Occupy structure battle

Occupy, occupied, occupying.

I don't know how I feel about yesterday's occupation thing. So...some folks built the skeleton of a wooden shelter overnight. The next morning, the park police asked them to remove it or get a permit for it. They gave them an hour to decide and start to remove it. A General Assembly was held, with some agreeing to dismantle the structure to preserve the wood and slow down a bit and the other arguing that this was baseless intimidation as they had erected a structure that was, to the letter, impermanent.

Anyway, I get there as the police have already roped off the area surrounding the structure with police tape and had just begun to push back further. 3 Mounted cops restlessly rearranged themselves constantly, which were keeping people alert while keeping their horses calm. It was a long, boring event. We all stood there (to make sure that the police weren't going to hurt anyone, to show support and to stand with the civilly disobedient) for hours. Eventually, barricades were set up (any who crossed were arrested), a police building inspector declared the structure to be "Dangerous" and, with the help of an armored personnel carrier and a cherry-picker, the group in and on the structure was arrested. Many arrested that day were released fairly quickly.

I don't know whether I agreed with the occupiers reasons for their stand. I agree that the police presence was disturbing and uncalled for. I agree that the subsequent blocking of many tents by the police was an infringement on the rights of those living in them. I agree that much of the police actions so far are ridiculous and that the ideals of the protesters are more than valid. I don't know, however, if I think that this was a fight worth fighting for. Regardless of whether we agree with a policy like this, it seemed to be a waste of a struggle. If we had deconstructed the building in compliance with the park police, would that not have shown our point of it's 'temporary-ness'? If we tried to work with police and waited until the park police denied us permits would that not have only strengthened our cause?

I just feel that there are going to be a lot of struggles against personalities in a group like this. There have been many people shut out by the government in one form or another and this seems like the best forum to them for airing their grievances. What's next? What do we do?