The cops in one southern city were busy this past week cleaning a group of Occupiers from the front steps of City Hall in the middle of the night.
The city of Athens, Georgia--home to 30,000 University of Georgia students--has long enjoyed a reputation as a unique southern setting. In November of 2010, GQ Magazine called Athens one of the 'coolest small cities in America."
Self-described as a "hotbed for music," Athens has launched groups like the B-52s, R.E.M. and such notables as guitar wizard Leo Kottke, and jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux. "If heaven is full of artists and hipsters, it will probably be something like Athens," gushed Southern Living magazine in a September, 2011 listing of "The South's Best College Towns."
But there was nothing cool or hip about what happened in the early morning darkness in front of Athens City Hall this past week---as controversy over the city's proposed third Wal-Mart turned ugly.
In the pre-dawn hours of March 7th, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department evicted a small group called "Occupy Athens" from City Hall. The group had been tenting for several days in front of City Hall in protest of the secretive handling of a Wal-Mart proposal by city officials.
According to a press release posted on the Athens police website:
some persons had set up six tents that blocked sidewalks on the City Hall campus adjacent to City Hall and the Spirit of Athens statue, placed unattended signs on landscaping, and defaced the statue base. Organizers of the protest had publicly indicated that the unauthorized encampment would remain for an indefinite period. Police officers notified persons present at the encampment that they were required to remove the tents and other items related to the encampment and gave them ample time to move before facing arrest. Officers' directives were adhered to without incident.
But the Occupiers who were removed from City Hall, presented a much starker picture of what happened:
At 3:30 am on March 7, 2012 at least 17 Athens-Clarke County police officers, including the chief of police, arrived suddenly and without warning, to threaten us with violence and arrest if we did not vacate 'City Athena.' Occupy Athens established the City Athena encampment on the grounds of city hall on the afternoon of Saturday, March 3. We have lived there peacefully and without incident; that is, until the police created around us an intimidating circus of force in the wee hours of the morning, away from media and prying public eyes. This cowardly suppression of our First Amendment rights illustrates how little the State, and in this instance the Athens-Clarke County government, thinks of the public's voice or will.
Four days prior to the City Hall eviction, the Athens Banner Herald reported that Occupy Athens planned to stake out City Hall "until the Athens-Clarke Commission agrees to hold four public hearings on the proposed downtown Wal-Mart."
Occupy Athens charged that city officials and a Wal-Mart developer met privately last September to dramatically alter the use of a major riverfront property in downtown Athens. Mayor Nancy Denson asked the Economic Development Foundation to go into executive session, according to the local newspaper, "ostensibly to discuss hiring a project manager for the river district, also known as Blue Heron." But instead of discussing the Blue Heron---a proposal for a $25 million office/research park---the Commission in private voted to kill the Blue Heron park, and replace it with a 100,000 square foot big box store. The Mayor since has acknowledged that the private meeting was illegal under state law.
Occupy Athens said it wanted the city to hold four town hall meetings about the Wal-Mart plan, and asked the Mayor to apologize for holding closed door meetings. Mayor Denson refused to apologize, and a spokesman for the developer made it clear no public meetings would be held. "It's hard to have a dialogue with groups that won't take us at our word and insist on dressing up as zombies, accuse us of brainwashing, recording protest songs, and knowingly spreading falsehoods about the project all while claiming they just want to talk," the developer said.
"All we want is a transparent, open conversation," a spokesperson for Occupy Athens told the newspaper. A reasonable request, even for zombies.
Before the City Hall eviction, another group, People For A Better Athens, had been working for months to focus attention on the negative repercussions of a third Wal-Mart in Athens."The construction of a big box store in downtown Athens will devastate the existing local business community," the group wrote, "and threatens to turn a vibrant downtown area into a ghost town of shuttered stores and empty buildings."
People For A Better Athens presented the city council with more than 17,000 signatures from Athens residents opposed to the Wal-Mart location. "We want to see our elected officials execute an Athens-based vision for downtown development that will better benefit the local citizens and enhance the long term viability of Athens," the group said.
Underneath the cool veneer of this community, which calls itself "the Classic City," is a classic battle for the Spirit of Athens. The local newspaper has been printing anonymous comments on its website about the Wal-Mart confrontation. "I am going to live in a tent and not bathe till you do what I say!" one blogger wrote. "I wonder how many occupiers own property and/or have permanent residence here in Athens?" another asked. "They claim to be peaceful law abiding citizens, yet they come to Athens and deface our property. Good bye and go home, we can fight our own battles thank you very much!" Both Occupy Athens and People For A Better Athens have been described as "hate groups" by their critics.
