Do you understand why Occupy was infiltrated and broken up?

[HardTimes99]

164. Occcupy Los Angeles participant (part-timer) here. In August 2011, the talk among

the serious folk (of the Sunday talk-show ilk, that is) was of 'austerity' and consequent cuts to the social safety net.

By early October, that talk had disappeared, replaced by primitive class-based analysis centered around the "1%-99%" meme. Anytime, class consciousness is raised and parasitism foregrounded is a really, REALLY, good thing for this benighted land.

Yes, there were rag-tag conspiracy nuts and anti-government types involved. But the Ron Paul folk had pretty much vanished from OLA by mid-October. Can you blame folks for holding conspiracy views when, on the night of the final bust-up of the OLA camp (Nov. 30, 2011), some 5-6 OLA campers were seen publicly slipping back across LAPD lines to be welcomed with whoops and slaps on the backs by their LAPD brethren and sisters?

There was a lot of structure to the group, at least OLA. I served on the Facilitation Committee which was charged with staffing and running the nightly General Assemblies. On Monday, November 28, the GA had some 4,000 Angelenos in attendance, many drawn out by Villaraigosa's threat to send in his goon squad. The GA that night went off without incident, save for a rousing introductory speech given by Ron Kovic (of "Born on the 4th of July" fame). So much for there not being any structure.

Villaraigosa chose not to do it that night, probably because there were 4,000 people there and it would have given him a really black eye. But his goons had set up a security perimeter around OLA. I know b/c my wife and I encountered massive difficulties trying to leave and return to our car. As a side note, I will never vote for Villaraigosa for anything ever again, even if he somehow wins a Democratic nomination.

I have first-hand experience with the rights-violating LAPD and its pathetic little Eichmann in charge, Charlie Beck. So you really need to get some more exposure to the accounts of people who were actually there.