[DianaDrk]

"New York City police in riot gear swept into a Lower Manhattan park early today to remove hundreds of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators who had been camping there for more than eight weeks to protest income inequality.

The action followed similar moves that shut camps in Oakland, California, and Portland, Oregon. New York police and the park’s owners told protesters at 1 a.m. local time to remove items including tents and sleeping bags, after which city workers cleared remaining belongings, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. The park will remain closed until the city can review a judge’s restraining order seeking to allow protesters to return with their belongings, the mayor said.

“The First Amendment protects speech,” the mayor said in a press conference at City Hall. “It doesn’t protect the use of tents and sleeping bags to take over public space.”"

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-1...ll-street.html

Despite my personal concerns over the principles behind the movement itself, I have to respect how peacably (thus far) the OWS movement has been towards disassembly at the behest of the city. I do think it lends some credence to their movement that they hold the interests of the movement holistically above a dogged determination to plant their flag on a piece of real estate. It shows a certain level of maturity at least that I think is otherwise getting frequently overlooked. I hope it continues to be so because I think it's important their voices (whether I agree or not) can be heard in a manner that is consistent with the principles this nation was founded upon.