Was it only yesterday...

...I wrote about Jim Miller's warning that is was possible that extremists would take over Occupy Wall Street? Today's Occupy news is about police cracking down on the protesters. Sure, part of the crackdown is just that the police are losing patience, part is violation of individual rights; but also we have different people turning up at the demonstrations. At least one was carrying an AK-47. A couple were selling dope. A "Kill Pigs" sign was prominent in Oakland. The combination of this type of individual and the lack of leaders makes it easy for the police to feel justified with their behavior and supports one of Miller's theses that participatory democracy is hard to realize once the polis reaches a certain size.