Occupy Pittsburgh, our own little sect of the Occupy movement, has a unique distinction among Occupy groups, that being that rather than set up on public property, they were set up on private land, a park owned by BNY Mellon. For the most part the banking giant has been fairly tolerant of their new neighbors, but this past week they finally decided that it is time for the Occupiers to go. In a press relase saying that the Occupiers had to be out by Sunday, BNY Mellon cited the potential risks that are involved in camping outside in winter, risks that the banking giant would take on if they allowed the protestors to remain on their property.
Of course the Occupiers do not want to leave, in fact they are claiming that they will "seize" the park from BNY Mellon and serve them with an eviction notice.
Okay, I think it is just about that time. When an organization refuses to recognize private property rights and instead opts to trespass and not leave when asked to, there really is only one solution, that being to put the the protestors in a place where they can stay as long as they want, with no fear of ever being rousted or asked to leave. That of course would be a jail cell.
Mellon is doing this to keep the Reuters article from becoming main stream news. They will begin to charge their smaller clients for services that up until now were free to all clients. Now only if you are one of their bigger clients will you get full service for free. So much easier to point the media at the people camping then the John Doe client getting the shaft
ReplyDeletehttp://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/07/bnymellon-outlook-idUSN1E7B604A20111207
It may very well be a diversionary tactic by Mellon, but the fact remains that in Pittsburgh the occupiers are on private property, not public ground. I highly doubt anyone camping out in tents would appreciate if I showed up on their doorstep and claimed their property for myself.
ReplyDeleteTrue but it wasn't a problem until they needed to wag the dog.
ReplyDeleteWell I would argue that it was a problem was the weather turned colder and you run the risk of people either getting sick and potentially dieing from exposure to the elements, or creating a fire hazard with people setting up shop with personal heaters and what not to keep warm. I guess I have seen too many people try to deep fry turkeys at Thanksgiving to trust anyone with heating appliances. Because they are on Mellon property, Mellon carries some of the liability for that, a burden they don't need to carry.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of life on my grandparents farm. They raised turkeys and every time before it rained someone had to go out and get the turkeys inside. When it rains a turkey will look up with it's mouth open. If it rains too hard a turkey will drown. In the wild turkeys run into the woods and the trees break the hard rain so they don't drown but in a pen there's no place to run and they don't think of going inside. Why bring up that story? Because if it gets to cold to camp outside who's responsibility is it to take the turkeys in? They aren't in a pen, so they should be smart enough to save themselves.
ReplyDeleteFrom a common sense perspective I agree with you, but the law and common sense don't always mix. If someone were to get hurt there and Mellon willingly let people camp there while being aware of the risks, then they could be held legally accountable. After all, we live in a society where we have to warn people that coffee is hot.
ReplyDeleteYet we still allow people to purchase turkey friers... oh and clothes irons come with warnings to not iron clothing while you are still wearing it. I'm just saying you can't legislate stupidity, it's just going to happen. Every year there are nominations for the Darwin Award and many winners.
ReplyDelete