Authorities of US (18 cities involved) and Switzerland have begun clearing the camps of OWS campers. There is a legal framework pending with the same aim in other cities like London. The main argument behind this action is to keep "occupied" places clean, safe and publicly accessible. According to officials it is not forbidden to hold an organized event or protest in a public area, it is a different thing though to start building a settlement in an area that might sometimes be privately held.
What ever the reasoning is the taste of this all is not good. While officials might be right in their reasoning it is clear that we will hear a lot of arguments regarding Wall Street's involvement in clearing the camps. First reaction however has been somewhat neutral and several leading groups of the movement have said they will take some time off and reorganize their movement.
The movement needs a common message now more than ever. While it has been a movement against capitalism and/or financial corporations and/or .... there hasn't been too many suggestions about concrete steps needed to be taken or concrete changes to be made. While it was the time spent together in the parks that kept a lot of people going a clear idea and some specific proposals could be a game changer here. Statements like "we are the 99%" are just not enough. Every person has the right to speak, right to vote and the right to participate in politics. If this is not good enough then what is?
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