THE RADICAL MODERATE: Occupy Wall Street- There's Something Happening Here

I spent part of yesterday at Zucotti Park, observing, talking to some of the inhabitants. As with any population, the range of opinions, political positions, etc. varies. Along Broadway you could find protesters and their signs. I think the political spectrum ran from middle-of -the road- to extreme left, but everyone had a place and the respect of others. I think the salient point was the presence of those "middle of the roaders". Well dressed, holding signs that addressed real economic issues, these people weren't the anarchist internets hackers.

Around the back on the Church Street side were the drummers, beggars, anarchists. Yes, they are loud and noisy, but this is New York and in a way, we all make a little extra room for them.

I interviewed one woman who wore a two tone Mohawk, tattered patterned stockings and had just finished rolling a cigarette (well, the contents came from a bag indicating that it contained tobacco). She said she was from Baltimore and just had to "hit the road". She was headed for Boston but wound up in New York. She had absolutely no political agenda. I don't think she had any agendas at all.

The "comm center" had police scanners, computers, and a joint being passed around. There was a lending library. There was a group engaging in a discussion of the impacts of celebrities visiting the site.

It was an interesting discussion because David Crosby and Graham Nash were about a half hour away from an acoustic performance. Anyone- everyone- was welcome to speak. Yes, the place was messy, and crowded. Some people got into arguments protecting their little piece of real estate. Other folks engaged in -gasp- capitalism by selling buttons for $2. I asked one seller how much they cost . "I don't know, I'm working for the guy who made them."

Pure democracy may not be working .The OWS crowd has developed its own Security crew to keep troublemakers at bay or to escort them out of the grounds. They also have their own Sanitation Crü (yes, with an umlaut). NYPD officers ringed the park. Each officer carried enough of those zip-tie plastic handcuff to arrest a battalion. One police officer told me that they are prepared for anything and that there had been some trouble earlier in the day. I did see one clearly emotionally disturbed man shouting, cursing and threatening others. The internal OWS security was called to quiet him down. I did not see how he was handled.

The "mic check" call and response bit made me think of "Lord of the Flies" meets "Twitter" by way of "Animal Farm."

It was interesting to see all of the tourists and neighborhood people who came to check out the scene. It’s not too often that you see Wall Street suits wearing rainbow peace symbols. Yarmulka’d Jewish men were talking to some of the demonstrators. Some people obviously here for the weekend’s marathon were taking pictures and mixing with the crowd. So far, the OWS crowd seems to have a handle on the importance of images. A couple of US flags were flying.

There was one tent when had a table supporting some apparently communist/Marxist literature, but that seemed rather limited. I remember that during the 1960s the anti-war left committed a grave political error by flying Viet Cong and North Vietnamese flags and chanting “Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh. NLF is gonna win.” Not too far from where Zucotti Park is now located, hard-hatted union construction workers clashed with anti-war protesters on Wall Street. Now, the hard hats and other union members are marching with the OWS crowd. As long as OWS remains non-violent, and the majority of the media portray it as such, it has the potential to grow.

It was hippie, political, anarchist, middle class, working class anger. Everyone with a grievance, real or imagined, found a place at OWS. But as it is constructed, or rather as it developed, OWS is amorphous, without form or purpose or goal. And when you attack everything, you attack nothing. So it has yet to be determined whether Occupy Wall Street is a significant movement or merely a tantrum.

As Buffalo Springfield sang: "There's something happening here/ What it is ain't exactly clear."