The Occupy Movement nationally has given local residents more confidence in their ability to take on the 1% corporations like Wal-Mart. The ruckus in Athens, Georgia challenges the notion that in the deep south everyone goes along to get along. "We have made city officials nervous," Occupy Athens explains, "that the people of this town are no longer willing to swallow their half-truths and hurried explanations for illegal meetings and backroom dealings with Wal-Mart cronies."
Every Occupy group in America has a Wal-Mart nearby. The battlelines are being drawn---right down the middle of your hometown.
Al Norman is the founder of Sprawl-Busters. He has helped citizen-activists fight big box sprawl for nearly 20 years. His new book, Occupy Walmart, will be published in May of this year
The University of Georgia is great, some of the music venues are wonderful, and there are few neat local businesses (unfortunately "MUSIC CITY" has only 2 record stores, one of which doesn't carry new releases), but other than that, it's nothing spectacular... unless you're under 25 or over 60.
There are some great modern bands as well, but people are obsessed with mentioning REM and B-52s every time they mention Athens.
I'm a liberal, and against the Wal-Mart being put downtown, but there is only 1 Wal-Mart in Athens proper right now, the other is in Oconee County (Athens Metro). I personally saw the Occupiers had taped or written words on the Spirit of Athens statue, which is also true. I think the City of Athens just doesn't want to be inconvenienced by protesters so they kick them out of whatever area they're occupying.
We are not a bunch of "dirty hippies" etc., we are retirees, working people, teachers, journalists, attorneys, political candidates, law students, etc. and we even have a Mormon/Republican former Marine who served in Afghanistan, and all manner of members of our group.
I have reason to suspect that many of the negative commenters on various articles regarding our movement and the Walmart debacle are planted on the various websites in order to harass our members, mislead the public, and otherwise give the wrong impression about our group and our purposes.
They are probably the same people who holler "get a job" and destroy the property of others out of hatred, not to mention a total lack of understanding that we are interesting in protecting the interests of all citizens, not a privileged few, in our city and in our nation.
To the group, “Occupy Athens,” I say, stay peaceful. And, do not become scared off by the bullying of the local government or Walmart’s transparent attempts to intimidate you with anonymous name calling in the press.
Peaceful demonstrations used to be a cornerstone of change and open dialog. I suspect Walmart wants to create angst among the “Occupy Athens” participants. Wouldn’t they love to silence any member of the community who opposes the illegal closed-door government?!
I am starting the Occupy People Who Use The Word Occupy To Justify More Rent-Seeking or Special Interest To The Detriment Of Others....I will call it Occupy Occupy or perhaps Occupy Haters!
My mother loves shopping there….she is on a fixed income and cannot afford to support the rapacious prices of mom-and-pop who only care about mom-and-pop and charge the poor as much as they can. My mom should be allowed to spend her money the way she wants.
Let me guess, you do not like liberty, property rights, etc if it involves people making choices not to have to pay more to support greedy mom and pop’s and union jobs? Typical progressive…never seen a right you do not want to take from someone else.
Kai
And while you're asking for honesty and transparency and good behavior, you're now on notice that I expect you to do the same: Who are you, do you work for the city/county, for Selig, for Walmart or???
None of the accusations you have falsified here are true. Nobody has defaced or destroyed ANY property except the minions the opposition have sent to harass our members and disrupt our peaceful demonstrations.
If you don't like that we have the right to demonstrate, find some other location to stick your Walmart or some other country where limiting Constitutional and God-given liberties is acceptable: We are not accepting it here in Athens, GA.
And if you don't like demonstrators banging on pots and pans (because apparently our voices aren't enough to get the due process we are seeking), then I suggest you get some earplugs.
I wonder if the protestors were against Walmart, or against government corruption....
4 town Hall meetings with public officials and Seilig officials present to hear the voices and input of the people
A formal apology from the Mayor for her admittedly illegal activities.
As a protester I personally dislike the idea of a downtown Walmart- but what I absolute appose is the organized attempts by government officials to ignore and/or silence voices of the people of Athens. I also absolutely appose the total disregard the city officials have shown for the laws they have sworn to uphold.
Our favorite part begins around the 14 minute mark where we start singing to the cops and they have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on.
The fact that Nancy Denson and Doc Eldridge think that a walmart in downtown Athens will improve the "classic city" makes me think they care way more about money from real estate than the city itself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jucaw-_6ffQ&context=C427674fADvjVQa1PpcFPutiqpNtxQ_fti9vDpqUFeTwcm1K8DNeE=