Occupy Wall Street's Big, Difficult Choice

Today would be a good day to take a pass on attending Occupy Wall Street’s “General Assembly” at 7 p.m. (although the 6 p.m. meeting on “Organizing Effectively Without Hierarchy” sounds cool and the 2 p.m. Structure Working Group meeting is a blessed thing). Because tonight, you’re going to find out who’s a cynic and who’s naive, and it’s going to get heated consensus-style, as the group addresses Mayor Bloomberg’s demand to come in and “clean up” Zuccotti Park, starting tomorrow. The park’s landlord’s letter to the NYPD, dated Tuesday, asking for help, is full of practical, liability-insurance-based complaints but also has plenty of nonsense, and it’s the “unsanitary and unsafe” claim appears to be resonating. So this is likely to escalate into a real and troubling confrontation; there’s almost no way Occupy Wall Street can give up the park — but protesters should know that the City doesn’t back down once it’s said it’s going to do something. (Photo from last night by Harrie van Veen.)