On Wednesday, the Oakland police donned their riot gear and moved into the Occupy Oakland protest. With rubber bullets and gas canisters, they cleared a public plaza. Their actions, however, led to injuries, and a strengthened resolve among the protesters to take back what they had claimed and continue their protest.

The difference is that Oakland Mayor Jean Quan has given them a figurehead to rally against, to target their anger towards.

But on Thursday, Mayor Quan began singing a different song, one of acceptance and invitation. Now, the official position of the city is that the protesters can stay as long as they want.

From NBC Bay Area:

Jean Quan is the mayor of Oakland, but she doesn’t call all the shots.
That was the message the city’s chief executive delivered in the wake of Tuesday’s violent police eviction of the Occupy Oakland encampment in front of City Hall, in which an Iraq War veteran was severely injured by a police projectile.

“I don’t know everything,” she said to reporters, after completing a flip-flop on the city’s stance towards the Occupy protesters, who will now be allowed to stay, she announced.

Read the full article here.