Occupy Davos's Igloo Camp Sounds Cold, Influential

Rachel Maddow's blog team predicted this would happen way back on Halloween day, but Occupy is finally getting igloos. The funny thing about igloos is that they're predictably difficult to build -- they're made of ice, after all -- but surprisingly, pleasingly warm. On Monday, a group of activists identifying themselves as Occupy Davos "unveiled their igloo accommodation" at the anticipated destination of the annual meeting in Switzerland of "the rich and powerful people," to borrow a couple of quotes from Reuters' story about the planned protest. This is going to be fun to watch for at least three reasons:

1. Switzerland is really cold this time of year. As mentioned, igloos are a particularly warm dwelling made of ice, but they are made of ice. And the idea of an Occupy camp made of igloos is intriguing, given all of the commentary from Occupy Davos's older sibling protest in New York City -- we're referring to Occupy Wall Street, of course -- about how the movement stands to suffer at the hands of Father Winter. As Maddow Blog mainstay Laura Conaway suggested in October Occupy types are pretty optimistic about the chances of the movement surviving the freezing cold, despite anti-Occupy types naysaying the notion. In igloos, it seems, the protesters can stay pretty toasty.
2. Igloos are hilarious. They are, let's admit it. However, they're easier to build than those complicated camping tents -- see below -- and much harder for police to destroy.
3. Davos is an even more meaningful destination than Wall Street. Yes, Occupy started on Wall Street, and the street is now synonymous with the One Percent that the 99 Percerters are hoping to expose. It's hard to think of a more One Percent-friendly place that Davos. It's a ski resort in Switzerland! Probably really close to where everybody is hiding their money from the tax man! In conclusion: if the activists are trying to make a meaningful statement by occupying (pun, unavoidable) a meaningful space, they've succeeded.

  
Original Article
Source: the Atlantic Wire