I'd like to think that Occupy Wall Street has not exploded in Sacramento as in other cities because there are stronger community connections here to defuse potential violence in gathering places such as the park across from City Hall.

Violence in Sacramento is centered in disenfranchised neighborhoods removed from community gathering points. Those with the wherewithal to Occupy Sacramento have too much of a stake in the community to push the envelope too far.

Kevin Carter of Occupy Sacramento is a case in point. He wants economic justice, but not at the expense of public safety.

Carter is a childhood friend of Mayor Kevin Johnson, though he takes Johnson to task for being part of a City Council "more for the corporate world than everyday people."

"But we're going to keep our movement peaceful. If you want a resistance movement, you have Berkeley and Oakland," Carter said. "We're not here to destroy anything. This is our city."

Contrast such feelings with violent clashes between Occupy protestors and Oakland police. A man was shot to death near the Occupy Oakland encampment last week, and some news outlets identified the victim as a camp resident. In Los Angeles on Tuesday, five people were charged with multiple crimes, including one man accused of performing a sex act in front of children at the Occupy Los Angeles encampment. Another Los Angeles man allegedly entered a woman's tent, called her "Satan" and punched her in the face.

How does that shake up Wall Street or rally anyone to a cause worth fighting for?

It doesn't. Those cities foolishly let protesters camp around the clock in community gathering places and lived to regret it. On Monday, cities across America began evicting. They began following a model employed with great success in Sacramento.

The authorities here treat the Occupy protesters with respect but don't let them camp overnight. On Tuesday, a judge in New York ruled as one in Sacramento already had – that camping in urban settings is not an extension of First Amendment rights.

Leave people to their own devices in a setting of lawlessness, and bad things happen. Movements become mobs. Opportunists exploit voids in authority and harm other people.

Not so in Sacramento. Carter is tough on KJ but likes him, respects him. Those personal connections allow for civil discourse without violence.

The national Occupy movement seems a massive manifestation of lost souls disconnected from their communities. Without a personal stake in the place where they live or in places where cities ceded order, violence spread.

I hope Occupy Sacramento never stops caring about Sacramento.

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Call The Bee's Marcos Breton, (916) 321-1096.

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