Early Thursday morning, hundreds of protesters marched from lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park toward the New York Stock Exchange, marking the anti-bank movement's two-month anniversary and expressing anger over the police's controversial decision to evict the movement from the park earlier this week. Clogging sidewalks and blocking traffic as finance professionals tried to get to work, "raucous" protesters clashed with baton-wielding police officers. At least 75 people were arrested in New York, along with 25 at a sister protest in Los Angeles. (Demonstrations also unfolded in San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, Portland, and several other cities.) Thursday's turnout in New York was so impressive, and received so much publicity, that even the Occupy movement's leaders were surprised. Are the 99 percent stronger (and angrier) than ever?
Welcome back, Occupy: The eviction from Zuccotti and the "clumsy, brutal actions by security forces" have had a "galvanizing effect" on the movement, says Ishaan Tharoor at TIME. Just steal a glance at Twitter's #N17 stream, which "reveals the depth and diversity of protests taking place" across the country. "It's safe to say that, wherever this movement goes now, it's not going into retreat."
"The whole world watches again: Occupy Wall Street strikes back"
This is beginning to annoy New Yorkers: Occupiers want to take action "against the greed and corruption of the 1 percent," says Jill Schlesinger at CBS News. Well, this intrusive mob scene is hardly the way to achieve that goal. Occupiers should focus more on America's disturbingly widening income gap, not their right to loudly protest. Really, Thursday's "Day of Action" will do "little more than disrupt the city for 100 percent of us." And that's no good for the Occupy movement.
"Occupy Wall Street 'Day of Action' hurts the 99 percent"
It's time for Occupy to grow up: This week, Occupy news has focused on the "crazies" who are "threatening to take the movement over," says James Joyner at Outside the Beltway. Most notably, a 29-year-old protester who's "quite literally crazy" was arrested after he vowed to burn down Manhattan. If Occupy wants to be taken seriously, it has to disavow extremists and "morph into a political movement rather than a mob scene." Because "unauthorized disruptions of the city will inevitably further weaken Occupy's public support." And you can bet that "most will blame the protesters, not police, when things get violent."
"Occupy Wall Street after Zuccotti eviction"
