At Occupy LA, a Sunnier Scene

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On a recent Saturday, Occupy LA protestors were out in force at Los Angeles' City Hall. Like their New York counterparts, many are expressing anger with the current economic and financial system, rather than any one policy.

The fate of Occupy Wall Street seems to change with the wind. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has threatened to close down parts of Zuccotti Park for cleaning–only to back down–and insisted that the Constitution does not protect tents.

In LA, however, City Council passed a resolution endorsing the Occupy LA movement headquartered at City Hall. The West Coast 99 percent have transformed the space into a virtual campground. They’ve established many of the same facilities present in Zuccotti–a library, media station, finance department–but they also have portable toilets provided by the city. Artists are setting up installations on the lawn surrounding City Hall. They aren’t banned from using amplified devices, so the people’s mike made iconic by Zuccotti protestors is not as central to day-to-day organizing. Music performances and speeches at this past Saturday’s [R]occupy LA gave the scene the flavor of a festival.

No doubt: the LA protest is inflected with a distinctly West Coast vibe, right down to the bacon-wrapped hot dogs. With permission from the City Council to camp out indefinitely and the cooperation of the mild So-Cal winter, the occupation only seems likely to grow, and perhaps, to outlast Occupy Wall Street.