Another Day Of Post-Eviction Occupy Philly
Walt Hunter reports
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The post-eviction Occupy Philly protesters were still out on Dilworth Plaza Tuesday morning. The ranks have thinned, but dozens of tents remain with only a light police presence.
Morale also seemed to be high, possibly emboldened by the city's lack of follow-up, so far, to its eviction order.
"Nothing has really changed. We still have our meetings. We still have our actions, beliefs, commitments. We're still fighting the good fight," said Justin Murphy, one of the protesters.
One of their actions included what they call a "5 a.m. stroll" to Rittenhouse Square, which was blocked off by police.
The attitude among protestors, who have lived with the looming threat of forced eviction since the Sunday 5 p.m. deadline passed, may be described by a large spray-painted sign in the middle of Dilworth Plaza that reads "Evolve or Die." Members of the movement have been talking about taking their protests beyond Dilworth Plaza.
"Next place could be Thomas Paine Plaza (Where a permit was granted to the 'Reasonable Solutions' faction of Occupy.) After that could be Rittenhouse, Temple University, Drexel University, or The University of Pennsylvania," Murphy said. "It's about growing and spreading, not displacing. The way the city and police imagine it is that they are just going to shuffle us around. But that's not the case at all. It's about diffusion, spreading, growing and accumulating."
In the wake of many homeless people leaving Dilworth Plaza after the deadline, a homeless advocate set up a tent encampment at Port Richmond and says his group has a small patch of ground where about 20 tents are set up.
Reported by Paul Kurtz, KYW Newsradio 1060
