WaPo Style Section Devotes Nearly Four Pages of Puffery to 'Vibrant Urbanism' of Occupy D.C.
"To passerby" the Occupy D.C. protest at McPherson Square "is a jumble of tents and blue tarps," but to the Washington Post's Philip Kennicott, the Occupiers "have 'activated' the urban core," with "a living exercise in do-it-yourself (or DIY) urbanism, a trendy movement that strives to engage ordinary people in a hands-on approach to shaping and claiming public space."
And that's just the tip of the iceberg as Kennicott and his comrades commandeered 3.5 pages of the Style section to puff up the left-wing squatters' camp.
"A Square Gets Hip: In Gen. McPherson's park, the Occupy D.C. encampment improvises a vibrant urbanism," reads the headline on the front page of today's Style section. In a cutesy tip-of-the-hat to the Occupiers, the Style section's header is emblazoned with a red-lettered "OCCUPIED" tag to render today's section as "Occupied Style."
Above the page C1 headline is an annotated illustration by Post graphic artist Patterson Clark that depicts a map of the camp, complete with captions labeling walkways in the square after leftist icons like Malcolm X, Angela Davis, and Che Guevara (see screen captures below).
Kennicott's piece continues on pages C6-7, where it's accompanied by four articles devoted to the camp's food tent, library, medical tent, and newspapers. The "Occupied" coverage ends on page C8 with a photo essay entitled "The power of the people's campground."
For his part, Kennicott seems amazed at how the Occupy D.C. camp's "paradoxically conservative use of space" has resulted in an "essentially 'zoned'" campground. Kennicott later gushed that the squatters' camp was in and of itself a rebuke of capitalism, which "uses spectacle to control and degrade culture."
While nearby on 7th Street Northwest "giant video screens, enormous electronic signs and an alluring blur of brand-name restaurants and stores mask the generic commercialization of what could have been.... In McPherson Square, the Occupy protesters have created a spontaneous library and host musical performances, all without major corporate sponsorship," Kennicott approvingly noted.
As to the makeshift library, Post book critic Ron Charles reports "The rules are simple: no library cards, no due dates." The result, however is that "Many books never come back."
But leaving trifling things like that aside, the Style writers generally romanticize the Occupy D.C. crowd.
"The urban encampment hints at the beginning and the end of urban life, its nascence and dissolution," Kennicott pontificated. "It's a powerful display, a mix of both admonition and promise, suggesting not only that we could all be homeless but that we could also live better, differently, more communally."
- Ken Shepherd's blog
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Comments
Hey, guess what?
Submitted by gailannr on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 12:41pm.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaat a coincidence!
Hey, this is great! Imagine the odds of this happening.
Do you know the park in NYC that the Wall Street protesters are occupying?
It's Zuccotti Park .
Did you know this park is not owned by the city of New York ?
It is owned by Brookfield Properties.
Who was just hired by Brookfield Properties as an attorney?
Vice President Joe Biden's son.
Who sits on the board of Brookfield Properties?
Mayor Bloomberg's live in girlfriend.
Now, guess what company just received some of the last of the Obama Stimulus $$$$$$$.
Thaaaaaaaaaaaat's right, Brookfield Properties.
Isn't life great in America !
Now, guess what, on a completely unrelated note, Wisconsin is shaping up to be the swing state in the 2012 presidential elections. Not Florida . Not Ohio . But Wisconsin .
Now, guess who owns the company that will be tabulating the electronic votes in Wisconsin .
Thaaaaaaaaaaaat's right, the biggest contributor to Obama, the puppeteer George Soros. Whaaaaaaaaaaaat a coincidence!
Now remember what Stalin said. "He who votes does not have the power. He who counts the votes has the power".
Come on 11/06/2012
Here's some "Occupied Style"
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 12:47pm.
And apparently they don't need no stinking urbanism!
They're into self-sufficiency
Language warning
Self-sufficiency?
Submitted by 26CX on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 12:56pm.
It looks more like they're up to their necks in stupidity.
26 CX, I have to ask you
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 1:10pm.
26 CX, I have to ask you this, because this isn't the first time you've responded similarly to me....
Is your sarcasm detector on the blink?
Vital? Vibrant? How About Violent, Too?
Submitted by ncwood on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 12:56pm.
Only a few blocks from the Convention Center where they can run amok and threaten people with violence.
Vibrant Urbanism has emerged at Occupy Atlanta . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 6:18pm.
. . . in the form of tuberculosis. One carrier has a type that resists standard medical treatment for the disease.
The diagram of Zuccotti Park looks like a World's Fair for the Homeless.
Not to mention, a fire-bombing in Portland, Or.
Submitted by UpNorth on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 7:12pm.
committed by an Occuturd.
Yeah, nothing but peaceful, clean hippies, they don't trash parks, or destroy property.
And Occupy Portland is about to get more vibrant
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 8:19pm.
