Reports from Occupy: 10/19

San Francisco

By Diana Macasa, with MaLychai Casper

OCCUPY SAN Francisco has been gaining momentum daily. The encampment has continued to grow to the point where, on October 15, after the big march as part of the international day of action, it was moved to Justin Herman Plaza to accommodate the growing number of campers. There will still be a minimal presence at the Federal Reserve building.

The number of people participating in General Assemblies and working groups continues to grow as well.

Occupy San Francisco's growth was exemplified in two major actions last week, when thousands of people poured into the street to declare that "We are the 99 percent" and "Enough is enough."

On October 12, hundreds of activists and protesters gathered in the early morning hours at the Occupy SF encampment on Market Street. A march went through the downtown financial district--or "Wall Street West," as it has been branded by protesters. The demonstration was called by a coalition of around 40 unions and community groups, including Just Cause, Unite Here Local 2, Service Employees International Union Local 1021, in conjunction with Occupy SF, to highlight the foreclosure crisis in California.

The march ended by encircling the main Wells Fargo branch in the financial district where groups of protesters sat and blocked all four entrances of the bank by linking hands. Protesters were intent on "Foreclosing on Wall Street West" and taped "people's foreclosure notices" on Wells Fargo.

At each entrance, there was a mini rally, and people chanted in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Cantonese, Arabic and Farsi. Speakers included Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine and Clarence Thomas of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10. An official from ILWU Local 21 in Longview, Wash., also spoke--talking about the struggle to defend the union against conglomerate EGT Development, which has led to the arrest of 232 people in support of a union with 200 members.

Clarence Thomas told the crowd: "Last night, the executive board of ILWU Local 10 voted to become a part of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Make no mistake about it: our power as workers lies with us being able to shut things down. That's how we won the great strike of 1934, and that's how we're going to be able to put the breaks on the 1 percent."

Naomi Klein said that the Occupy Movement was "about standing for another kind of society governed by other values because capitalism is not just destroying the economy, it is destroying the earth. It is destroying the system on which life depends. This is one crisis. We reject it. We will articulate our alternative."

On October 15, thousands of activists assembled in front of the Federal Reserve Bank building in downtown San Francisco for another march, which was in conjunction with thousands of other worldwide protests in solidarity with Occupy Together.

Protesters marched along Mission Street to Yerba Buena Gardens, and then to Union Square, stopping in front of City Hall at Civic Center for a massive speakout. The march then ended at Justin Herman Plaza to mark the beginning of our new encampment space.

Silvia, an underemployed protester who moved out of San Francisco due to the increased cost of living said she came out today because of "frustration!" She said, "I felt there was just a few of us frustrated. It has been going on for a long time--too long. It's good to know other people feel the same way I do. It gives me hope."

Christina, who was at an Occupy SF protest for the first time, said, "This is the first issue that has pissed me off enough to get me out in the streets. Corporate greed is what got the economy where it is, while we the taxpayers footed the bill. It's not fair. The media is criticizing us, making us look like we're not a serious movement, but we'll show them how serious we can be."

A City College of San Francisco student who recently got involved in Occupy SF talked about his hopes for the movement:

It's amazing. I just love seeing the city so energized. Everyone is pissed off over the same thing. As I become more involved, I have a lot more invested in the movement. Our lives are changing. The whole world is changing. It's encouraging to see this movement getting bigger.

We need to be more organized, but I'm gathering invaluable experience. Even if this movement doesn't win in the near term, we're making progress toward the long-term struggle. Looking around at thousands of people here in SF makes me feel like we can do it. We can take back what's ours, redistribute the wealth in this society, end the wars and save the planet.

The most amazing show of solidarity on Saturday was when the thousands of people at the march opened up their wallets and contributed money to the "Bail Out Purple" fund. Purple was arrested and brutalized by police during raids on Occupy SF's encampment, and a defense campaign is underway. Protesters chanted, "Arrest the CEOs, let Purple go!"

Anyone who would like to get involved in Occupy SF can find out more information at the OccupySF.com website. General Assemblies are at 6 p.m. Sundays to Fridays, and at Noon on Saturdays at the new encampment in Justin Herman Plaza.

We have much more planned to send a loud-and-clear message to the 1 percent: Something is wrong with the majority's wealth being taken by a minority of people who did nothing to create it. A better world is not only possible, it's worth fighting for.

San Diego

By Nikolai Smith

STARTING WITH a march of over 2,000 protestors on October 7, Occupy San Diego continues to thrive despite a police crackdown on the morning of October 14 that resulted in two arrests and activists being maced and beaten by police with batons.

