I don't know for real whether Occupy Maine is the longest-running occupation* in the country. They reportedly describe themselves that way, and they're certainly contenders, having started on October 3 and having continued until this week.
Occupy Maine is now on its way home, or into the streets, or wherever you go when you think your country deals unjustly with its own people and your established political system is unresponsive. A judge today gave them four days to finish packing their stuff up in Portland. The picture above is theirs; the one below by Joel Page of AP shows the dome dismantled and gone. The group writes:
We vow to continue to practice a more just way forward; to practice direct democracy until all people who suffer under the power elite know that a new world is possible. We will not lose sight of what brought us together.
Plaintiff Deese Hamilton was homeless when the occupation began. "You can only fight for so long and you realize at the end that it's a new beginning," Hamilton tells the Portland Press-Herald. They've already got office space in town.
Adding: @mtdosterly says Occupy Nashville started a few days after Occupy Maine; they're now fending off state legislation to evict them. And @kiki2013 points to Occupy Little Rock, which posts a photo dating back to October 22 and says it's not leaving. Occupy Austin is close behind. As of today, Occupy Maine still looks to be the oldest, and maybe they should get bonus points for cold-weather occupying.
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This is sad. I do so hope that the spring will bring them out again and I hope their numbers grow to the point that the "authorities" are afraid to attack them.
Who were they hurting? Noone. Noone's rights were violated by having some people sleeping on the street. But they were a threat. These evictions are the surest sign that those who the movement pursue are afraid.
Well, that's a little depressing. But I'd like to stress that there are still Occupations that have been there for a long time and show no signs of giving in. A lot of these are successful because they have events and programs for the comunity around them. THe one I think of like that is the one that I went to the first day of Occupation for, Occupy Pittsburgh. They are in their 115th day of Occupation. BNY Mellon has tried to evict them with no results. This occupation fought legally to stay. It's an ongoing thing there. I'll post the link to their website and you can read all about their court battle. Also they have many programs set up for the community including the children. I'm very proud of them! So far I think that they are the most successful Occupation and yet they get NO press nationally and very little locally. Everyone do me a favor and go check out their site. http://www.occupypittsburgh.org/ Those kids are going strong and show no signs of quitting! Power to THE PEOPLE!
Now that the MSM has gotten over the Occupy story, I bet there will be a lot of cities and towns that will 'quietly' remove the occupiers. No one* is really paying attention anymore.
Here's hoping with the warmer weather comes a resurgence of Occupy movements around the country.
*and by 'no one', I mean the media isn't covering it anymore as far as I can tell.
Occupy Tacoma set up on Oct 15 and is still going, although they've received an eviction notice for Feb 17 (which will be 125 days at that point). I don't know if they're going to fight it or not. Like Occupy Pittsburgh, they've not gotten much attention (Seattle has gotten a lot more), but they're a dedicated bunch and have recently started taking on the foreclosure issue. occupytacoma.org
Talk about dedication to the cause.....Yes I hope that come Spring all Occupy movements will be revitalized. Now is the time for planing the new Spring offensive.
OccupyPhoenix has been going on since @ least Oct. 15, 2011 (FB page founded on Oct. 14, 2011) and despite being evicted, moved and generally harrassed, is still going on. =)
Those who support OWS, et al, come from all walks of life, including those of us who are middle-aged, working full time jobs, and generally managed to weather the storm of the economy somewhat unscathed.
Too bad #OWS has been broadly painted with the "unbathed hippies" brush.
Occupy Louisville (Kentucky) has been up since October 4th. We're still there, still camping, still speaking out. Every night since October 4th.
Occupy Lexington, KY began Sept 28th. I'm almost certain we're the longest running Occupation (after OWS) in the US. Our tents were taken away, but we're still there. I just got home from our 131st GA!
https://www.facebook.com/OccupyLexKY
Louisville, stay and be strong. We, at Lexington, Ky were removed by the police when the few Occupiers who were entrusted to hold down the fort, went to the library on day 119. At least one may have been an agent provocateur, as he was causing trouble from when he first came. We are still active, but we don't have come-anytime-day-or-night location anymore.
Everyone should be encouraged to be involved in your governance. I'm not talking about egalitarianism; I'm talking about us standing up for ourselves and not being spat upon.
Occupy Milwaukee has been in Garden Park in the Riverwest neighborhood since October 19 - continuous camping since October 15.
I am so proud of you all and want to thank you for your dedication and effort. I don't want anyone to freeze to death in the winter weather, but appreciate deeply your fighting for those of us who cannot get to a site, physically or financially.
When all of us realize that we are all in danger, perhaps we will all begin to take our responsibility to our country and our citizens seriously. You all are showing us how.
God bless you every moment.
RanDome Geodesic Shelter tutorial by Dick Fischbeck. Let's get cracking on these are reoccupy the parks this Spring! http://voices.yahoo.com/video/how-build-randome-geodesic-shelter-10564227.html?cat=59
RanDome Geodesic Shelter tutorial by Dick Fischbeck. Let's get cracking on these and reoccupy the parks this Spring! http://voices.yahoo.com/video/how-build-randome-geodesic-shelter-10564227.html?cat=59
Occupy Maine had studied winter survival, and were ready to last the winter. They made it through the worst of it, even though the city wouldn't allow the occupiers an open fire, or any heating supplies. OM had semi-permanent structures that had to be dismantled, or destroyed, in order to obey the court order, which was also a shame.The "Russian winter" tactic hadn't worked to completely drive them away, as I believe that some city officials had hoped. But the city had been trying to find a way to quietly get them out out of the park, and finally found a way to do so, before the Spring, and an inevitable increase in size and strength of the occupation. It's very sad; they weren't hurting anyone with their presence.
I stayed there over the weekend with a friend who was/is an occupier from the beginning. It was a somber time, but the occupiers are trying to embrace change, and rethinking how to carry forward their mission, even without their structures.
I am ashamed of how our federal government has taken the lead in trying to dispose of the Occupations before Spring. I am rooting for the remaining occupations to be able to make it through every challenge, and looking forward to the Spring, and how it will strengthen them.
Occupy Maine started on October 1st, actually. :-) Just wanted to say that as a person that has been involved personally with Occupy Maine, I do not support the encampment closing down whatsoever. There are others who feel similarly.
I think that Kansas City has the longest running occupation. I was there on day one and we have not been kicked out since. We started on September 30th and we are still going strong. We are unique in that we have done a lot of work to have a strong relationship with the KCPD and they have been great. Here's a link to a brief history of Occupy KC: http://www.kcpopulist.com/storage/A%20Brief%20History%20of%20Occupy%20KC.pdf