MoneyJungle
Weakness is Provocative
The city’s Christmas crackdown on OccupyJax proves the new administration offers only more of the same
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© 2012
12 | FOLIO WEEKLY | JANUARY 3-9, 2012
ince the Occupy Jacksonville movement began, I’ve studiously avoided making comments about it here, mostly so I could see how it was handled by the authorities. Having witnessed much of their disgraceful behavior firsthand, I now feel obliged to speak my peace. The city’s recent crackdown on the Occupation going on outside City Hall is humiliation for all citizens of a city that (let’s face it) routinely goes out of its way to humiliate itself. Just hours before Christmas Eve, the city delivered a letter to organizers from city attorneys, ordering them to get rid of their signs or anything they couldn’t carry at all times, and to even stop using sidewalk chalk. Those of us who labor daily against the perception that Jacksonville is a sub-literate cesspool of racism and religious dogma, a place whose land, air and water are so polluted that the only things growing here consistently are criminals, have seen our effort rebuked yet again. Whether it was corrupt fire inspectors in the 1990s or the disastrous DART raids of a couple years ago, our “leaders” have remained keen to waste law-enforcement resources on bullshit, despite ample evidence that their methods have actually empowered the organized crime groups that control far more of this city than any silly old church. The situation also tends to confirm the mayor’s political cowardice to those few observers for whom the question was in doubt. Brown’s term has mostly been defined by throwing key supporters under the bus, while retaining much of the core of the administration that preceded his — the one he was elected largely in opposition to. From day one, Brown has acted like an embattled incumbent; it’s almost like he anticipates being there for just one term, a historical aberration, a failed experiment in the craven new style. The Occupy movement represents, perhaps, the last significant opportunity to address the issues of corporate greed and economic and social inequality in a non-violent fashion. It’s scary to think that, when young people organize to assert their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, assembly and association, the establishment reaction is viscerally negative. Councilmember Don Redman has been a constant presence at Occupy events, playing the role of amiable scold. Unless he’s secretly part of the 99 percent (and some think he may be), he’s devoted extraordinary amounts of personal time harassing a bunch of kids who’ve not yet been taught how to deal with hatemongers. Whatever the needs of the voters in his district, they should know those needs fall second to Redman’s need to bother the protesters. Let’s say this much for
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Redman, though: At least he showed up. Brown and other councilmembers have adopted the policy of other city leaders nationwide — that of running their mouths about things about which they have no understanding. It makes sense that Brown, who bounced back and forth between the Beltway and Corporate America, would be ignorant of the underlying economic reality. It makes sense that his populist campaign rhetoric would be a front for more of the sameold, same-old. It makes sense that our visionary new leader is a just a cut-out caricature, eager to conform to stereotype. Because, as we’ve seen with Pres. Obama, the first job for any black executive-branch pol is to act forcefully to retain the confidence and support of the white business leaders who brought them to power. Hence, the politically motivated firings. Ironic that a mayor who was elected largely on a promise to encourage growth downtown has signed off on suppressing the only people who can actually draw numbers into downtown on a weekend without promising football or free food. It’s equally ironic that most of the local Occupiers either voted for Alvin Brown or actively worked for his campaign. Our mayor has apparently forgotten that he won by the closest margin in local history, and that it was the support of young progressives that kept him in the game when elites were focused on that shoddy Hogan-Moran-Mullaney horserace. I’ve heard many Democrats in recent months wish aloud that Audrey Moran had just a little bit more guts, hadn’t been so passive in response to conservative attacks, had tried to reach out to progressives a little bit more instead of prostrating for the business community like everyone else did. Of course, it’s unlikely that she would’ve handled OccupyJax any differently because, overall, this movement exists to show the people of America that our leaders have not only abnegated their responsibilities, but have deliberately acted against the best interests of this country. Why? Because they’re on the take. Every single politician in this country is hopelessly corrupt, whether they want to be or not. The system of campaign finance ensures that whoever wins any election is probably already bought and paid for by foreign capital. Those of you who complain about Brown now have forgotten that he was trained by Bill Clinton, arguably one of the most morally bankrupt human beings to ever walk the Earth. He learned his lessons well, but it remains to be seen how much the voters themselves have learned. Shelton Hull themail@folioweekly.com