Saturday, November 12, 2011
The Siege Of #OccupySantaCruz Begins... And A 'Sidebar' About The Treatment Of Veterans In That Namesaked City
"This morning Francis Moore Lappe (world-renowned author of 19 books, including the revolutionary books "Diet for a Small Planet") stopped by Occupy Santa Cruz on her way to San Francisco's Green Fest, to show her support and solidarity with the Occupy movement--especially our local group in light of recent events." [source]The recent event?
#occupysantacruz support needed! all tents in front of the courthouse are being taken down! Come down and show support for the people who have been out occupying, they need solidarity now!
"20 sheriffs showed up in the early morning & the occupy night watch successfully warned all occupiers before they arrived. Tents were taken down after sheriffs began removing tents themselves under the offense of "lodging". 2 tents confiscated, no tickets or arrests. Occupirates put tents on cars to sattiate(sic) threats & followed them back to the courthouse continuously requesting what "lodging" actually consists of. The sheriffs refused to or could not answer." [source]
This is the type of tent that was given by local Veterans groups to homeless Veterans.
Did you see a 'sanitation or safety hazard in those photos?
Neither did I.
Yet, barring evidence to the contrary these are the kind of photos the city presented after a secret city council meeting, later to be presented in a closed door Superior Court session the other day to garner support for a Preliminary Injunction against the encampment.
Here's a shot of the 'Bench-lands' just around the corner and down the hill from the court house building in the City's San Lorenzo Park near the lovely banks of the San Lorenzo Sewage Chan... I mean 'River'! [snigger]:
Not seeing the 'feces' the city claimed to be littering the ground here.
Albeit some winos absolutely delight in shitting and pissing on the county building and it's attached court house whenever possible (and it's been that way since the first wino walked the Earth in Santa Cruz), there is NO POSSIBLE WAY to say the 'poop & pee' incidents have increased since the campers presence, and it's also quite unlikely, as the encampment has a Porta-Can emptied regularly, and available to all.
Unlike the city park's bathroom.
The warning that was handed out in lieu of arrests or tickets:
(click on all document images below for larger copies)
Note the care with which they say they'll handle the #Occupiers personal property.
The city and county are worried about ANY bad PR that could go national or even global if things, for some unimaginable reason, went seriously South.
It wasn't apparent at last year's PeaceCamp2010 demonstration that the sheriffs or the Santa Cruz police department were very concerned with that issue...
...nor did they show concern in their action, with a lot of damaged or 'disappeared' property reported by the protesters. The rest being seriously delayed by the SCPD's property recovery hours. If I remember correctly there were only 2 hours during the work week where the SCPD would arrange to return your property a day or two later.
More information on the California Penal Code 647(e) "Lodging" law, and the PeaceCamp occupation here.
Nevertheless, in spite of the attempts to repress #OccupySantaCruz, we're all expecting a well attended General Assembly today, Saturday, November 12 2010 at 6pm, on the steps of the Santa Cruz County court house.
Iraq Veteran, Marine Corp, hailing from North Carolina, with a furry friend, at #OccupySantaCruz:Occupy Santa Cruz
We gather together as Occupy Santa Cruz in solidarity with the worldwide Occupy Movement. We are individuals committed to promoting justice. We have no leaders. We recognize the right of ALL voices to be heard: our diversity is a source of strength. We present a united front in our non-violent approach to addressing the problems we face and generating solutions beneficial to all. Please join us in creating a better world. We gather 24/7 on the steps of the Superior Courthouse on Water Street. General Assemblies are held daily at 6pm, and on Sundays at 2pm in San Lorenzo Park.
Contact Info to get involved on a local level:
Email: occupysantacruz@gmail.com
On Twitter: http://twitter.com/OccupySantaCruz
How do YOU want to get involved?!
«o» Since I brought up the topic of Veterans, it's just been reported that the unemployment rate for Veterans is now THIRTY PERCENT!
So it behooves us, in the wake of Veterans Day, to discuss the city and county of Santa Cruz treatment of it's own.
This morning's Santa Cruz Senile mentions the fact that it was Veterans Day yesterday by featuring a front page picture of the parade in Watsonville, because not only does Santa Cruz not deem it fit to hold a parade for their Veterans, they and the county have been, dast I say (Dast!... Dast!...), actively hostile towards local Veterans, with the closure of the Bill Motto Post #1588 VFW building under suspicious circumstances and the now ongoing delay in getting the building repaired and reopened.
The building was, and WILL BE AGAIN, the home of the annual community Thanksgiving and Christmas day dinner for all. The county and city were lambasted last year for not making any plan for a replacement community meal venue until complaints by the community at large became too strident and the Civic Auditorium was used, on short notice, in what could only be described as a sterile and non-festive atmosphere.
The county and city's rationale for not acting sooner essentially boiled down to:
"It's not our problem, but since you whined...".
Just in case you wondered how much your city government cares about it's community.
Meanwhile last night, Bill Motto VFW Post# 1588 (Facebook page), which I might mention, is the only avowedly Anti-War Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in the United States, DID NOT 'parade'.
They engaged in a drum circle in front of O'neil's Surf Shop across from the Cinema 9 theater on Pacific street in the heart of downtown Santa Cruz, with a group of traditional Lakota Sioux drummers, under a cabana, in the rain.
#Occupy. (period)
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