I spent one day with the people at Occupy Raleigh, and while I was very happy with a lot of the people that I met, and enjoyed the conversations that I had, at the end of the day, I was asked to leave.

       Around 3:00 am, three members of Occupy Raleigh and I were sitting around the fire enjoying the warmth. Two men, in their early twenties, walked up to the park and started taking pictures. I approached one of them, he told me he was press, and showed me his badge, giving me the story that he worked for three different websites and just wanted to get some pictures. I could tell that something wasn't right about him, that he wasn't at the camp to support us, but I knew I had to be nice, show him around, and invite him to take all the pictures he wanted; as Occupy, we believe in transparency and have nothing to hide. His friend had been approached by two of the people from Occupy Raleigh, and he said he didn't have any credentials and just wanted to take pictures for a friend of his. At that point, when the two men were in the camp, right next to the fire pit, things got out of hand. The three protesters from Occupy Raleigh started yelling at the men. They were threatening to beat them up, kick their asses, and in doing so, forced the two men to flee, across the street, back to their car. It only got worse as the protesters ran after them, all screaming, as one of the men continued to take pictures over his shoulder. As they finally made it to their car, the protesters continued to harasses them by standing in front of their car, demanding a fight. When the two men were finally able to leave, they were smiling. They got the story they wanted without ever once threatening anyone with any violence.

       When everyone got back into the park, I wasn't going to keep my thoughts to myself and I told them that the way they handled that situation was wrong and then explained why. I reminded them that this movement is dedicated to being peaceful and that threatening to attack people, whether they are there for your cause or not, is not okay. Adding in the fact, if you give someone in the media something bad to report, that is all they have to show the rest of the world. I also informed them that I, myself, am independent media and have been following the movement very closely, and in reply, two of the protesters began attacking me verbally. I was told that I could not be trusted, told that I had no right to tell them that they need to remain peaceful, and told that they will use violence against anyone who walks into the park and wants to take pictures. I was told all of this over the course of an hour and a half, and in the end, told that I was not welcome at Occupy Raleigh. I was threatened with violence, shoved away about a foot by one of the protesters, and told to leave.

       This is why I will not return to Occupy Raleigh. Although most of the people that I met were very nice, respectful people, the ones who acted that night are just as much a part of their Occupation. They have forgotten why we occupy and have no regard for our principles or our dedication to non-violence. If Occupy Raleigh cannot figure out and resolve their situation they will only fail, and if they continue to allow individuals from their camp to threaten to use violence against the media, then they will only end up hurting the movement in the end. I am BLOCKING the existence of the Occupy Raleigh camp as part of the Occupy movement until all of their camp can accept the principles of non-violence. I am sure that the people outside of the camp are genuine people, who only want to help this movement grow, but that is not the case for some of the people who occupy at the camp.