October 23, 2011 07:00 PM UTC

A Much Better Saturday For Occupy Denver

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• by: Colorado Pols

Westword’s Kelsey Whipple reports:

The close of tonight’s Occupy Denver concert was a completely different scene from only one week ago. Although it ended with police presence, the number of cops left is the same 10 to 15 who stayed from last night until about 5 a.m. to monitor those who have grown used to falling asleep to the sound of honking. The most important difference, however, is that the night ended without altercation…

“Our goal right now is really just to play it cool,” protester Scianda Long says. “We’re still not going to leave, and we have no plan to, but we also have no plans to get arrested again. We’re keeping things as peaceful as possible.”

…One of the reasons tonight’s turnout might have been lower than expected is the lack of police altercations within the last week, which helped to raise the group’s attendance at last weekend’s rally. Instead, the day focused firmly on entertainment and community-building. (Aside from dirty pots, zero evidence of any of the Thunderdome’s several meals throughout the day remained in the kitchen at its close.)

The night’s entertainment included a diverse mix of rock and electronica artists and public speakers, including the American Indian Movement’s leader Glenn Morris and local electronica act Whomp Truck, for an evening that eventually ended with blown speakers and a mix of both talented and terrible dancing. The result was a surprisingly subtle progression from a week that ended with 50 arrests.

Some reports have suggested that the crowd for yesterday’s Occupy Denver rally was a bit smaller than the several thousand who marched last Saturday, others have told us that the crowd’s peak size yesterday afternoon was comparable to anything they’ve seen. Either way, we consider it a very positive development that the focus of the Occupy Denver protests is turning away from conflict with city and state elected officials over camping in downtown parks, and back toward the actual message of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Needless confrontation over justifiable enforcement of the law made it difficult for many sympathetic to the broader goals of these protesters to get behind the protests as they were playing out here.

The fact is, the first real winter weather of the season is expected to hit Denver this week. Because much of the United States is not blessed with the fine winter weather enjoyed in, for example, Tahrir Square in Cairo, it was always the case that the Occupy Wall Street protesters were going to need to switch tactics seasonally. In New York City, the protesters have obtained indoor storage space, and are making realistic plans to keep their organization together through the winter months. Also, let us just say we would have arranged for this well before now, Port-a-Potties are expected to arrive in lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park soon.

As a movement that claims to represent fully 99% of Americans, and by extension 99% of the people of Colorado, what is needed from the Occupy Denver protests is more functional engagement. Instead of being marginalized by arrests and unsanitary campouts in the heart of the city, if they can spend these winter months organizing among the majority of ordinary, law-abiding citizens who agree with their message–and yes, peacefully show up in big numbers at least every Saturday–it will help them achieve the legitimacy they’re looking for.

Because as you know, and some fear, there’s a lot of nice weather forecast in 2012…