'A Lot of Tourists Coming Down From Hotels are So Disgusted and Disappointed When They See This'

It's not just the tourists disgusted by what they see. Most residents and Americans are grossly offended by this spectacle. How much longer must we endure this ugliness before the Democrats call off their dogs?

Fed up with petty crime, the all-night racket of beating drums, the smell of human waste, and the sight of trampled flowers and grass, police and neighbors are losing patience with some of the anti-Wall Street demonstrations around the United States.

In Oakland, Calif., police in riot gear fired tear gas and bean bags before daybreak Tuesday to disperse about 170 protesters who had been camping in front of City Hall for the last two weeks, and 75 people were arrested.

The mayor of Providence, R.I., is threatening to go to court to evict demonstrators from a park.

And businesses and residents near New York's Zuccotti Park, unofficial headquarters of the movement that began in mid-September, demand something be done to discourage the hundreds of protesters from urinating in the street and making noise at all hours.

"A lot of tourists coming down from hotels are so disgusted and disappointed when they see this," said Stacey Tzortzatos, manager of a sandwich shop near Zuccotti Park. "I hope for the sake of the city the mayor does close this down."

In Philadelphia, city officials have been waiting almost two weeks for Occupy Philly to respond to a letter containing a list of health and safety concerns. City Managing Director Richard Negrin said officials could not wait much longer to address hazards such as smoking in tightly packed tents, camp layouts that hinder emergency access, and exposure to human waste.

Negrin told The Inquirer on Tuesday night that Occupy organizers were meeting on the city's concerns, and said the situation was "evolving."

In Oakland, city officials had initially been supportive of the protesters. But tensions reached a boiling point after a sexual assault, a severe beating, and a fire were reported and paramedics were denied access to the camp, according to city officials.

When police moved in, they were pelted with rocks, bottles, and utensils, but no injuries were reported. Protesters were taken away in plastic handcuffs, most of them arrested on suspicion of illegal lodging.

Here are some of the "peaceful" protesters in Oakland.