Photo Credit: Mauro Heck

During a gathering with a group of University of Iowa students Tuesday morning we discussed #OccupyIowaCity. The perception of those participating in the occupation was that College Green Park is well organized and a safe place to be. The Daily Iowan noted, “In contrast to Des Moines, #OccupyIowaCity has had no conflict with local police.” That could change as the group’s stability operations continue.

One student reported that the general assembly spent two hours Monday night discussing whether to apply for a permit to rally this coming weekend. Check out the GA web page here. The general assembly decided to apply for a permit, but rally regardless of whether the permit was granted. As #OccupyIowaCity increases the number of direct actions taken, while using College Green Park as a base of operations, there could be pressure from the community to break up the occupation. Taking direct action has been part of #OccupyIowaCity’s plan from day one, so there is a sense of impending conflict at the colorful and now peaceful tent city. It seems too early to tell what the community reaction would be to a longer term occupation and potential disruption of business as usual.

I heard a source of potential conflict at the soap box I attended Monday night. A key value of #OccupyIowaCity is becoming a place where a person’s voice can be heard. For an hour, people got up on the flattened cardboard that represented “soapbox” and spoke for up to five minutes. One gent took two turns, and no one seemed to mind. There were deeply felt statements, some rants, some offers of community support and issues advocacy while I was there. Matt Ohloff gave a pitch for Food and Water Watch, a woman spoke about a project she was working on related to the Regency mobile home park and Steve Fugate of the Iowa Renewable Energy Association spoke of making his own fuel and offered to bring a solar powered battery charger for occupiers to use with mobile phones and laptops. It was an orderly event.

There was a diversity of opinion about Wells Fargo, one of the targets of #OccupyWallStreet. Current and former customers of Wells Fargo got on the soap box and spoke, laying out positions that contrasted. One person liked Wells Fargo because they have nationwide branches and he could access his funds wherever he traveled. Another person spoke of the dollars Wells Fargo spends on legal matters and settling class action lawsuits. Another spoke of the benefits of using a local credit union or bank instead of Wells Fargo. It was clear that direct action against Wells Fargo was contemplated by some of the occupiers. If the general assembly decides to take action against a business like Wells Fargo, the attitude and behavior of law enforcement could quickly change.

When I was in the military, we would call something like the current activity of #OccupyIowaCity a stability operation. In this context, that means, the occupiers seek to reestablish an approach to living in society that benefits the 99% rather than the 1% at the top. This is an historic role the United States Military has played. There is even an Army Field Manual.

#OccupyIowaCity is wise to attempt to work within the current social order by applying for permits, maintaining good relationships with law enforcement and the like. As the internet meme says, “It is only class warfare when we fight back.” The challenge for #OccupyIowaCity will be when they take more conflicting positions with regard to the status quo, when they begin to fight back. One hopes the pragmatic approach taken to the occupation thus far will continue when the action heats up.

Check out Mauro Heck’s photos of #OccupyIowaCity on Flickr.

~ Paul Deaton lives in rural Iowa.