Occupy Underground

If people are willing to stand up and protest disruptive conduct, there are ways to make that kind of action more effective. It requires coordination and a Standard Operating Procedure any time someone from an encampment sees an intruder-disruptor starting to cause shit. One way is simple isolation, and you can do that--with or without the castigation and shaming--with large numbers. Separate the cretins from one another with the sheer weight of dozens and dozens of people and they'll have a harder time playing their games. Rat 'em out to the cops--do it without remorse. They did this kind of thing in Boston, working with the police, and while everything wasn't always rosy (the police didn't want them setting up a kitchen in Dewey, e.g.), they called the police to get rid of disruptors and drug dealers, and the encampment "regulars" had a good relationship with the police that was based on trust and respect.

I have considered your responses. I am glad that you think that the Occupy people can in fact do something about these rock-throwing, paint-flinging, fire-starting nitwits. I am not the doggone enemy here. I think that occupiers, acting in concert with previously discussed advance coordination, can play a role in slowing down these jerks who ruin it for everyone else. Do it often enough, loudly enough, make it a point at every media availability to distinguish chaos-makers from change-makers, and the word will go forth.

The media likes pictures. Pictures of Occupiers standing up against rock-throwing would-be rioters are every bit as good as shots of some jerk throwing rocks through a window.

Occupy needs to work the media more effectively, as well as "own" the theme of the day, and not give it away to jerks who don't care one whit about social justice or basic services for our citizens (and then gripe that the media covered the rioters and not them). The media isn't going to pick through the shit to find the nuggets of corn, they're going to report on the shit--if it bleeds, it leads; the trick is to prevent the bloodshed in the first place. The goal needs to be to prevent the shit from happening while presenting the plate of corn to the media in a compelling manner. Someone who understands public relations would be very helpful to Occupy encampments, particularly the larger ones that are having trouble with these vandalizing jerks.