, at 03:09 AM ET By mid-morning, the campers of Occupy D.C. were some of the last people not caught up on the events in New York City. At about 1 a.m., New York police had begun dismantling the Occupy Wall Street camp in Zuccotti Park. At 8 a.m., images from the protests were on every cable news network. At about 9:30 a.m., when I got to the McPherson Square in downtown Washington, most Occupiers were still in the tents that cover three-quarters of the green space. The news was just beginning to trickle in. "Do you know the latest from New York?" asked Alan Ball, who'd come to Washington after leaving his English as a Second Language teaching gig in Tampa. "We're piecing it together. I'm hearing most of it from reporters." In New York there was a pitched battle, reporters being physically dragged away from the story, confirmed then debunked then confirmed reports. In D.C. there's a camp. There's some new angst about a possible night raid; there are contingency plans to survive it and come back. There's a reading library built with packing crates, so it can be moved quickly. There's a medic tent and plenty of free food. "I think I've actually gained weight since I got here," said a protester with anime-character red hair who will only give her first name, Melinda. The protesters have few small problems. What they have is one big problem. Even ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate How the Nation's Other Occupy Camps Are Responding to the Chaos in New York Are Pedophiles Really the Most Hated Prison Inmates? Manjoo: Serious Gamers Hate Call of Duty. I Love It. Here's Why.	Advertisement
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