OCCUPATION STATION Your Guide to Hella Occupy Oakland 10/10 – 10/13 What is Hella Occupy Oakland (HOO), you ask? Haven’t you heard, don’t you know? People are sick and tired of being sick and tired- sick because they can’t afford to go to the doctor, and tired from working two jobs to keep up with an unrealistic mortgage or provide semi-decent food for their kids. Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is the one that started it all, and now we’re bringing the fight to the West Coast, along with our friends in SF, Sacramento, and all across the Golden State. It’s true that HOO was started as a show of solidarity with the OWS guys, and don’t get me wrong, I think that’s great. But just as NY and CA have cultures that have evolved independently, our Occupy demonstrations are going to need to tailor themselves to the needs of the people involved in them. Trust me, this is no walk in the park (was that a pun?). At OWS alone over 700 people have been arrested so far, no laughing matter. Not only that, but we’re facing an uphill battle. We don’t merely want reform. The system isn’t broken; it’s working perfectly, and that’s the problem. The HOO website has this to say: “Our goal is [to] bring [the] power back where it belongs, with the people, so we can fix what politicians and corporations have screwed up.” Or, to quote an activist I
met on Day One it’s about, “… mutual suffering and the belief that we can only overcome if we unite, not to fight each other as we’ve been taught but to fight the real enemy, which is none of us.” Until we see the type of drastic change called for by all of the Occupation demonstrations across the country – and 103 cities involved so far – this type of action will not end. We’ll keep on camping here – and anywhere else that we can take back. So, whadda ya say? Can I offer you a tarp? Welcome to Oscar Grant Plaza on Ohlone Land That’s what the sign said, big as life, when I showed up at HOO on Day One. Frank Ogawa Plaza is the ‘official’ name for the place (for now). There was a drizzling sort of rain that didn’t stop protesters from showing up en masse in time for the 4 o’clock commencement, and despite the wetness amps were blaring speeches from one end of the park. And what was the main message on that first day? “We are the 99%! We are loving! We are happy!” For all I could see, that was true. There were kids running around the ankles of activists waving signs. One Lol Catzinspired sign asked, “I can haz bailout?” Other signs focused on
everything from the GlassSteagall Act (Clinton couldn’t say no to his banker buddies, it turned out) to the plight of California’s prisoners. In fact, I think that the diversity of issues being addressed at this Occupy is a critical part of what’s supplying its energy. I’ve heard it said that this is the reason no clear demands or goals have been stated as of yet, and that may be true, but it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. See, the Occupation is the demand. Every sign you can see when walking around Oscar Grant Plaza is declaiming the same issue. All of the problems being tackled here spring from the same source, the corruption of the system that we are forced to live within on pain of being ostracized. “There is no specific thing you can do in order to make us ‘go away’. And the last thing we want is for you to preserve your power, to reinforce your role as the ruling classes in our society.” Say Cheese Forming a sort of perimeter around the plaza were news vans from all the major local stations. I spotted an NBC van, too. But the real journalists of Day One were armed with cell phones. I wouldn’t have been able to count all the kids I saw walking around taping whatever interested them, like the sign spinning guy in red short shorts or the whoever was on the microphone at that moment. Check Youtube, you’ll see what I mean. At 6PM all those lenses turned on the square right in front of city hall, where the speakers had been set up so people could sit on the steps and listen in. A helpful cop (they’re people too, remember) told me the police estimated a thousand in attendance. Let me repeat that. 1,000 OAKLANDERS SHOWED UP FOR
THIS IN THE F***** RAIN. Not bad, right? Oh, and just to spread the good word, there’s a number you can all if you get in trouble. Arrested, injured by cops, whatever. Ask anybody in Oscar Grant Plaza, they got you. Aside from that bit of info being given, songs were sung, speeches were made, and then people started getting down to the serious task of making sure the camp would be able to survive the night. I counted about 20 tents before leaving. Hey, the revolution ain’t happened yet. I still gotta work. Day Two Starts With a Bang It did for me, at least. After work I got down to Oscar Grant Plaza about 6PM, just in time to see a big organized drum circle doing their thing. There was a dance troupe grooving to the sounds and – I kid you not – a couple guys doing a capoiera routine. The crowd watching was getting into it too. Man, what a welcome. The next thing I noticed was how much the camp had changed over 24 hours. It really deserved to be called a camp now. I counted over 50 tents set up! And while the crowds were (understandably) diminished after Day One’s peak of one grand there were still plenty of people milling around. Hella Occupy Oakland was showing all the signs of being in it for the long haul. Lets Organize Not only had the camp grown in size, it had evolved dramatically in its organizational structure. The main improvement was the institution of a General Assembly every evening promptly at 7PM in order to fill everyone in on what has been going on and what’s going to happen, as well as to hear proposals for new actions and outreach. Also new is a