As police impounded all but one of the remaining tents out of more than 100, protestors shouted "Thank you for stealing our home!" But afterward, occupiers brought new tents and supplies to the Civic Center, where their encampment had been set up for more than a week. The Civic Center is the heart of San Diego's political power structure, and lies in the shadows of the local headquarters for Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

Throughout the occupation, there have been daily downtown marches, with protesters carrying signs such as "I've got 99 problems, but the rich got none." Protestors are specifically targeting banks that have been bailed out and pay, as one student said, "less in taxes than I do!"

Hundreds of students, workers and community members maintained the Civic Center space, which has several food stations (serving thousands of meals a day to the community), clinics, a comfort station with a massage table, and 12 committees democratically organizing in areas ranging from demands to safety to marches.

Speak-outs have included calls to work with the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israeli apartheid and to support the hunger strike of California prisoners for their rights and better conditions. Educational meetings have ranged from a history of genocide and resistance in the Americas, given on Indigenous People's Day, to organizing meetings for Iraq Veterans Against the War, to a discussion of the role of civil disobedience presented by the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality.

Canvass for a Cause, a local group organizing around LGBT rights and fighting the prison-industrial complex, held a forum to involve more LGBT and female occupiers in the General Assembly and encourage the role of allies in creating safe spaces for discussion and occupation after instances of hate speech at the camp.

In addition, the San Diego County Labor Council has endorsed the occupation, and the electrical workers' union is planning a teach-in on workers struggles. Many community members have joined in, including one 30-year homeless veteran who spoke at a General Assembly, saying, "I've been occupying San Diego for a long time, and I'm glad that you have all finally joined me."

An overarching concern for the occupation has been the role of the police, who have consistently lied to protestors about their use of the public space. "They told us that this was private ground and that the right of one property owner supercedes the rights of the hundreds of us here," said Josh Funn, one of the occupiers and a member of San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice. "This was a lie, and they have spread other misinformation such as telling us to leave several times throughout the week or we would be arrested."

The day before the October 14 crackdown, police set up checkpoints stopping community members bringing in supplies, such as a bookshelf--they even blocked a child from carrying in a lemonade stand to fundraise for the occupation and an elderly man from bringing in a chair. In each of these instances, protesters surrounded the police and were able to get the supplies brought in.

On October 15, in a protest marking the 10-year anniversary of the Afghanistan occupation and as part of an international day of action, more than 1,000 San Diegoans snaked through the downtown streets, demanding taxing the rich and an end to the wars and budget cuts.

Speaking to the protestors, an activist from Kenya echoed the global solidarity of the occupation:

You have won, as you have chosen people over profit. I was at the Battle of Seattle, and Cancun and Copenhagen, and we hosted the World Social Forum in Nairobi. And for the U.S. citizens to have woken up allows me to attest that the people of the world have taken over, and you should not go backwards. You must continue to occupy and continue to say corporations are not people, and don't have a face and are the source of evil in this world. Just like your government, which has led war, you will lead peace.

Going forward, Occupy San Diego is discussing how to build an "Occupy the Hood/Barrio" movement and connect to people of color who have been disproportionately affected by the economic crisis. Other plans focus on education, from teach-ins on the role of the banks to outreach with local high schools.

"The movement is growing daily, and new committees are formed with new structures being discussed, such as moving to majority or 90 percent decision-making as many are saying they never consented to consensus [100% agreement]," Josh said.

"When this occupation started, many believed that we could be 'apolitical' or 'neutral,' and win over the 1 percent and the police. Now, many are realizing that the interests of the 99 percent and the 1 percent are mutually exclusive. What's good for them is bad for us, and what's bad for them is good for us."

Fort Worth, Texas

By Andrew Teeter

OCCUPATIONS INSPIRED by the Occupy Wall Street movement have spread to at least eight cities in Texas, including Fort Worth, in the northeastern part of the state.

While sleeping in public is illegal, Occupy Fort Worth had established three tents on the public sidewalk for food service and rest. The legal team at the nearby Occupy Dallas found a legal precedent allowing tents in public as part of the exercise of free speech, so the occupiers set out to defend the tents, writing on the outside, "This tent is in accordance with the First Amendment."

October 15 was the largest day yet for Occupy Fort Worth, with around 150 people marching through downtown and making their voice heard for the United for Global Change day of action.

After the march on Saturday, several bands played in the city park until officers showed up with a police truck and began confiscating the tents. By the end of the conflict, five people were arrested, and several more received citations for occupying the tents they believed were there legally.

If the local legal team succeeds in proving that the tents are part of an expression of free speech, Occupy Fort Worth will have won a great victory. The next step here will be to reach out into the community, asking organizations, unions and churches for support for those arrested and for the movement.