KATV Channel 7 - The Spirit of Arkansas: Inside Occupy Little Rock: Who are they? When will it end?

by Matt Johnson

LITTLE ROCK – Since Occupy Little Rock launched its first march in October, protesters have utilized a peaceful relationship with city officials and law enforcement to advance their cause.

The local offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement is currently encamped at a city-owned parking lot at 4th and Ferry Street, with the blessing of Little Rock Police Department. Whereas the Occupy movement has seen over 4,000 arrests across the globe, no arrests have been made in Little Rock.

Approximately 20 people have camped out with the movement since organizers began their occupation of the Clinton Presidential Library on October 21. The Clinton Center occupation lasted 3 days before LRPD Chief Stuart Thomas gave them the ultimatum of relocating to the designated 4th and Ferry parking lot or be subject to arrests. A city ordinance forbids camping at city parks overnight.

Since then, the diverse mix of protesters, who say they are fighting income inequality, corporate influence in politics, and corporate and financial greed, vow to stay at their current occupation site indefinitely.

"At some point people have to have the intestinal fortitude to stand up for what they believe," said Paul Spencer, who has been with the movement since they began holding initial meetings at the Riverfest Amphitheater October 4.

Spencer has been to marches, meetings, and occupations in between juggling his career as a history teacher at Catholic High School and family, which includes his wife and children.

"My students know that I'm involved in it," said Spencer. "I don't encourage them to become involved in it because it's not my place to do so."

He says school administrators have supported his activism, which began out of frustration with how the richest 1% of Americans has disproportionately prospered since 1979 compared to the rest of the country.

Organizers often point to government statistics compiled by the Congressional Budget Office that shows the household income of the one percent of the population with the highest income grew 275 percent between 1979 and 2007. For the 60 percent of the country considered middle class, household income has grown just under forty percent in the same 30 year span.

A contributing factor to this inequality, protesters say, is a manipulation of lax regulation that inherently favors corporations.

"Corporate greed is an attitude problem that needs to be addressed," said Occupy Little Rock participant Adam Lansky, a recording engineer and substitute teacher with the Little Rock School District.

On Tuesday, Occupy Little Rock agreed on three core issues they plan to petition for. During their daily 6pm General Assembly meeting at the camp, they agreed to circulate a petition that aims to overturn the Glass–Steagall Act, the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court decision, and the repeal of the PATRIOT Act.

"This is something on the same scale as the Civil Rights Movement," said protester Luke Flowers, one of the approximately 10 protesters currently unemployed.

Flowers chose the movement over his job as a dishwasher and was promptly kicked out of his apartment by his roommate the same day.He's called the occupation sites home since the days in front of the Clinton Library.

For laundry, a woman comes by almost every day to pick their laundry and wash it at her house. For hygiene, the Holiday Inn Presidential has been known to let protesters utilize some of its vacant rooms for showering. For entertainment and sustenance, there's now a library and kitchen filled with donated supplies.

"I've been waiting for this since I was 9 years old," said Flowers. "If not here then a different state, if not a different state then a different country. I'll always be occupying."

One of the donors is the Arkansas American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), which has donated over $1,000 in supplies to the cause.

"We have open communication with them and we've told them, let us know if you have a need," said AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Ricky Belk.

Belk's union organization has contributed food and shelter equipment that come in addition to the thousands of dollars in individual donations made since October 21, according to Occupy Little Rock.

With occupations in every major city nationwide, the American political landscape hasn't seen a movement this large in scale since the Tea Party's rise to prominence in 2009. However, it doesn't mean the Tea Party sympathizes with occupiers.

"With no real solid message from the Occupy movement, it's just people just hanging around, camping, just basically camping in city," said Kenny Wallis, member of the Arkansas Tea Party.

A constant criticism of the protesters is how there is an inconsistent message without a realistic shot at bringing about change in the current divisive political climate. Criticisms have mounted across the country as some protests in cities like Seattle, Oakland, and New York have turned violent.

