Occupy Cincinnati

A quick note about Occupy Cincinnati. There's been so much going on, and we're all wrapped up in organizing, so it's been difficult to take a snapshot for an update to the blog.

The occupation started in earnest October 8th with a march on Fountain Square that was reported by many mainstream news outlets. 1000 people are hard to ignore! Indeed the amount of press this movement has generated and maintained is impressive.

Due to a number of event conflicts Piatt Park finally was chosen as the 24 hr home of the occupation. It has symbolism as being the first public park in Cincinnati. The group maintained a constant presence until October 21st, when 24 people were arrested for staying in the park after hours. There is no public 24 hour space in Cincinnati and that is our main focus right now. The park board changed the rules on Thursday to say that people staying after hours will be arrested (they were previously just being ticketed). The new rules were welcomed as the "Cincinnati Parks Patriot Act."

So basically the people were arrested and hauled off. 100+ supporters witnessed from the street (the park sits in the middle of a boulevard), chanting the usual chants. As you may have heard, Carl Lindner, a capitalist who has owned Chiquita, American Financial, and a few other Cincinnati Businesses died Wednesday. They had a 15 mile parade in his honor, which happened to come by the park. They cleared us out just in time.

Early Friday, the people were bailed and then the crowd returned for 10 more arrests. The plan is to continue until we have a 24 hour occupation location. We're hoping that these arrests, though not violent, have galvanized the movement to a certain degree.

General Assemblies are held typically every night at 6pm in the park. Attendence of over 100 people is common, and in addition to dealing with the logistics of the movement, several points have been agreed for the platform. In general they are Justice, International Solidarity, and Equality. Under these headings specific points of unity have been approved.

Check out http://occupycincy.org to learn more, watch a live feed, and join the movement!

Billy Bragg - The Red Flag

Immortal Technique - Peruvian Cocaine

The Radio Dept - Heaven's on Fire

Immortal Technique - The Poverty of Philosophy