Occupy anniversary march successful despite right-wing demolition derby

True to my revolutionary record of late, I attended Occupy Cincinnati's 1-year anniversary march today. It turned out to be the smashing success that usually transpires every time the Occupy coalition acts. But after the confrontations that occurred with hostile forces today, there's no doubt whatsoever that the right-wing establishment is ready for the scrap heap of history.

Today's first right-wing crime against Occupy occurred right after I got to Lytle Park. A woman who was about 65 years old approached us and asked what we were doing. When we replied that it was an Occupy event, she sarcastically replied, "Terrific." Then she approached the Abraham Lincoln statue where we had placed an American flag. She accused us of "defacing" the flag by placing it in Honest Abe's hands, and then she grabbed the flag and started walking away with it. She dragged the flag on the ground the whole time - which of course is disrespectful to our national banner. We got the flag back from her after she stole it, and then she yelled, "Fuck you!"

A cop bopped along a few minutes later, and I thought he was going to lecture us about this altercation. Instead he merely gave us a friendly sendoff. He noticed some of the Occupy peeps were using sidewalk chalk - which of course is the same no-no we were cited for back in July. Presumably because city prosecutors were humiliated when I fought my citation and was ordered to pay only $29 in court costs, the policeman didn't cite us. He just said, "Just cool it with the chalk, OK?"

We marched west on 4th Street, and motorists honked their horns in approval. A pizza delivery bloke even rolled up and said, "It's about time you all came back!" Not like we ever left - despite The Media's refusal to cover us.

Then came the obligatory right-wing assault. I was walking the Peace Bike in the rear of the march, and as I was crossing an intersection, some Nazi driving a car with Michigan plates tried plowing into me as he yelled at the marchers. I chased him a couple blocks north and east on the Peace Bike but didn't catch him.

By the time I got back to the march, the fuzz had lowered the boom on us. They were presenting one of the marchers with a bogus citation for marching in the roadway - even though Tea Party hoodlums never got ticketed for all the times they marched in the street. I helped lead the ensuing display against this roguish police action, as I was in no mood to let it go unchallenged.

We marched on to Piatt Park for a bippin' good general assembly. Lots of serious Occupy biz got done. At the GA, some Occupiers broke out the sidewalk chalk again. Police rolled by repeatedly and - not wanting to suffer more courtroom humiliation like that which occurred during the summer - said nothing. I have no hesitation about mentioning all this, because any resulting prosecution of Occupy only helps our cause.

We resumed the march and trudged over to Washington Park. After a brief speech at the gazebo, we sauntered across the street and found ourselves in front of the hated 3CDC's digs. It should be no secret that we brang down the hammer against 3CDC's fascism. Hardly anybody in the neighborhood likes 3CDC, so 3CDC is a fair target, and I'll defend almost any action Occupy takes to fight this secret society of faceless corporations. We used adhesive police tape emblazoned with "OCCUPY" to block the entrance to 3CDC's building and deposited one of our banners festooned with balloons on their front steps - along with a sign I made that said "CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE." We care not if 3CDC's spy cam caught us, and I even mouthed insults at the camera. When we were walking away, I saw a young woman with a camera emerge from another building. Her shirt suggested she was with some organization allied with 3CDC. I was able to see her angrily photographing the exhibit we left behind.

Disband 3CDC, and we wouldn't have to do this. Simple as that. In the face of injustice, resistance is a duty. 3CDC has ruined public spaces and forced out countless neighborhood residents, and 3CDC earned every last smidgen of the treatment they got today.

It was a day full of energy for Occupy Cincinnati. That's the Occupy I know and love - tough, defiant, decisive. Not submissive and wishy-washy. It appears as if we still have every bit the oomph we had a year ago. I'm not in the least bit ashamed of showing the best of the Occupy wing of Occupy. I'm a progressive populist, dammit, and if it means I have to bare my teeth, so be it!