“But you can’t make people listen. They have to come round in their own time, wondering what happened and why the world blew up around them. It can’t last.”
― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

Occupy started as a protest about wealth inequality and the collapse of the banking sector due to neo-liberal economic, casino capitalist policies which in the UK and many parts of the world have resulted in austerity policies from right and centre right governments.

Occupy has had a big impact and been part of wider movement on this. But your going to need allies and alienating the Queer community is just plain stupid. There must be lots of issues that bought Occupy into existence which the people living around the Heath could reasonably be interested in that might help grow the movement and help raise the debate on this. Gay men cruising is not one of them, neither is using overtly homophobic language.

Cuts to services and unemployment disproportionatly effect minorities such, including the LGBT community. You should be thinking of how to make solidarity with us, not alienating us.

Silly, silly, silly.

Apologies appreciated, or I’ll come down with me kitten heals and give you all a good talking to!

Exactly what is Occupy’s stance on the gay community as Sullivan would indicate that Occupy is a homophobic group?

It is managed by the Corporation of London, but it’s hard to interpret their management as being particularly evil. The fees for swimming in the ponds that they were talking about trying to enforce are £2. Find me somewhere else within 10 miles of central London that you can swim (safely) for so little (N.B. all three ponds have lifeguards, changing rooms that need to be cleaned, buoys and other water facilities that have to be maintained). The dog walking ordinances were just about trying to regulate a shared space.

You ask why the occupy movement should not occupy it. I think that the question should be: what would they achieve by (re)occupying it? They’d be drawing attention to one of the most popular things that the Corporation is involved with; they’d be occupying part of the most accessible free natural outdoor space in London; they would provoke an increased security presence in what is currently one of the most democratically accessible bits of London and, for all their best intentions, they would probably, if Finsbury square is any indicator, make part of the heath a less enjoyable place for many other visitors.

https://twitter.com/HamandHigh/status/212970043850489856

Down with trees and having picnics under them!
Drain the bourgeois lakes!
Put an end to socially unjust kite flying!