Tent Cities In America

[Dover]

First Cairo Egypt And Now Washington DC: Tent City Occupation Begins Oct. 6, 2011

Finally, a large, and rapidly growing, coalition of left wing and progressive activists, and organizations, is coming together with a clear and united platform. Hundreds of thousands are expected to descend on DC this coming October, 111 days from now, not just to march in a permitted parade and then return home, but to stay and occupy Freedom Plaza indefinitely, until their demands have been met.

The Bonus Army, made up of WWI veterans, did precisely this in 1932 so that they could be paid the money that the government owed them for their service, performed more than a decade earlier, and be able to feed their families during the horrible early years of the Great Depression. They were met with violence from the police and two of the veterans latter died from their wounds. The army was also called in and the protest was finally put down after almost six weeks.


In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior was on his way to a permanent tent city being established on the Capitol grounds in Washington, called Resurrection City, as part of his ‘Poor Peoples’ campaign. He was murdered while in Memphis, on his way to the event. After his murder, the army was used to clear the demonstrators and their tent city.

cont'd
http://newsjunkiepost.com/2011/06/17/first-cairo-egypt-and-now-washington-dc-tent-city-occupation-begins-oct-6-2011/







A Pacific Coast report:

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/Tent%20Cities%20Report%20FINAL%203-10-10.pdf

[tblue]

1. Great! But

it's not really a "coalition of left wing and progressive activists, and organizations," is it? That sounds like Repub talk with an aim to marginalize us. If we are truly the 99%, we are everybody but the top 1%. It's not helpful to label them left or right or affiliated with any party. Am I wrong?

[TygrBright]

2. A name for the tent towns: Bushvilles. n/t

[Dover]

3. Tavis Smiley is doing a travelling 'poverty tour' of the U.S. this week on his show.

yea Tavis! He'll be covering some of the tent cities now and in history. Tune in.
On right now!

[JDPriestly]

4. OWS and the tent cities for the homeless are not at all the same thing.

[Dover]

5. Yes, of course. But I think there is a fascinating component that is arising

out of both situations that they have in common.

What's so interesting to look at in that second link is that some of these 'tent cities' have become akin to experiments in self governance.

They are different in how they came about (poverty conditions vs. protest), although OWS also seem to be learning/conducting self governance of various kinds. I think that is every bit as important as is the collective display and response to what is wrong with the status quo because it's also an important piece to finding alternative modes of living.