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Saturday, 2 PM, City Hall, Santa Rosa. Join the nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement here in Santa Rosa. Tax the rich! Tax the corporations! End the wars! Create jobs fixing our infrastructure. Create jobs for teachers. Create jobs for policemen and firemen. Create jobs for nurses. WE ARE THE 99%. Go ahead and surveille us, maybe you'll hear our message.
Star Man
Thanks for posting this. I don't know what will happen, but i'm bringing food, water, blankets, a helmet and first aid supplies.
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Posted in reply to the post by Star Man:
I was thinking I'd bring my Wacco table with lots of water and peanuts, assuming that seems cool at the moment.Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Moon:
Waccos are welcome to use it as a base.
I'm also thinking I'm going to start a new category....
From what I can tell via the internet, Occupy Santa Rosa, is a support protest for Occupy Wall Street, coinciding with similar protests all over this country and the world.
I've been a "member/subscriber" of both the OSR website and Facebook page for about a week and a half. I've looked at videos and comments. I just watched one of a General Assembly at Aroma Roasters about a week ago. They were talking about cleanup, sign making and greeters. Keep in mind that one of the consensed upon principles is non-violence. There does not seem to be any intent to do a long term occupation in Santa Rosa.
But I could be wrong. Maybe this is a prelude to an ongoing occupation? If so, even though I've seen no signs of that, I haven't attended any of the General Assemblies in the last few weeks, it would be smart to keep such plans, if any, on the down low.
As someone who has been active in our "Demonstration Culture" for thirty-five years, there are no signs of impending violence. From the organizers or the cops. I suspect they have a permit for the rally, march and rally. And it's possible to pull such things off here without a permit. (I know because I've done it both ways. With and without prior permission.) We ostensibly have a constitutionally protected right of freedom of assembly.
So, anticipating that events in Santa Rosa will mirror events in New York City strikes me as a bit of an overreaction. Of course it's good to be prepared. To anticipate even unlikely negative scenarios. But from what I can tell, this looks to be a day of your regular symbolic protest.
Since the decision making process adopted by OWS, is one of in situ General Assemblies held twice daily to decide ongoing coordination, structure, goals, actions, demands, etc., unless and until that happens with a similar protest/Non-Violent Direct Action locally or anywhere else? There's really no way to predict whether an ongoing occupation will happen or not. If some people decide to do that in Santa Rosa, it really is up to them.
That doesn't mean there hasn't been egregious repression in Boston and at a few other current/recent occupations in conjunction with, support of, OWS. I just read about the raid in Boston in the wee hours, in which elderly members of Veterans For Peace were brutally manhandled by the cops. But it doesn't mean it will happen here.
If people are worried about pepper spray, which given events in NYC OWS there is a reason to be, then being prepared to protect yourself from it isn't a bad idea. Goggles, respirators, handkerchiefs soaked with water and a little lemon juice or vinegar, full gas masks, water mixed half and half with Malox or another antacid, covered skin using impermeable clothing (I learned once that wool and thick cotton do not prevent mace from soaking onto the skin. And, by the way, Mace is not always the same as Pepper Spray. Google them, the info is easily found in the wikis, if you're not already hip.)
My game plan is to avoid police cordons/kettling and so I'm not planning to protect myself from Pepper Spray. If I thought the goal was to start an ongoing occupation in Santa Rosa, I might prepare differently. But that's not my read of this planned event.
What I see planned is an afternoon and evening of protesting, combined with a likely public meeting, a General Assembly. The Santa Rosa cops have been apprised and if they follow their track record, it's likely the only agro from them will be in trying to pick off the weak and vulnerable on the margins.
That's what they did last May Day, rousting a Latino ice cream vendor for not having a license. They pretty much left everybody else alone, except when they drove their motorcycles aggressively through the park to back up their guys hassling the vendor. He was detained and cited for vending without a license. Given the nature of the crowd, he had plenty of backup, legal observation, legal representation and witnesses, almost immediately and throughout the time of his "interaction" with the cops.
In the planning for OSR, non-violence trainings have been held. There are the usual line-up of civil rights lawyers on hand, just in case (the same three guys, we need some new blood in the movement lawyer ranks here!?).
I anticipate an exciting day of mutual cheerleading, networking and political expression. If things get heavy, I'll be ready, and nothing is impossible. But my best guess is that the odds are pretty low for anything like that happening.
Course, back in 2003 I thought the kids from Nonesuch would be given the chance to leave the Armed Forces Recruiting Center before any chose to be arrested. That's what had happened in the previous two sit-ins. I was wrong. The SRPD shut the doors and arrested the lot of them, without giving anyone the option of walking out. Guess they wanted to make an example of those crunchy alternative high school kids. Boy, was I embarrassed!!! I'd been assuring them they would have a chance to decide at the last minute about whether or not they would be arrested for trespass. And I was completely wrong about that.
So, nothing is certain, but I don't see things getting super agro on Saturday. Unless, OWS is evicted from Zuchotti Park / Liberty Square - Plaza in a few hours and heavy police brutality stirs up everybody around the country and the world.
Then? I'm making no prophetic claims. That might change the dynamic.
We're committed to non-violence. And most will act accordingly. A lot of veteran activists will be in the streets of Santa Rosa on Saturday, and a lot of enthusiastic young people. It's looking good!
Virtual attendance and documentation via@occupysr on twitter & on Ustream. Watch and chat here https://ustre.am/DViB
Twitter hashtag #occupysr
Facebook group: #OccupySantaRosa & https://www.facebook.com/OccupySR
Free live streaming by Ustream
It's Streaming in time for the March!!!
https://ustre.am/DViB
Thank you to all of you there in person!!!:thumbsup: