Observations on the Post-Raid Occupation in New York (Updated):
The creepiest thing that the Rude Pundit saw today over at Occupy Wall Street at Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan was a pair of large, short-haired white men in suits and black trenchcoats. G-Tweedledee was video recording the scene while G-Tweedledum was watching the recording on one of those extra strong ToughBook laptops. The Rude Pundit turned his camera on them, as they were standing right next to him near the edge of 1 Liberty Plaza. When they noticed, they moved further up the plaza. When security cleared the area, they were allowed to stay. And when the Rude Pundit filmed them again, they looked directly at and filmed him.

Secret Service? FBI? CIA? Who knows? But those fuckers were intimidating and frightening, which was, of course, part of the idea.

The Rude Pundit marched with the OWS remnants from their recon position at Duarte Park, about 10 blocks uptown. Up at Duarte, we were bordered by two lines of cops, not allowing us to walk off into the streets. The cops followed us along the march down to Zuccotti Park. We were joined by a wandering trumpeter across Varick Street. He played "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" and merged with the march. Finally, arriving at Zuccotti Park, we were blocked from entering the space by the NYPD, despite a judge's early morning order reversing the eviction that Mayor Michael Bloomberg had ordered.

It is not overstating the matter to say that Bloomberg and the NYPD were willfully in contempt of court. A judge said they were supposed to act one way. They acted in the opposite way. That's pretty clearly a violation of a court order. So instead the protesters surrounded the park in a barricaded path while others were arrested at Duarte.

Arrests happened at Zuccotti, mostly people trying to jump the barricades to get into the center of the park. The Rude Pundit saw (and recorded) a couple of them, including a man who tried to plant a large American flag in the park. He was slammed to the ground by the cops, who took his flag and rolled it up. They put the Stars and Stripes into a paddy wagon, while they put the man in the back. They locked the doors. They drove them both away.

The Rude Pundit heard some near him jeering the arrested, laughing about them being raped at Riker's Island. He turned on one older fuck, a douchebag past his prime. He asked the douchebag what he'd do. "Arrest 'em all. They're a bunch of criminal scum," he sneered. As the Rude Pundit asked the cock-faced bastard another question, the dude said, "That's all. I'm done. Move along now."

"Move along now?" The Rude Pundit said. "How about 'Okay, thanks'?" He said to move along again, and the Rude Pundit laughed in his corrupt fucking face.

Right now, we await a decision no whether or not the original order stands. But even if it does, will Bloomberg call the police off? And if he won't, who will enforce the will of the courts?

Remember: they were going to shut this down. They were always going to toss the tents and toss people into jail. They had to. That's who they are. They were always going to follow the same script they always do. They, the big “They,” the “They” that has the police in their pockets, the “They” that is always opposed to the “we,” as in “We, the People."

It had to end, the occupation, in order for it to flourish. Except it will not have ended in failure, no matter what the judge or the mayor say or do.

Update: The occupation is dead. Long live the occupation.