Occupy DC isn’t just about pushing old ladies down the stairs. It’s also about inspiring ridiculous puff pieces full of meaningless jargon! WaPo:
In McPherson Square, Occupy D.C. creates a vibrant brand of urbanism
To passersby, it is a jumble of tents and blue tarps, the iconic symbol of the displaced, the temporary, the makeshift. Set against the orderly but dull architectural backdrop of McPherson Square, the Occupy D.C. encampment is a low-slung and seemingly haphazard arrangement. But it has made this sleepy public space, used mainly by office workers and a few residents of nearby luxury condominiums, one of the busiest public squares in Washington. To use the argot of urbanism, the protesters who installed themselves at McPherson Square on Oct. 1 (and another group that has occupied Freedom Plaza a few blocks away) have done what so many planners, designers and architects strive for but fail to achieve: They have “activated” the urban core.
Hey, maybe that’s what they’re doing in Zuccotti Park too. Fox 5 in New York:
A wild scuffle at Zuccotti Park early Thursday morning ended with an Occupy Wall Street protester under arrest for assault and an FDNY EMT in the hospital.
Officers and EMTs were called to the park for a report of a disturbed person. While trying to approach 20-year-old Joshua Ehrenberg, sources tell Fox 5 that other protesters locked their arms and legs to stop Ehrenberg from being loaded into an ambulance.
Police say that during the ensuing moments, Ehrenberg shoved a emergency worker. That EMT then had a ladder fall on top of him, and then several other protesters fell on top of the ladder, crushing his leg. Sources say the ladder was set up as a part of the OWS protest.
You can’t activate an urban core without sending a few EMTs to the hospital because they tried to help somebody in the nice park you’ve magically transformed into a disgusting shanty town. While Bloomberg just watches. He refuses to send in the riot squad until a protester is caught eating trans fats.
And here’s some late-breaking urban-core-activation news from the Burlington Free Press:
Police say a 35-year-old man is in grave condition after an apparent shooting in City Hall Park, the scene of the Occupy Burlington encampment. Police said it will be several hours before they know more, but did say there is no danger to the public. Police said they have recovered the weapon…
Multiple people in the Occupy Burlington camp including Tod Lacroix said they understand the shooting was self-inflicted.
Well, I suppose vibrant urbanism takes many forms.
I can’t even imagine the cognitive dissonance that’s going on right now in the minds of the people who are still trying to put a happy face on the Occupy movement. Heh, “minds…”