OWS: Why Did The City Back Down?

[Me.]

A public relations nightmare in the making? So unlike Bloomberg. I'm thinking that when the OWSers said they wouldn't back down and leave Bloomberg blinked because there is so much media there. It is said that at this morning march to Wall Street there were nearly as many protesters as marchers.

[justiceischeap]

1. Pleas from the public and legislators.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x5026387

[EFerrari]

2. They backed down because 2000 people showed up

to defend the camp.

[Me.]

3. I Heard That Unions Asked Their People To Show Up

[EFerrari]

5. I heard about two different union groups that showed up

but not which ones. AFL-CIO issued a statement in support yesterday.

[annabanana]

14. I live in the NYC area and got an email from the Nurses urging

them to show up by midnight last night. I expect that a few heeded the call!

[Selatius]

4. Too many protesters. Plus, if Bloomberg succeeded in destroying the camp, then ...

He will have succeeded in doing nothing but turning the park into another Martyr's Square. And the action will only enraged more people and encourage them to come out in even greater numbers.

This isn't Tahir Square here. He isn't as crude or as dumb as President Mubarak or Col. Gaddhafi or even Bashar Assad, who's still crushing protesters to death with tanks and soldiers.

[Me.]

9. You're Right...He Isn't Dumb

But The OWSers should be aware that he has a strong habit of not taking no for an answer, even when he's wrong. He will come at them again, it's only a matter of time.

[Selatius]

11. Yes, he will. He may even successfully stomp the camp into the ground in the end.

I'm almost counting on that outcome, because if that happens, I think you're going to see working class rage coming out of the wood work like nothing seen since the food riots and labor strikes of the Great Depression. If the thugs on Wall Street like war profits so much, those enraged workers and protesters are going to give them a war they wouldn't believe right here at home outside their offices.

[Me.]

15. It Has Been Pointed Out

That at the protests in Seattle...after the police became brutal, the previously apathetic people came out in the thousands to defend them.

[Javaman]

6. Because the Tanks weren't ready yet.

asshole bloomberg isn't done yet.

[mod mom]

7. My guess is they are waiting for a news story that will top their action.

[stlsaxman]

8. Bloomberg didn't want to look bad when Lech Walesa shows up today...

[TheKentuckian]

10. Fear of occupation of Wall Street going to siege of commerce all over?

Block up key bridges, airline hubs, and train tracks and it all grinds to a halt.

It wouldn't be too terribly difficult for a few million around the country to really make things difficult.

[Buns_of_Fire]

13. No, it wouldn't be all that difficult at all to bring it to a screeching halt...

A few grains of sand, in a few well-placed gears, and it all grinds to a stop.

And the thing is: the people who really know where those well-placed gears are, are exactly the people who are getting pissed off!

[Better Believe It]

12. The more participants the more difficult it is for the government to break the protest

[barbtries]

16. i don't get this phrase:

"nearly as many protesters as marchers"
aren't the marchers protesters? or does this mean that many more people have moved into the park to occupy as opposed to only marching?

[Me.]

19. Yikes....Brain Freeze

It should say as many photogs as marchers. Good catch, thanks.

[barbtries]

20. ok, that makes more sense

thanks :hi:

[WilliamPitt]

17. I heard Bloomberg interviewed this morning saying the park owners got creamed with calls

from politicians and the like demanding they back off, so they did.

Take that for what it's worth.

[Me.]

23. Now That Is Great & Heartening News

It must've been a gazillion to effect such a change.

[KurtNYC]

18. Bloomberg is not an unreasonable person

and ultimately the delayed clean up thing has renewed media interest and set the stage for Walesa.

[DLnyc]

21. I was there. There were easily 3000 protesters,

maybe 5000. Media was not a significant percentage, although there were plenty of cameras and mikes on the edges.

Some reasons Bloomberg (and the managing company, which probably does what Bloomberg says) backed down, in my opinion:
1. Arresting 5000 people is a logistical nightmare that gave the city reason to hesitate. (I was there when the crowd was told that there was a high probability that they would be arrested. No one flinched.)
2. 14 Members of the City Council had come out opposing the 'cleaning' maneuver.
3. About 300,000 petitions had been delivered to the Mayor protesting the operation.
4. I believe the local community board was also supporting the protesters.
5. Unions have come out strongly in favor of the protests.
6. Even some rank and file cops may be pushing back against what they see as a violation of people's free speech rights. (I have heard such words for regular rank cops more than once.)

So, although media is significant, I would say the real story here is that a wide range of people came together and applied serious pressure which forced Bloomberg and the powers he represents to back down.

(edit to move a word for clarity)

[Me.]

22. Interesting Post...Thanks

I was surprised to hear about the City Council members appearing as the Council has been so lock step with the mayor and helped him finagle what I consider to be an illegal 3rd. term.

[DLnyc]

24. Yes, the council did get strong-armed into allowing

a third term (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/23/council-to-debate-term-limits-change/?ref=termlimitspoliticaloffice). Mike Bloomberg is worth somewhere around 10 billion dollars and the power circles in New York tend to not oppose him openly too often, I think. He's managed to put himself across as a palatable mayor, although personally I see him as representing only the very rich and powerful. He actually came close to getting defeated for the third term he finagled. I personally think he is one incident away from becoming a dirty word in this city. Maybe that's another reason he seems to have choked. Although it may be more the management company that choked, I'm not sure.