Tent Cities In America - deja vu all over again

[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

[Dover]

1. Tavis Smiley is doing a travelling report on poverty across the country

yea Tavis! It's on right now here.

[cliffordu]

2. GREAT reports. Everyone should read these links.

[Dover]

3. I agree. 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, of course, than what OWS is doing, although OWS are also 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.