It's past 12:45 am. Despite the midnight time limit for using Jamison Square in the Pearl, coupled with the threat by the major to block anyone from occupying the Pearl's main family-oriented park, things were at a standoff. Protesters were closely positioned in a circle of about 80 people, chanting and yelling their opposition to the anti-camping rules, while a light mist fell in the chilled 54 degree Autumn morning.
Quite the scene it was, as there were more bystanders hanging out along the perimeter sidewalks on all four sides. The bystanders appeared to be made up from - no doubt - part residents of the three condo buildings and a low-income rental building that surround the park, part curious onlookers from outside of the neighborhood, mixed in with the police and the news trucks and their cameras. A little smoky, but mostly misty, surely all these people were waiting to see what sort of confrontation would take place.
Because of the way the buildings surrounding the park are built, if you're two blocks away as I am, they are barely audible, so it's not very easy to tell that something was going on, there. I've heard concerts louder than the protesters, at Jamison, from my building, to be frank.
One condo owner was blasting some club-trance music. I'm not sure what that was about, but it contributed to the weird circus environment that was the Occupy Portland's Pearl sleepover.
For the record, a LOT of homeless folks are freely occupying Portland public parks, sidewalks and empty lots -- I should know, because I walk past most of them at night and know where all the popular spots are, since they're almost all within 3/4 of a mile from me. The police won't bother them unless they're disturbing others, are intoxicated and causing a ruckus, or someone complains. For this breakaway group to protest anti-camping regulations in Portland, is somewhat insulting, destructive and highly irrelevant to the concerns of the disparity between the 1% and the 99%.
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