Even as local officials continue to forcibly evict the few remaining Occupy encampments throughout Washington state and much of the rest of the nation, the National Park Service has just extended a permit for an Occupy DC tent city to remain in Freedom Plaza, a small park just blocks from the Capitol and the White House. The Occupiers will have to make space for other groups that have reserved the plaza, but they've done that in the past without problems.
Meanwhile, a half-mile away, at McPherson Square in the heart of the K Street lobbying district, a second Occupy DC encampment continues unimpeded. Under federal law, there is apparently no permit needed for gatherings of fewer than 500 people in DC city parks.
- Goldy | The Stranger
- I wish I had a kitchen as large and cheerful as the one at Occupy DC in Freedom Plaza.
Thanks in part to the cooperation of the authorities in our nation's capital, their indigenous Occupy tent cities have managed to avoid some the same health and safety concerns that officials elsewhere have trumped up to justify their decisions to evict their own local encampments. Porta-potties have been installed and maintained, arrangements have been made with nearby benefactors to provide shower facilities, and well stocked food and first aid tents have been assembled to tend to the protesters most basic needs. The Freedom Plaza encampment in particular is an orderly and well-kept little village.
What Occupy DC demonstrates is that when local authorities treat the protesters respectfully, the tent cities can be maintained without the overblown health and safety factors cited elsewhere. Sure, they can be an inconvenience to local workers, residents, and businesses—much in the same way that the homeless have been an inconvenience on city streets throughout much our nation's history—but if local officials truly value free speech, Occupiers can easily be accommodated.