Like thousands of digital New Yorkers, I opened the New York Times homepage this morning to the story of the final eviction of Occupy Wall Street from Zucotti Park. It happened early this morning, around 1:30am. Certainly it will be in the print edition tomorrow, but today it’s all online, each newspaper report a pallid reflection of the dozens of frantic emails, texts and calls that have been spreading the news and rallying support since the announcement was first made late last night. Watching the livestream footage of the eviction is surprisingly visceral. I winced at the swaths of cops looming in riot gear, and the announcement that they’d deployed tear gas in the kitchen. Most of all, I was hit by the later footage of dozens more officers breaking down the encampment. While I slept soundly, my revolution was being carelessly dismantled. Tables, beds, personal items, all getting tossed into one of several debris piles. What had once been pieces of home for some and symbols of rebellion for many others, were transformed mid-throw into mounds of rubble and refuse.
I can’t help but wonder if Michelle Bachmann or Newt Gingrich read the online paper, if they’ll read it in print tomorrow, or if the news will be delivered to them by someone else who will share in their undoubted complacency. Maybe they’ll share a joke about sweeping away the layabouts or power washing hippies. Surely though, they’ll think it’s over. They’ll be satisfied that the movement’s lost. I wonder how many New Yorkers share this opinion. I wonder if they’ll be wrong.
Of course, a lot of people’s attitudes toward OWS come from the way that the occupations are being presented by mainstream media. Publications like the New York Times have spent the last two months reporting on the occupations as, well, occupations, and not much else. It’s true; much of what’s been accomplished is reflected in the physical presence of protesters across America and around the globe. From this angle, it’s hard to imagine a movement existing without a visible material infrastructure.
But for the spirit of OWS, there is still much that can be done outside of Zucotti Park. Even in the aftermath of this morning, there is still hope. The Occupy Wall Street Library—over 5,000 donated books—has not been destroyed, as some had feared. There is huge promise for the gatherings being held this evening. Dozens of events have been planned for tomorrow, November 17th, the International Day of Action, and many more around the country (some of this is being reported in the media, most of it not). As for the future, who knows. In my more optimistic moments today, I’ve entertained the thought that by losing this base, we will actually be forced to take the occupations elsewhere. Not just to another park or plaza, but into our homes, our schools, our workplaces, occupying everywhere with a spirit and working knowledge of organized rebellion. This kind of occupation may indeed be harder to report on, so the days of the Times front page may be over, but if it happens, then surely the movement will have won.
