a screen grab from the live stream of me addressing OccupySF as the police massed for a raid on our camp. this because we had a tarp over our kitchen, which we were allowed to have after agreeing to take down tents.
politics of the occupation aside, we are providing a community service that SF is barely able to do these days: we are feeding, clothing, sheltering, keeping safe, and giving society’s most vulnerable members a sense of community and acceptance where formerly they had scorn and the cold concrete of Justin Herman Plaza. are there druggies? yes. are there “hippies”? yes. but are these people not worthy of the food and things we were providing? a society is judged on the way they treat their animals and most vulnerable. San Francisco’s safety net is collapsing, as are those of cities across the globe. and the police dumped fresh food and veggies all over the ground, threw away food, water, anything we couldn’t evacuate in time. the very stuff we were giving to people FOR FREE, that they have no money to buy and cannot live without. for me, i cannot think of a greater crime.
EDIT: i want to add that several occupiers were beaten, anywhere from 3 to 7 arrested, much of our equipment was broken or confiscated, but we are still here. we still occupy Justin Herman Plaza, we replaced our tarps, there’s a dance party going on and people are settling in for the night.
