Posted on 10/22/2011 9:28:31 AM PDT by mdittmar
NEW YORK - They put on a gritty war face and insist they are more determined now than ever, but the Occupy Wall Street campers now face the slow advance of an unrelenting enemy: the New York winter.
As freezing winds blew Friday over the epicenter of their protests, Zuccotti Park in Manhattan, the demonstrators were already huddling in significantly reduced numbers.
At night, the several hundred people who sleep on site in the financial district bundle up as best they can under plastic tarps, hunkering down in sleeping bags and emergency blankets as tents are forbidden on the plaza.
Many sleep with bonnets and scarves. But the worst has yet to come.
"So far, we have been extremely blessed," said Cynthia Villarreal, who has slept at Zuccotti for 18 days.
Ever since the anti-corporate protest movement began on September 17, OWS has only battled a handful of rainy days. At night, temperatures are still above freezing.
But New York winters often see frigid temperatures that drop below 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 Celsius).
"The cold affects us already," admitted Maria Fehlig, a volunteer nurse at the protesters' makeshift infirmary, a small blue tent marked by a cross that is the only structure so far tolerated by owners of the park ensconced between skyscrapers.
She noted there had been several cases of hypothermia and respiratory problems. An online petition is asking Mayor Michael Bloomberg to allow protesters to erect tents on the plaza, though it has not yet been sent.
It is unlikely to succeed.
"The Constitution doesn't protect tents, it protects speech and assembly," Bloomberg said in a press conference Monday amid growing frustration by some New Yorkers as the protesters continue camping out in the heart of global finance.
Bloomberg has also predicted that the weather would play a role in determining how long the movement will last.
But Fehlig, who has been helping protesters learn basic methods to resist the cold, insisted that they formed "a determined group that plans to stay until it changes."
She tells demonstrators to stay dry, wear hats, layers of clothing and good pairs of socks and gloves.
The protesters' kitchen, which serves at least 2,000 meals a day, according to cook Chris O'Donnell, offers warm food ordered from nearby businesses or cooked by volunteers with the help of donations.
"We use a soup kitchen in East New York," explained O'Donnell, an OWS supporter known as a "point person" as the group does not recognize any official hierarchy.
But he also acknowledged that there is a definite lack of abundance on cold and rainy days.
And OWS has yet to organize a major protest since thousands of people gathered in Times Square on October 15 chanting "We are the 99 per cent."
The movement that denounces global greed and the richest one per cent continues to broadcast its protests online, often live, but the number of people watching has markedly dropped, along with the number of tweets about the site.
The next stage for this leaderless movement, which sees itself as independent of political parties and claims no particular demands, remains unclear for now.Winter woes threaten Wall Street occupiers
Obviously these guys never read anything - ever. At least Hitler (no I am not in agreement with Hitler) and Napolean had some leadership in place. These idiots are just on one big party. Sounds like shades of the 60s.
High/Low (°F) Precip. % Today Oct 22 Partly Cloudy 60°/44° 10 % Sun Oct 23 Mostly Sunny 63°/48° 10 % Mon Oct 24 Few Showers 67°/51° 30 % Tue Oct 25 Mostly Sunny 65°/53° 10 % Wed Oct 26 Partly Cloudy 67°/52° 20 % Thu Oct 27 Few Showers 55°/47° 30 % Fri Oct 28 Showers 52°/46° 50 % Sat Oct 29 Showers 56°/45° 60 % Sun Oct 30 Partly Cloudy 53°/47° 10 % Mon Oct 31 Partly Cloudy 54°/44° 10 %
Winter woes?! Who gives a rat’s hole? The occupiers might have to move back in with mom & dad when the snow flies. If they put as much time & effort into finding work as they do in squatting in the streets of New York, they would have an income.
Can’t wait for the first frost then a snow storm will be frosting on the cake!
LOL. Someone entered the Keyword “peeparty” for this thread.
Can’t two play this game? Why isn’t there some “Boy George” or other similar dorky music being piped in nice and loud from one of those buildings close by.
Old man Winter must be a conservative Wall Street fat cat.
No wonder why Algore is so bent on GoreBull warming.
I have two words for those whiners: Valley Forge.
OWS can turn it into their own historic winter of ‘Alley Forge-ry.
Mr. Mew has five words: The Battle of the Bulge.
It’s actually been a milder than normal October here in the Northeast. I haven’t even had to turn the heat on in the house yet. When the colder air does come, probably in the next week or so, those spoiled kids are going to be running home to Momma back in the suburbs.
Obamaville - that is a great name for these idiot gatherings! Name them all after their leader! Obamaville NYC? Obamaville LA? Obamaville DC?
Winds in that area can be impressive. The buildings funnel the wind so that it can be still in the middle of a block and a wind you must fight against at the ends.
This movement is good for one chuckle after the other ... better than letting myself get angry about the worthless fools.
I have one question for them: if they succeed in getting rid of the top “1%,” won’t another “1%” emerge?
Won’t there always be a top 1%? Sooner or later the top 1% would be them. We know that, were that to come to pass, 9as they see it) the top 1% would be pure.
They are the 0.001%.
Count noses and divide by the US population.
This is a training exercise.
1. Find the themes that resonate with the useful idiots.
2. Indoctinate the gullible with Marxist ideals.
3. Organizers of this “leaderless” occupation study what works and what doesn’t, and come back with a plan for the Spring.
ML/NJ
My view is that Baraq should go “all in” and send in a bunch of FEMA trailers.
However I demand that they only use energy from solar and wind generated sources.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.