The article I read is about the Occupy Austin movement and the recent arrests and rule changes that have affected them. Occupy Austin has been going on since October 2011 and is a smaller version of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Last Friday night, February 3, 2012, Austin police arrived at Austin’s City Hall Plaza at 9:45 pm and informed the protestors that they must vacate the premises by 10:30 pm. According to Austin’s new rules, no one may inhabit the plaza between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am.

            Many protesters left willingly but some resisted. Five arrests were made for criminal trespassing. Protesters were upset by the aggressiveness of the Austin police force. They reported being attacked by police with batons as the began to march down I 35. They were also disappointed that they were not given 24 hours notice to vacate.

            Occupy Austin is an example of people acting so that their government pays attention to what they want. These people are sacrificing hours and days of their life to “speak out” against what they feel is government hypocrisy. We, the USA, are a nation governed by the people and that is why this movement is so important. Throughout history, change on a large scale has often occurred when the population speaks out. So many Americans are raising their voices against our government supporting corporate greed that change is bound to occur.

            In the end, it doesn’t matter whether or not we agree with this movement because this is our democracy at work. Those that disagree are welcome to form their own coalition in opposition to Occupy Wall Street. I think this is an important article because it is describing history in the making. One way or another the people will prevail and I am excited to be part of it!