The Mayor of Portland announced today that due to rise in crime at Occupy Portland and the inability of its members to check it, the camps must be removed by 12:01am Sunday.
Standby for the fireworks when Portland's police move into to enfroce the order.
Gal, is anyone going to televise it live?
Submitted by UpNorth on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 8:54pm.
If so, I have to make sure to have popcorn and adult beverages on hand.
I don't know, UpNorth, but I imagine that the local . . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 9:12pm.
. . . and cable news bureaus will be monitoring it all weekend. They'll want to be on hand if (when) something happens, peacefully or not.
Based on some quotes in the story, it appeaers that some of the OWS-Portland members believe that if they can clean up the show, the mayor will give them a break. But I think mayor means business; his quotes don't suggest a conditional eviction -- they sound decisive.
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/11/occupy_portland_por...
Get Rid Of This Pr*ck
Submitted by rammingspeed on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 1:08pm.
These miscreants at WaPo and the like disgrace the entire journalism profession. And they say Fox News is slanted. Jesus Christ.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Submitted by liberalsarefunny on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 1:12pm.
Bunch of smelly parasitic losers---shreds of human debris.
And apparently that "vibrant
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 1:14pm.
And apparently that "vibrant urbanism" includes a hefty dose of anti-Semitism.
I guess the WaPo "Style" editors missed that.
nothing new
Submitted by MidAmerica on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 1:14pm.
Used to be they called places like this hobo camps.
Next we'll be hearing about
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 1:27pm.
Next we'll be hearing about "occupied chic" as the latest fashion trend.
Hobo Camps
Submitted by Schofield Kid on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 5:21pm.
They used to call these "Hoovervilles" in the early part of the depression, although not as much rape and anti-semitism associated with those. Therefore, I suggest "Obamavilles" or "BHOvilles."
In defense of the Great American Hobo,
Submitted by SickofLibs on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 5:34pm.
at least they had ethics:
The Hobo Code of Ethics
An ethical code was created by Tourist Union #63 during its 1889 National Hobo Convention in St. Louis Missouri. This code was voted upon as a concrete set of laws to govern the Nation-wide Hobo Body; it reads this way:
1) Decide your own life, don't let another person run or rule you.
2) When in town, always respect the local law and officials, and try to be a gentleman at all times.
3) Don't take advantage of someone who is in a vulnerable situation, locals or other hobos.
4) Always try to find work, even if temporary, and always seek out jobs nobody wants. By doing so you not only HELP A BUSINESS along, but ensure employment should you return to that town again.
5) When no employment is available, make your own work by using your added talents at crafts.
6) Do not allow yourself to become a stupid drunk and set a bad example for locals' treatment of other hobos.
7) When jungling in town, respect handouts, do not wear them out, another hobo will be coming along who will need them as bad, if not worse than you.
8) Always respect nature, do not leave garbage where you are jungling.
9) If in a community jungle, always pitch in and help.
10) Try to stay clean, and boil up wherever possible.
11) When traveling, ride your train respectfully, take no personal chances, cause no problems with the operating crew or host railroad, act like an extra crew member.
12) Do not cause problems in a train yard, another hobo will be coming along who will need passage through that yard.
13) Do not allow other hobos to molest children, expose all molesters to authorities, they are the worst garbage to infest any society.
14) Help all runaway children, and try to induce them to return home.
15) Help your fellow hobos whenever and wherever needed, you may need their help someday.
16) If present at a hobo court and you have testimony, give it. Whether for or against the accused, your voice counts!
Wait til the proposed march from NYC to DC happens
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 6:20pm.
That ought to stir some emotions in the local towns.
When I was a kid, bums always
Submitted by Dan Diego on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 7:20pm.
When I was a kid, bums always camped by the tracks and I don't remember any incidents involving locals.
Every 2 - 3 days Howard the Bum would come by the Taco Shop I worked at for a burrito and sometimes bring a couple of his buds with him. They'd clean-up the parking lot in exchange. We'd even collect money around the Holidays so he could celebrate and then get picked-up by the cops for a jailhouse Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
Howard and his buddies appeared to live by the Bums Code of Conduct and NEVER DEMANDED a thing unlike these whining spoiled brats infesting our public areas today.
The cities should relocate the OWe-me-Scumbags protests to the tracks, the Bums would probably revolt and end their event. Win-Win.
In any other universe, these
Submitted by jessieH on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 1:33pm.
In any other universe, this would be what they say about the Tea party. But, here in bizzaro world , it's all love for the 1% of the freaks. And the biggest freaks are the liberal, socialist Democrats in office. The Democrats couldn't or wouldn't do their jobs, balancing the budget, so they put more freaks, super freaks, to do what they were paid to do. Then, when the citizens wanted answers, they called them vile, hatefull names, made up fake accusations against them and blamed everyone but themselves. What the Democrats have done is called treason against the American Citizens. It is our duty, as Americans, to remove these traitors from office, by any means possible. Now, these same traitors, are paying the freaks of our society to riot & vandalize, to distract from their treachery. How can we fix our Nation, while these treacherous individuals are still in office? If we can't vote them out, we must throw them out.
fashion in Obamaville
Submitted by Agnostic on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 1:34pm.
