Kentucky Occupations Standing Their Ground

They haven't been visited by many celebrities, and the police haven't bulldozed or pepper-sprayed them - yet - but Kentucky Occupations in Lexington and Louisville are hunkering down and hanging in.

Laura Ungar at the Courier:

With no sleeping bag and only a thin tent to protect him from the blustery winds, John Masters braved the cold Sunday night and Monday to take a stand against poverty, racism and other social ills through the Occupy Louisville movement.

“My toes about fell off,” said Masters, 29, a political science student at the University of Louisville who slept under several blankets and had to run back to his apartment and get thicker socks.

Masters was one of about 20 Occupy Louisville protesters who stood their ground at Founder’s Square downtown despite the wintry weather, which brought flurries, strong wind gusts and a high temperature of only 34 Monday.

The National Weather service expected temperatures to dip to 19 degrees overnight, with wind chills as low as 8 degrees. And today’s temperatures were only expected to inch up to 26 degrees.

Several protesters said weather is no deterrent. Some were gathering in three tents with heaters, while others remained in unheated tents.

Charles Spray, a 26-year-old construction worker who was recently laid off, stood outside, wearing a coat, gloves and a warm mask that covered his nose and the bottom of his face. He said he has an insulated sleeping bag in his tent.

“The reason why I’m here is corporate greed,” Spray said. “It’s been kind of decent weather until today.”

The city had previously said that all tents must be removed from the park by Monday.

Occupy Louisville had requested a temporary injunction that would prevent the city from evicting the group and seizing its 20 or so tents. But last week, that was rejected as premature by Jefferson Circuit Judge Irv Maze, who denied the request until a full hearing can be held Friday in front of Circuit Judge A.C. McKay Chauvin.

Find, support and join the Occupation in your town here.