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View Full Version : WaPo Occupy D.C. mob has created a “vibrant brand of urbanism”



red states rule
11-11-2011, 03:49 AM
How does the liberal Washington Post handle the violence of the hippies in DC? They publish a fashion and home interior review on the hippies

Real hard hitting journalism here folks




To passersby, it is a jumble of tents and blue tarps, the iconic symbol of the displaced, the temporary, the makeshift. Set against the orderly but dull architectural backdrop of McPherson Square, the Occupy D.C. encampment is a low-slung and seemingly haphazard arrangement. But it has made this sleepy public space, used mainly by office workers and a few residents of nearby luxury condominiums, one of the busiest public squares in Washington. To use the argot of urbanism, the protesters who installed themselves at McPherson Square (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/occupy-dc-at-mcpherson-square-the-tent-village-at-night/2011/10/20/gIQAnEEg1L_story.html) on Oct. 1 (and another group that has occupied Freedom Plaza a few blocks away) have done what so many planners, designers and architects strive for but fail to achieve: They have “activated” the urban core.

Whether the Occupy movement, which has taken over parks in cities across the country (http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/wall-street-protest-continues-for-third-day/2011/09/19/gIQAKqbffK_gallery.html), fizzles or grows, whether it has resonance and can translate its message into concrete change, are political questions. But looked at solely as an aesthetic and cultural phenomenon, it has deep roots in ideas with established pedigrees in the world of art and architecture. Its anti-consumerist ethos, its impatience with the media and its love of theatrical intervention in city life make it a direct heir of the Situationists (http://www.cddc.vt.edu/sionline/), a radical European avant-garde collective begun in the late 1950s with ideas that remain influential today.

It might also be considered a living exercise in do-it-yourself (or DIY) urbanism, a trendy movement that strives to engage ordinary people in a hands-on approach to shaping and claiming public space.

And it seems a perfect fit with an exhibition, “The Interventionists (http://www.massmoca.org/event_details.php?id=38),” which opened at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in 2004. The show surveyed artists and activist groups that sought to “disrupt daily life” in creative ways, challenging the control and design of urban space. It included guerrilla groups such as the Biotic Baking Brigade (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Biotic-Baking-Brigade/109480349070323) — famous for throwing a pie at Bill Gates — which “believes that under neoliberalism, we can all throw a pie in the face of economic fascism,” and the video work of artist Alex Villar (http://www.de-tour.org/), who films people occupying urban space in odd and unconventional ways.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/in-mcpherson-square-occupy-dc-creates-a-vibrant-brand-of-urbanism/2011/11/09/gIQAPBNa6M_story.html

ConHog
11-11-2011, 12:22 PM
How does the liberal Washington Post handle the violence of the hippies in DC? They publish a fashion and home interior review on the hippies

Real hard hitting journalism here folks

Kind of an odd article, but otherwise unobjectionable. They didn't really defend what the OWS fools are doing, they merely commented on their architectural affects.

red states rule
11-12-2011, 05:55 AM
Kind of an odd article, but otherwise unobjectionable. They didn't really defend what the OWS fools are doing, they merely commented on their architectural affects.

and compare this fluff piece to the op-ed style hit pieces that the Washington Post has ran on its front page as a "news" story when it came to the Tea Party - and you will see which side the WP is on