I don't know a lot about fashion but I would assume that waterproof shoes are a necessity in Obamaville just to reduce the spread of disease.
Aww, that's so cute - they named their tiny little streets.
Submitted by SickofLibs on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 1:37pm.
Che Guevara Ave.
Harvey Milk Blvd.
Angela Davis Ave.
Malcolm X Ave.
Gandhi Ave.
MLK Ave.
I could be wrong but it seems
Submitted by Bhaal on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 6:27pm.
I could be wrong but it seems that Gandhi would have some serious issues with some of the company on that list.
Many of these occupunks
Submitted by ant on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 7:21pm.
Many of these occupunks probably can't deal with life on life's terms, so now they are reduced to "playing society" just like children make up their own games. That's why what seems like rampant drug use among them is no surprise really. Drugs are a common way of escape for those who cannot deal with life's harsher realities.
If their society begins to resemble the existing one, I would be wary of walking MLK Ave. after awhile.
Puffery in the Washington Post?
Submitted by jdripper on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 2:07pm.
How could anyone tell the difference? That entire rag is an homage to stupidity and puffery.
Jack
Reminds me of 13 th century
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 2:16pm.
Reminds me of 13 th century europe, you know, open sewage, garbage piles, the plague.
And so it should....
Submitted by Pilgrim1949 on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 4:18pm.
Our own Ozymandias-on-the-Potomac, the Narcissist-in-Chief, keeps wandering the halls of the White House mumbling,
"L'etat, c'est moi!"
"Ye canne change the laws of physics....." but some politicians believe that with the right legislation you can pretend they don't really apply to your own pet projects...
what do they smoke...
Submitted by wizardjr on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 2:58pm.
before they write this crap?
it's all utopian fun and games
Submitted by kata on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 6:33pm.
until someone spreads TB and someone else brings lice into the camp.
A bucket and a washcloth suffices for a shower? Ew!
So tuberculosis is now in style?
Submitted by drsamherman on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 7:54pm.
This caught my eye: http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2011/11/10/tuberculosis-breaks-out-at-occupy...
Mycobacterium tuberculosis comes in many, many different forms including the dreaded MDRT (multi-drug resistant tuberculosis) and the newer designation HDRT (highly drug resistant tuberculosis used by some clinicians). If the particular strains isolated are of the MDRT or HDRT variants, this will mean extreme trouble for the Occupy movement as tuberculosis is still considered a public health threat after all of these years. In particular, this would give the state and local governments no choice but to act immediately to either severely curtain or simply evict the Occupy movement protesters as these TB strains will spread quite quickly. For some reference information, I don't even know if there are any current trials of newer anti-tuberculosis antibiotics in the research pipeline. Whenever we encounter MDRT or HDRT in the hospitalized patient, they immediately go into an isolation mode and strict contact protocols are observed. With some of the more troublesome patients that refuse treatment, a court order for DOT (directly observed therapy - e.g. watched and forced to take the medications) or even incarceration for the duration of the infection (until microbiologically clean) for therapy can be obtained in nearly every state. CDC takes MDRT very seriously, and more than likely they are monitoring this situation as it is in their back yard.
Tuberculosis has no politics - it is an equal opportunity pathogen that will colonize even healthy patients and linger until the host's immune system becomes compromised even temporarily and then it hits faster than a pro boxer.
Vibrant urbanism
Submitted by Ben Blankenship on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 10:39pm.
The current infestation reminds us old folks of the rancid "Resurrection City" in the city's West Potomac Park close to the LIncoln Monument. That was back in the late '60s following M.L. King's assassination. Officials put a fence around the demonstrators and waited them out through a miserably wet and hot summer. It worked without too much fanfare. Maybe today, our urban Obamavilles (as one commentator calls them) simply need isolation, and let the weather do the rest.
Oakland Urbanism or Vermont Urbanism
Submitted by sentry_99 on Fri, 11/11/2011 - 3:31am.
This is Oakland. This is Vermont.
Vibrating stimuli
Submitted by Pilgrim1949 on Fri, 11/11/2011 - 2:26pm.
Just another case of a Lib getting all orgasmic at the sight of traditional society being dismantled and flushed down the socialist/fascist/statist toilet by a bunch of emotional and psychological Terrible-Twos tantrum-throwers.
The thrill of societal decay and disease-infested debauchery is better than the most powerful vibrator in bringing the Leftist fringe to ecstatic climax.
And they can't even enjoy a cigarette afterwards!
"Ye canne change the laws of physics....." but some politicians believe that with the right legislation you can pretend they don't really apply to your own pet projects...