OccupyWallStreet D17: Where is that space?

Today is the 3 month birthday for Occupy Wall Street and there’s going to be another party, this time in an effort to RE-Occupy NYC.  I went to the N17 party and was surprised and delighted by the batsignal on the side of the Verizon building.  Who knows what they’re planning for today?  I hope it’s spectacular.

This party will start at Duarte Square at the corner of 6th Avenue and Canal St.  The birthday announcement hints at another sleepover.     Hmmmm, what does it mean?  Here’s the poster:

So, it looks like you can tune into the festivities on WBAI at 99.5 on your fm dial (as we used to say in the 70s).  WBAI is the NYC station for Pacifica Radio.  The station announcement says that the event will feature appearances by Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Cornell West, Michael Moore and others.  I think using the radio station is a good idea.  The people’s mic is pretty effective when you’re standing there and it has a peculiar way of focussing your attention but it’s harder to convey a lot of information since everything has to be parsed into short phrases with long delays between each one.  This should help occupiers coordinate  messages.  There is a live stream available for those of you following along at home.

There also seems to be some interesting movement around the concept of occupying the space at 6th and Canal that is owned by Trinity Church.  I don’t think this is Duarte Square (or is that the name for it?) but it’s at the same intersection.  Trinity Church is holding out on giving this space to the occupiers for some reason.  Who knows, maybe Bloomberg called the Church’s insurance company and suggested that the church might be held responsible for cracked heads.  Or maybe he told them they would have to pick up the tab for security.  Or maybe the problem is that Trinity Church owns so much acreage in Lower Manhattan that they are sort of like the Temple in Jerusalem where the moneychangers go to do business and pray.  Sure, they’ve been kind by offering their bathrooms and hot chocolate and everything but hosting the occupation on their own property is a bit more of a commitment than they want to make.  We musn’t upset  the benefactors in a season of charitable giving, right?  Whatever the reason, the eviction from Zuccotti park leaves the occupiers with no outside visible place to hold their open air salon.  I loved the fall days in Zuccotti park when there were so many people  stopping in to participate.  The smear job on the occupiers was outrageous and highly inaccurate.  And without a physical space, it is impossible for ordinary Americans who are curious about Occupy Wall Street to check it out and find that the occupiers are – ordinary Americans.  From the letter from the National Council of Elders to Trinity Church, the importance of occupying a physical space is spelled out:

We know that some question the need for Occupy to continue to occupy physical space but we have witnessed the impact of communal, inspirational, face-to-face contact in which people can be visible to the world and to one another. We have also been challenged to respond to the question from Occupy, Where can you go if you don’t own something? Does a public even exist if it has no space? And finally, like visionaries before them, many Occupiers have chosen to give up everything to invest in a future that does not exist except in their dreams and visions. In a world where the majority of our nation is oppressed by economic and racial inequality, experiencing isolation and dehumanization at every turn, the Occupy movement in its public presence has provided hope and purpose and a pressing challenge to us all.

So, I hope that Trinity Church relents and realizes that this is the right thing to do and that NOT doing it would be more than a little like collaborating with the Romans to keep the peasants from speaking out during passover, if you get my drift.  If the occupiers are willing to freeze their asses off for justice in America, how can Trinity Church not want to assist in this courageous act?

Anyway, ’tis the season.  I don’t think I can go today.  Brook is having a Solstice party this week and she’s offering to help clean.  How could I pass up an offer like that?  Besides, I’ll only go if she goes.  Hmmm….

Can this be topped?:

Wouldn’t you like to find out? 😉