COMMENTARY | Chaos and anarchy continues to reign at the various "Occupy Wall Street" sites around the country, where a motley crew of people have gathered to create their own autonomous and, by all accounts, dysfunctional societies.
According to Oakland Tribune, "Occupy Oakland" has devolved into something resembling "Lord of the Flies," after the classic novel and movie in which a group of British school children are stranded on a desert island and proceed to turn on one another. In this case a group described as "bullies, the mentally ill, drunks, thugs and anarchists" have turned the encampment into something resembling a state of nature, where the strong terrorize the weak, and where ad hoc rule making has caused a combination of anarchy and oppression.
At "Occupy Baltimore" rape victims are being urged to not report their attackers to the police, but rather to a "security committee" that will investigate the incident and, if necessary, provide "counseling" to the perpetrator. Speaking of rapes, one is reported to have occurred at "Occupy Cleveland" when a 19-year-old student was ordered to share a tent with a man named "Leland" who then, it is alleged, sexually assaulted her. The matter was not reported to law enforcement until two days later when the girl related the incident to a professor.
A participant of "Occupy Seattle" has been arrested for exposing himself to young children at least five times. In one instance, he approached a pair of 13-year-olds playing at a public park and "performed a lewd act."
Back at the original "Occupy Wall Street" residents who have the misfortune of living around Zuccotti Park are up in arms about the behavior of the participants. Public defecation, harassing and insulting residents as they make their way to work, and incessant noise are just some of the complaints coming from the residents of the Manhattan community that has been overrun with protestors. People are concerned about the safety of their children with the chaos that has ensued. A rash of thefts have already been reported in the park as well.
Several protestors at the "Occupy Des Moines" protest reporting having been assaulted by four teenage boys, apparently as part of a mugging attempt.
In a bizarre twist that accentuates the crime wave now consuming many of the "Occupy Wall Street" protest sites, Batman himself may be on the way. "The Dark Knight Rises" is due to begin filming on Wall Street, just a short distance away from Zuccotti Park. How a film crew is going to deal with the chaos that reigns in that part of New York can only be imagined.