Locally, a commitment to non-violence has been what attracted LRPD to develop an amicable relationship with the occupiers.

"It was always our goal, the police chief's goal, the board's goal not to be in a confrontational type of setting with them," said City Manager Bruce Moore.

Occupy Little Rock has an open permit signed by Moore that enables them to camp indefinitely, just as the protesters always wanted.

"As long as they adhere to the rules, they can stay there as long as they want," said Police Chief Thomas.

There have been no arrests, and no significant confrontations with police since their inception, however, a level of paranoia often runs deep within some of the camp.

Every day a LRPD patrol car can be found parked at an abandoned gas station north of the occupation, there for protection. And despite "We Love LRPD" signs posted along their protective barricade, provided by the city and police, the sight of any additional police cars or media vans prompt intense discussions about a potential raid.

Acxiom, an Arkansas-founded global interactive marketing services company, has recently become a target of protesters because of their involvement in collecting data on individuals and selling it to marketers.

"Do you know about Acxiom?" asked Lansky. "Because they know all about you."

Their 4th and Ferry encampment is located directly across from Acxiom's downtown Little Rock offices.

Several participants a day now spent hours at a time in front of Acxiom's building in protest. Back at the encampment, rumors swirl about the telemarketing giant's ability to monitor nearby cell phone conversations.

"Acxiom conducts no surveillance whatsoever," said Acxiom spokesperson Jonathan Portis in an e-mail. "Our security measures are for the protection of our facilities and employees."

A lack of focus was an early dilemma for the movement during its evening General Assemblies at the Rivermarket Amphitheater that some of the more career-oriented members fear has become a hurdle all over again.

"Honestly I've distanced myself from them until they make their next move," said Spencer, who expressed slight frustration despite standing behind core principles.

Outside of the camp, the speculation about the group's potential for success is even more cynical.

"The people that are inclined to commit a financial crime are going to commit it whether or not an Occupy Wall Street or an Occupy Little Rock movement is in place or not," said U.S. Attorney Christopher Thyer.

Thyer has spearheaded an investigation that brought down Arkansas lawyer and businessman Kevin Lewis in what he called the biggest case of bank fraud in Arkansas history. There's been an 11 percent spike in financial fraud convictions in the past 3 years with the trend likely to continue upward, according to Thyer.

The Arkansas Tea Party brushes off comparisons made between "Occupy" and the Tea Party because there has been no sign of measurable success.

"The Tea Party has elected about over 40 representatives to the U.S. House, we've elected a lot of local officials, we've worked on a lot of legislation," said Wallis.

However, after their latest march to the State Capitol on November 5 aimed against big banks and in favor of credit unions, local banks pointed to an unusual spike in new accounts.

"The Occupy movement has really kind of brought the aspect to the movement that really kind of brought us out of the shadows," said Rodney Showmar, CFO of Arkansas Federal Credit Union.

The AFCU reported its biggest October ever for new accounts.

Nationwide, reports have surfaced showing the amount of times "income inequality" had been searched online had quadrupled since Occupy Wall Street began in New York on September 17. But according to a recent Public Policy poll, support for the movement has slipped to just 33 percent of those polled.

"Ultimately you need clear messages," said Erik Olin Wright, president of the American Sociological Association. "If you never come up with clear ideas and messages, that's, I think, a failure. It doesn't mean however that you have to begin with a clear message."

Tuesday's eviction of New York protesters in Zuccotti Park prompted many to speculate if time is running out on the Occupy Wall Street movement. In Little Rock, the demonstrators are already planning for the winter months by erecting a heated "GAdesic Dome" to hold their daily meetings.

On Wednesday, four members of Occupy Little Rock participated in panel discussion inside of the Clinton Library where they were once evicted. The overflow capacity crowd listened as they denounced the actions of New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and vowed to carry on their protest for as long as it takes.

"You cannot destroy a dream with force; you cannot squash a movement with a nightstick; you cannot evict an idea whose time has come," Occupy Little Rock said Thursday, in a group statement.