Logistics Meeting every morning, which is charged with the task of keeping the camp running smoothly. And the committees, I’ve never seen such committees. There’s a food committee and a sanitation committee, an action committee and a media committee. The info booth was a welcome sight, making sure anyone confused about the issues being raised has access to relevant literature. A food tent had been set up to take care of all the Occupier’s nutrition needs and to make sure that folks wouldn’t have to leave the plaza at all, pretty much. And to top it off a first aid tent was up and running when I got there, which is too cool for words and all kinds of important. What Do Teachers, Service Employees, and BBQ have in common? At Occupy Oakland the answer is Port-O-Potties. A major problem for OWS starting out was bathroom facilities, the same at a number of other Occupy demonstrations. But here the Oakland Education Association, the Service Employees International Union Local 1021, and Everett & Jones BBQ hooked us up with some much needed relief stations. They weren’t the only ones coming out to lend a hand. Councilwoman Desley Brooks slept in the tents on Mon. night to show solidarity with all of us here in Oscar Grant Plaza, and musician Lupe Fiasco turned up at the General assembly today. Along with a few words of encouragement he helped out big time with a fat donation of tents, food, potable water (super necessary!) and a freakin’ power generator. You rock, Lupe! Plenty of other folks were donating everything they could buy or otherwise get their hands on, from food to supplies for
making more signs and banners. And the support didn’t stop at bringing in goods. Yours truly took some time to wash a few dishes, but the heroes who had been at it all day long put me to shame. It’s not fun, so come on folks, wash your own stuff! I even heard talk of setting up a children’s area with supervisors which is amazing seeing as kids were still visible everywhere and no one wants the lil’ people getting hurt in case something goes down. All in all, the energy was out of this world. People wanted to help, and were eager to in any way they could. You know, I have a few dishes around my apartment… Hello, Oakland On Day Three Hella Occupy Oakland sat down and had a quiet, friendly chat with the city at the daily Logistics Meeting. Arturo Sanchez, the Assistant City Administrator, had this to say: “We have no intention to ask the occupiers to leave. We all support what you are doing here… we all want this to survive.” Nice, huh? Well after that the city immediately handed us a list of demands, which read something like this: 1) Do not attach or otherwise tie down tents to trees of city property. 2) Do not barricade, put a tarp over, or otherwise impede the use of the benches stationed in the plaza. 3) Do not urinate or defecate in public. 4) Obtain a permit from City Hall for the use of any amplified sound equipment. Permits will not be withheld, but they are mandatory to avoid police intervention 5) Move the Port-O-Potties to a more suitable location
6) Clean up the plaza. The city will provide trash bags and cans to aid. OK, I can admit that some of those are pretty reasonable. In fact nearly everyone else did too, which is why the General Assembly didn’t address them at all when answering the city. They did have something to say about some of the others, though. 1) HOO agrees to stop tying off tents on city property when the property is returned to the original owners, the Ohlone Indians. 2) HOO agrees to stop barricading benches when California agrees to stop barricading its prisoners in solitary confinement and to stop the gang injunctions that are plaguing parts of our city. 3) Permits? This is an occupation; the point isn’t to ASK for something, it’s to TAKE it! We’ll have to see what the city says about all of this, but for my part I’m guessing it won’t be much for now. OM’s to the Rescue At about 5:30 HOO had its first major medical emergency when a Caucasian male named Tom suffered a seizure. Predictably a crowd formed, and thankfully someone had immediately thought to call 911 but what I was paying attention to was the Occupation Medics (I made the name up, who are you guys?) who arrived from the first-aid tent with surprising speed. In fact not only the rapidity of the response was encouraging, but the professional manner of the OM’s as well. When the fire department and EMT’s arrived they found the situation
