It might not be a series of police invasions that put an end to Occupy Wall Street–the snow might do that. In New York City and most of the northeast, it will soon literally be freezing. What will Occupy Wall Street protesters do to keep warm? It appears they’ll be moving inside, taking the movement to a whole new level.
Dealing with Occupy Wall Street Snow
Getting out of the cold is a real concern for the Occupy Wall Street protesters. The average low temperature in New York for December, January and February is 31, 26 and 28 degrees, respectively. These three months average 2.6, 8.3 and 7.1 inches of snow as well.
This makes the weather no idle concern. People can die in temperatures like that, to say nothing of what will happen if people use unsafe methods of heating, such as open fires. Some, however, are coming up with more creative solutions to the problem of Jack Frost.
Occupy Wall Street Winter Tents
Winter tents, the type the military use, are one way to keep warm in the colder of the northeast. The Occupy Wall Street General Assembly approved the purchase of 20 such tents–adding another $20,000 to the cost of occupy wall street–to help keep occupiers insulated during the bitter cold of a New York City winter.
While such concerns might not be paramount for Occupy Los Angeles or Occupy Phoenix, they are of grave, life-or-death importance to every city with an Occupy movement in just about every other part of the country. Most of these local movements do not have the resources that the main movement has.
Occupy Wall Street Protesters Move Indoors
The impending cold, coupled with the repeated police crackdowns have had many Occupy Wall Street protesters wondering about the next move. Clearly, occupying parks and financial districts around the country has gotten some attention, but many wonder how to push the movement forward.
The answer? Move it inside.
No one is talking about occupying the local mall. Rather, Occupy Wall Street protesters see a natural ally in the fight against foreclosure. Across the country, Occupy movements have begun squatting in houses left vacant by the housing crisis. This is part of an overall strategy to hook up with other movements with similar goals.
Occupy Wall Street and its related movements won’t just be taking up residence in abandoned homes. They’ll also be helping to fight foreclosures before homeowners are successfully evicted from their homes.
While some might take exception to the squatting, the Occupy movements will certainly gain a head of steam in public support by helping victims of the foreclosure crisis.
The Future of Occupy Wall Street
One thing is for certain–the Occupy Wall Street movement and its satellite movements are evolving. It’s not just the rash of police crackdowns and park evictions. It’s something as elementary and unavoidable as the winter’s snow.
The Occupy Wall Street protesters don’t seem to show any signs of breaking up. Indeed, they seem to be stepping up their game and gaining an increased militancy in the face of police attacks and freezing cold weather.
Hold on to your hats, America. It’s going to be a bumpy winter for sure.
Even here at Occupy Phoenix, which launched in October in 96 degree weather, winter is a concern. As soon as overnight temperatures dropped into the 40s a few weeks ago, we started seeing mild cases of hypothermia, as well as one severe case that ended up requiring emergency care on the first night of cold weather. We don’t expect snow—at most, we might see a few flurries amidst the rain now and again, but even rain is fairly rare around here—but we do expect to continue to see people go hypothermic, as overnight temperatures have been in first the 40s, then the 30s and last night, briefly, the 20s. So far, we’ve had 1 severe case, 2 moderate and 5 mild, but thankfully we’re beginning to acclimate to the cold, and are much better prepared now to prevent and treat cold-related illnesses on-site than we were when temperatures first dropped. Layered clothing, periodic deliveries of hot food and drinks throughout the night, hand-warmers, blankets, and the fact that we’re all watching out for one another have all done wonders to keep everyone as safe as possible given the cold and our determination to occupy around the clock. Still, we’re eying the oncoming stretch of winter warily, are hoping our brothers and sisters at other Occupies will stay safe and healthy, and are doing what we can to educate ourselves and prepare.