Thursday, November 3, 2011

Homeless at unoccupied Occupy DC




byByron York Chief Political Correspondent

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I had to be up early this morning to appear on Fox & Friends.  I was finished by 6:30, so I decided to stop by the Occupy DC encampment at McPherson Square in downtown Washington. Conditions were miserable; 40 degrees, dark, windy, muddy, steady rain.  The weather, predicted to deteriorate even more later, was enough to test the resolve of the most dedicated anti-capitalist.

The small park is filled with tents.  At times there have seemed more tents than protesters, and indeed, a friend who has kept a close eye on Occupy DC suggested to me that many of the tents -- which convey the impression of a substantial, permanent protest -- are actually unoccupied.  That's hard to prove, short of barging into randomly-selected tents.  But even among the tents that are in use -- and I saw a total of four early-risers in the park Saturday morning -- there is the question of how many Occupy DC protesters are actually homeless people who have come to McPherson Square for shelter, a hot meal, and companionship.

Of course, a certain number of homeless lived in the park long before Occupy DC showed up.  But there are more now.  "In growing numbers, the city’s homeless are embracing the 100-plus tents at Occupy D.C. in McPherson Square," the Washington Post reported a few days ago.  "The 'occupiers' provide the homeless with clothing, free medical help, food donated by area restaurants, and the opportunity to participate in forums and teach-ins."

On Saturday morning, I met a man who said he was an artist and told me that "the world's f---ed up" in large part because "Bush took all the money and gave it to the Chinese to pay for the war."  After a while, he told me that he normally lived at a couple of "squats" in other parts of town but that he had met some people from Code Pink who told him they had a tent in McPherson Square.  So he came to the park.  He's certainly not alone -- there are plenty of other homeless there, he told me -- but it's hard to say how many homeless are part of the permanent Occupy DC contingent.

We'll probably learn more about that as winter arrives.  Bad weather will likely winnow the Occupy DC ranks, along with those of other occupy protests in cold-weather cities.  As fair-weather protesters leave, the hardiest will be left in the park with the homeless, who know how to survive outside in difficult conditions.  It's likely the man I met will be with them, unless something better comes along.

As I was leaving, I thanked him for taking time to talk.  He asked me for a few dollars to get a cup of coffee -- he didn't want to go to the Starbuck's across the street because it was too corporatist but said he could get some at another place nearby. "I don't have any money," he told me.  "I don't believe in a monetary system.  But there comes a time when you're just dying for a cup of coffee."

http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/homeless-unoccupied-occupy-dc

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