Occupy LA Rebounds Mightily

I just returned from the post-police raid Occupy LA General
Assembly which convened, with permission from the mayor,
at 7:30pm on the west steps of City Hall. Approximately 200
people sat on the steps in clusters of ten, forming some 20
affinity groups with the same agenda: "what do we do next?"

When it came time for reports from each group, there was
no rehashing the events of the previous day. Every person
who spoke was clear, focused and articulate. They accepted
dismantling the City Hall encampment as signaling the need
to move forward in different directions. One common theme
emerged from virtually every report - the need to decentralize
and reach out to neighborhoods across LA taking the "we are
the 99%" message to as many people as possible.

Because some familiar faces were missing, there must have
been a previous decision for certain people to get arrested
while others did not in order to have a core group who could
maintain momentum. Apparently, the need for horizontal
decision-making must have been  abandoned temporarily.

I left this meeting more hopeful than ever before recognizing
that the Occupy LA movement is not only resilient, it is dynamic.