I doubt very much that this letter is going to sway anyone’s opinion one way or another about the occupiers. However, I don’t think it was possible for anyone but the staunchest ideologue to visit the encampment and not be somehow changed. I know I was. That fact says more about what Occupy was, and is, than anything.

Before I state my own views some kudos are in order. First to the police, whose respectful professionalism set an example nationwide. The relationship between law enforcement and Occupy was a symbiotic one. The police visited the camp for information about a missing person just hours before it was destroyed.

Next, I salute the firefighters for doing a thorough and honest job, depriving the mayor of her fig leaf at the eleventh hour.  Stephanie Miner will try to support the fiction that the camp was destroyed as a fire hazard, despite the statements of the fire department and the notice of violation handed out by police during the eviction. Lastly, my thanks to every horn-honker that cruised by because every little bit counts. 

Did I forget anyone? Oh, of course! To the motley band who gave their time and energy to a fledgling cause. To those who endured the cold of winter and the deeper chill of indifference. To men and women who put their hands and their heads to work carving a tiny dream out of this urban dross. Occupy Syracuse has earned my love and respect.

Now that all that is said, my own opinion seems vain at last. We face problems too desperate and profound for a few paragraphs. I only know that I’ve encountered beauty and courage of a most ordinary yet extraordinary kind. That gives me hope.

Macsen Rutledge    

Syracuse, N.Y. 

Published on January 23, 2012 at 12:00 pm