Some questions for the "occupy" defenders:

[wdomburg]

Would you be as supportive if pro-life activists flooded into abortion clinics and shouted at workers and patients over bullhorns, led marches against the private homes of doctors and clinic workers, vandalized businesses thought to be sympathetic to pro-choice causes and hurled epithets at anyone who expressed disagreement with them

Comments

[wdomburg]

Given the size of the protests, the prevalence of extremist sub-groups, and the general lack of cooperation with law enforcement by even the mainstream faction, the use of crowd control tactics seems justified. There are, clearly, individual cases of excessive violence and those should be prosecuted.

But the continued existence of the encampments is in itself an amnesty. These groups have been afforded preferential treatment in terms of permitting requirements, insurance requirements, quality of life ordinances, and there is clear evidence of lenience for petty crimes, such as marijuana use and public indecency. To allow these groups to ignore rules which have been largely followed by other demonstrations constitutes preferential treatment.

The Westboro group may be obnoxious, but they are much smaller (dozens of people, rather than thousands), obtain permits and cooperate with law enforcement. And even given their relatively small coverage, they've been targeted by legislation at both the state and federal level, most notably the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act.

The tea party protests were more comparable in size and scope, but they have similarly been lawfully conducted from the beginning. They also have not been characterized by incidents of violence and vandalism. None of the protests shut down bridges or ports. None of the protests encroached on private property. None of the protesters barricaded people inside a building.

I think the pro-life protests are the clearest and most apt analogy. They may have been in operation for years now, but that is why I specifically drew parallels to the protests of the early nineties. Both involved an initial flashpoint and spread to other cities, continuous presence, targeting of private organizations, civil disobedience, confrontational tactics and an extremist faction.

And you know what? Thousands were jailed; Operation Rescue claims tens of thousands. And the legal response was swift and certain. Judges issued temporary restraining orders, municipalities enforced or passed new ordinances, states passed laws tailored to protect clinics and finally, in 1994, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act was signed into law.