Thoughts in the aftermath of the Occupy Atlanta bust
Protestors move forwards as city leaders pat themselves on the back
- Joeff Davis
- One of the 52 Occupy Atlanta protesters being arrested Tuesday night.
Following a Tuesday night bust that resulted in the arrests of 52 protestors — now referred to as “The First 52” — Occupy Atlanta is preparing to regroup and continue its demonstration.
Their Press Committee released the following statement this morning ...
“After the events of the last few days and the release of the First 52, Occupy Atlanta has capture growing support. We understands that it is important for the movement to continue to address the broken political and economic system. It is also important that we continue to show a presence in the City of Atlanta and provide a space to reoccupy. Occupy Atlanta is committed to continuing this movement.”
Meanwhile, city leaders are reminding us what a great job they did averting a crisis!
— In an interview with WSBTV yesterday, Mayor Kasim Reed praised the tolerance the city exhibited (for a little while there), then essentially promised more arrests should the Occupiers reconvene ...
“The police department, fire, emergency services did a model job in handling what was a real crisis.”
“Atlanta has shown a way to be as tolerant as you possibly can. And not to have people miscalculate tolerance for weakness. Or lack of willingness to enforce our laws.”
“The park hours are going to be what they are by ordinance, and anyone who violates that ordinance will be arrested.”
— In a statement released this morning, Police Chief George Turner also praised the operation and the more than 150 officers who carried it out ...
“We have tremendous leadership and such valiant young men and women who professionally executed our plan.”
...
“We wanted to ensure we had enough resources to anticipate every possible scenario. We planned for the worst and prayed for the best. Our officers really did a great job last night.”
Occupy should be announcing its plan to continue protesting shortly.