Anti-Foreclosure Occupy Movement Enters its Next Phase

The anti-foreclosure Occupy movement enters its next phase of actually occupying residences courting arrests. Anthony Newby one of the organizers in Minneapolis has taken up cudgels on behalf of Bobby Hull formerly a Marine, whose house has been foreclosed and auctioned off. Hull will be evicted next February.

Newby is planning to rope in neighbours by the hundreds to occupy the house of Hull provoking the police to take action. He added, “We are hoping the local police, who we think are part of the 99% too, won’t take part in such actions against Bobby”.

Another activist is Peggy Mears, a resident of Riverside. She is standing beside a family to help them re-enter their house that has been foreclosed upon. She complained, “The banks were bailed out, and they were suppose to use that money to help homeowners, but they have not”. She is charging the bank for not failing to keep to their side of the bargain.

The National Lawyers Guild (Los Angeles section) admitted that in all probability there will be increase in number of arrests. The guild sent out a message to all the members of Occupy Los Angeles that all their calls from jail would be accepted.

However the guild adds that their target is not the jail. James Lafferty its director (executive) said the legal association focuses on human rights and supports public protests. The work of the guild “is to use the courts to keep people in the streets”. He felt legal rulings could bring about a change but “the pressure that led up to those decision came from people protesting in the streets”.

Long legal wrangles will not be a welcome outcome from this movement. These could suck up money and energy at a time when the focus should be on the long-term sustainability of the movement.

If the stand offs become serious then “they can also turn the public off to the movement” said Professor Rick Duncan (law) of University of Nebraska. He added, “Who is going to be sympathetic to people who are obviously breaking the law by trespassing on private property?”

The underlying point in this change of strategy is that the Occupy activists are no longer being allowed to us public space to protest observed law expert Greg Magarian of Washington University at St. Louis. He commented, “The privatization of public spaces where people can be seen and heard is a very dangerous shift”. He explained that whoever chose Zuccotti Parkfor starting off the movement “understood the importance of that symbol”.