[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites[...]……

I read on Huffington Post that “Protesters said they wanted to camp in the Pearl District because they view its residents as part of the wealthy demographic they’re protesting.”

I found that statement seriously troubling. I have no connection to wealth or corporate corruption yet because of the neighborhood I live in I’m seen as part of the problem? How dare you.

I was absolutely thrilled when I first read of the Occupy Wall Street movement because I saw it as a legitimate populace movement, as opposed to the corporately backed astroturf Tea Party movement. It was a progressive and liberal counterpart that truly represented people like me.

Now I’m not so sure.

In the beginning, there was a positive, upbeat sense of adventure about the protest, but then the tweekers and stoners and violent street people moved in to freeload off the well-meaning politicos. Now the places smells of stale bodies and feces. Folks brush by you reeking of alcohol, BO and pot. The down and out lounge about, staring into space, or sleeping off their lives and bad habits. People who make no sense talk to you from a distant place of alienation and addiction.

Sorry to say this, but it seems to me the GA is now overwhelmed by what is has wrought, does not see a face-saving exit strategy, and perhaps subconsciously, is hoping that in the move to the fresh, clean, new territory, it can leave the riffraff behind and start over in a better location. As many of the posts here demonstrate, the idea that Jamison Square is the cause of America’s economic ills is downright laughable.

There’s a history lesson the GA needs to learn; when movements of the left get kookie and self-indulgent and start daring the police to intervene in order to create self-fulfilling martyrs, the American populace turns against them. The antiwar protests of the 1960s did eventually end the war in Vietnam, but brought on decades of right-leaning backlash.

Careful, Occupy Portland. You are walking on the edge of losing your support and making it worse for the left for decades to come.

There is no valid strategic reason to occupy Jamison Square. Among all the other potential issues with this decision, that is the one you should most be paying attention to. Forget everything else and remember this: it will NOT help your cause.

Also, “Cuddle Party” = -infinity credibility points. Sorry, but get real.

Oh, and BTW, I’ve dropped several hundred bucks feeding you guys and donating other items (socks, supplies for Medical), hours in camp, and hours of my time advocating online. I worry and suspect that the camp downtown is actually a fairly small core of people whose numbers are inflated by the partiers and folks they’re so graciously feeding, and that some kind of a hivemind has developed at GA. This is just a hunch as I am not a regular participant at GA, but it may in fact be MORE instructive for you to hear what this looks like to a strong supporter of accountability and regulation for criminal bankers who is nonetheless not in camp 7 days a week.

In other words,shut-up unless you have something insightful to add to this movement and commentary.