A Cold Day for Occupiers

Mike & Friends Blog

Crystal Zevon

Crystal Zevon is author of 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon,' an oral history of the life of her former husband and lifelong friend and co-conspirator

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November 15th, 2011 1:18 PM

Occupy Washington D.C.

By Crystal Zevon

I crawled out of my tent at about 6 a.m. and looked around for a Peacekeeper who would have the keys to the portapotties (which now are kept locked because of unfortunate incidents with our homeless brethren). Jonathan, a young and very committed occupier, emerged from the medical tent and rushed over to inform me that Occupy Wall Street had been overwhelmed by police in riot gear in the dead of the night. He'd been watching whatever was available to watch since 3 a.m. It's hard to describe exactly how the decimation of one occupy site impacts other sites. We are separated by miles; we make decisions within our communities independent of one another; we don't really even have time to keep up on the actions going on from one encampment to another. Yet, when one occupation is struck, we are all struck. The solidarity that binds our loosely strung network across the country, and indeed, around the globe, becomes electrified. We feel the shock and suffer the pain, then we regroup and consider how we can support them while keeping our own occupation site safe and thriving. I am occupying Washington D.C. As the New York occupation is to Wall Street, we are to the nation's government. Every day there are criminal acts being committed by 'elected officials' and lobbiest in our names and we can't let down our guard for a moment. At the same time, the cold weather is coming and we need to winterize. I know my $39 tent isn't going to provide much protection soon. And so, while someone is watching Amy Goodman's coverage and keeping us up-to-date, someone else is using recently donated dollars to purchase some military tents where we can move our kitchen, media, medical and community gathering/emergency housing for the coming winter months... where we will organize a bus tour to link us closer together and build momentum for the coming of AMERICAN SPRING... a convergence of occupations everywhere on the Washington D.C. Mall beginning March 30th. In solidarity and peace, we will survive, thrive and overcome. Be ready for NATIONAL OCCUPY WASHINGTON D.C. (NOW DC). www.october2011.org