I was ambling about near the courthouse recently (don't ask me why) when I espied an anomaly peeping out at me from a landing on the steps of City Hall:
Odd's, fish! What fookery is this? thought I. —Mayhap it's those "Occupy" rascals again, battering at the gates of local government.
A closer look confirmed my suspicions.
Clearly, this situation wasn't normal; as a citizen journalist, I was ethically bound to investigate.
[TBC]
I like the "Impeach Bush" sign in the background :)
Into the tent I went, and there I found divers friendly folk, including:
¶ Michael: an out-of-work journalist and co-promoter of Seattle's own HempFest.
¶ "Hippie": a "reformed career criminal who's startin' to fly right."
¶ John: a carney.
¶ Nate: a Political Science major.
¶ Frank: a registered nurse.
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Pictured above are Michael, John, and Frank. Frank has a three-day-old shiner, which he got while ejecting a disorderly visitor.
Nice fellows all, notwithstanding the somewhat less-than-flattering quality of my photography.
In case you're wondering, this group has a temporary permit, renewable weekly, to be camped out here. In this sense, they're different from the larger group that was once at Westlake (now at SCCC) and was never officially permitted, to the best of my knowledge.
They even have official badges that allow them to move about on the premises unhindered.
How cool is that?
Given the tent's proximity to City Council offices, I expected Frank to tell me that councilmembers occasionally poked their heads in to say hi, but such was not the case. According to Frank, no councilmember had ever visited.
Official Occupy Seattle boom box:
Official Occupy Seattle toaster:
What else I learned from visiting with Frank:
Although the folks at City Hall are there with the approval of the group's leadership and are part of the movement as a whole, the demographic at City Hall is a bit different. The average age is different for one thing, obviously. The vibe is mellower, for another; there's less emphasis on rules and structure. At City Hall, they're too small to run lots of "working groups" like the main movement does. They don't seem to be as focused on marches and other actions, either. They're more into keeping up a presence — showing the flag, so to speak — in a different part of town.
Since they're so handy to the King County Jail, they serve as an informal debriefing point for Occupy arrestees as they're released from jail.
Finally, the City Hall camp occupies a very strategic location, so whenever there's a City Council meeting, they can just trot up the steps and attend, keeping an eye on the Council's doings and making sure councilmembers are following through with their commitments to the ideals of the movement.
When I asked Frank whether he felt the movement was accomplishing anything, he proudly told me that Occupy! had already influenced the City Council to take action on the mortgage foreclosure crisis. He then read to me at length from a copy of a recent Council policy resolution.
The resolution commences with a lot of whereas'es and blah-blah-blahs and then gets to the meat, to wit:
Section 1. By adoption of this Resolution, the City of Seattle recognizes the peaceful and lawful exercise of First Amendment Rights by "Occupy Seattle" and others. The City does not condone actions that infringe upon the lawful rights of others, obstruct or interfere with the efforts of law enforcement officers to protect such rights, or cause personal injury or property destruction.
Section 2. The structural causes of the economic crisis facing our society require decisive and sustained action at the national and state levels. Cities are harmed by the crisis and must play an important role in the development of public policy to address it. By adoption of this resolution, the City Council commits to the following steps to minimize economic insecurity and destructive disparities:
1. The City will review its banking and investment practices to ensure that public funds are invested in responsible financial institutions that support our community. The Council may also consider future legislation to promote responsible banking and provide an incentive for banking institutions to invest more in our City, particularly with regard to stabilizing the housing market and supporting the creation of new businesses. This review should include evaluating City policies on responsible depositing and management of City funds.
2. The City will examine the number of home foreclosures in Seattle, the geographic neighborhoods in which the foreclosures are occurring, and lender information on homes involved in the foreclosure process, including real estate owned homes. Furthermore, the Office of Housing will work with the Seattle-King County Asset Building Collaborative's Foreclosure Prevention Action Team to gather qualitative data on the circumstances and causes of foreclosures and the foreclosure methods and practices of lenders, including reviewing apparent inequities many people in Seattle face when lender foreclosure proceedings occur.
[ . . . ]
Source:
DBP...thanks for sharing :)
You're welcome, Jan. One more installment to go.
DBP...
well done.
one of the West Seattle Blog's greatest assets is it's citizen reporters...
Before leaving the encampment, I made sure to compromise my journalistic integrity by giving them a five dollar bill and a box of Cracker Jacks (not even opened yet). Then I asked Frank if there was anything the people of West Seattle could do to show their solidarity.
"It'd be good if people came down here to see us. You know, like physically show up and say 'Hi' so you can see our faces, see that we're here. Everybody's welcome to come and visit."
"Is that it?" I said. "Is that all you want?"
"Well, we like sandwiches, too. Coffee and donuts. Stuff like that."
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DBP note: If you do decide to visit, tell 'em David from the Blog sent you. There's no doors on the place, so just yell "Knock Knock" or "Hullo!" from outside the big tent.
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