well under control, and soon Tom was sitting up on his own and talking to the medics. While no one wants to see another emergency like this it is comforting to know that someone knows what to do if it occurs, and is willing and able to act. And Tom, I hope you’re well and reading this! Another emergency (sort of) situation that developed Wednesday came in the form of a fight that broke out during a break in the General Assembly. Activists crowded around the aggressors, herding them out of the protest. One brave young man stepped forward and yelled, “Leave!” which the crowd quickly took up as a chant. The combatants, embarrassed, left. I’d like to quickly thank whoever stepped forward and the people who joined him. We have to speak out when there’s injustice and wanton violence, that’s what HOO is about. A public brawl is the last thing we need. There’s press around and it would just hurt what we’re doing to be seen on TV fighting each other in Oscar Grant Plaza. Not to mention the fact that a fight would basically be the same as an invitation for the cops to come in, and no one wants that. Can we all agree? Thanks, Philly If you went to the General Assembly on Wed. you probably heard all about the new stuff that’s been going on. The kids area did indeed get created, dubbed Children’s Village. Don’t get it twisted though folks: this is no childcare. You still gotta watch your little ones, but this way people can help you keep them entertained. The supply tent was up and running as well. Anyone who wants to help can stop by and take a look at the list of needed items. Not needed: paint. Apparently there’s way too much and people
are encouraged to use it. A spokesperson for the supply tent had this to say: “We have paper.” A few new committees popped up as well, with one in particular bringing major changes. The propaganda committee was created to handle outreach, and the tactical & security committee is pretty selfexplanatory and is chiefly concerned with handling the glut of people expected at upcoming musical performances. But the real heavyweight of the General Assembly is the new Facilitators Working Group. The Facilitators Working Group (or FWG) was created to help streamline the decision making process that Hella Occupy Oakland has adopted from Occupy Philly. Seeing as it was gone over – painstakingly – at Wed.’s General Assembly I won’t waste the ink. You can also pick up a copy of the guidelines at the info tent anytime. What’s important about this new process is that it makes sure that anyone who has something they want to say can have the opportunity. And that’s huge. Giving a voice to the voiceless is a major part of what the entire Occupy movement is all about. Not everyone seems to see it this way, however. One veteran of May ’68 called the new process, “…too much layering of bureaucracy.” Give it a rest, huh? I mean of course the process isn’t perfect, but that’s kinda the point. We should work together and tweak and fine-tune this thing until we can make it work for us. The Lost Day I missed Day Four, staying home instead to write and therefore all the fun stuff that happened on Thursday. There was a whole amazing lineup of artists including Boots Riley. A poetry slam took place in the evening. There was a walkway, I’m reliably
told, built between all of the tents to keep activists out of the mud. And the General Assembly conducted a neat bit of legislating. In an attempt to prepare for the major action taking place on Saturday, the jobs rally at Laney College that is scheduled to march to HOO in a show of solidarity, the General Assembly addressed the question of whether or not to let politicians speak in Oscar Grant Plaza, namely the Mayors of Berkeley and Richmond. In the end the General Assembly voted to allow them to speak, under the condition that they not be allowed more time than any other activists and that a chance for rebuttal is allowed afterward. Sounds fair to me. Forward, Into the Future Man, I can’t believe what I’ve witnessed this week. Hella Occupy Oakland is amazing, hands down. I am so lucky to be even a tiny part of this historic moment. We all are. And with that said, don’t let our inaction be the cause of this movement’s downfall. Get out there and plan stuff! Do it! Every little bit counts, right? So far what I’ve seen at the organizational level is phenomenal. That will be crucial in coming days as more difficult and numerous problems are put to you, the people, via the General Assembly. But we need more. On the first day I walked around the crowd asking folks whether or not this was the first action, protest, rally, demonstration, etc. they had attended. The answer came out something like 2:1 in favor of repeat activists. That is unacceptable. Get out there and tell people!! Leaving the demonstration Mon. night, soaked to the bone riding BART, I started talking to the guy next to me about Hella Occupy Oakland. He was genuinely interested and asked some good
questions. And then something happened. A person in the row in front of us asked a question. And then someone across the isle. And then a man by the door. They all wanted to know what we were doing, what we wanted to have happen, what we believed in. I didn’t even want to get off at my stop, so many people were
curious. So, let’s take advantage of that. If you’re one of us who have to leave every now and again, take the time to invite someone at work, or the supermarket, or on the bus, to come down to Hella Occupy Oakland. I can almost guarantee they will want to know what’s going on.
That’s it for the inaugural issue. Thanks for reading! If I pestered you with questions, thanks for answering! If you want to help out with the next issue (I need help formatting & getting it printed!) or saw anything that you think should be written about or that I missed or just didn’t quite get, drop me a line at yolamite510@gmail.com -- Yolamite