Mayor Quan lost.
After variously pleading with and threatening #OccupyOakland over the last several days not to shut down the Port of Oakland, she decided -- wisely -- that it was stupid to risk potentially violent confrontations with thousands of protesters as they marched on the Port.
The Mayor could have chosen to accept this defeat graciously and speak out against the injustices the #Occupiers decry. She did not.
She could have chosen this moment to speak on behalf of the Port truckers, who have shit jobs and are preyed upon by the megacompanies who hire them. (See the trucker's letter in the 10:31 AM update of the referenced diary. The Port shutdown was partly to highlight their plight.)
She could have wheeled that into a discussion about economic injustice, the lack of jobs in her city and the plight of those who do have jobs but go without medical care because they lack health insurance.
Instead, she decided to cite the #Occupiers for "Economic Violence."
The Mayor could have chosen to speak out about the foreclosure crisis in Oakland. She could have praised the efforts #Occupy Oakland, Just Cause and others have undertaken to call attention to the banksters' swindles perpetuated on thousands of Oakland residents. She might have called on #Occupy Oakland to join her in working on a program to give the homeless homes, and to stop the continuing evictions before they happen.
Instead, she chose to be petty. This morning the Mayor chose to send a a crew of city workers to remove the tree sit that Running Wolf had established in Frank Ogawa Plaza / Oscar Grant Park a month ago.
RunningWolf in the tree at the Plaza
At 8 a.m., public works crews started dismantling a structure erected in the tree in early November by Zachary RunningWolf, along with three other wooden platforms...
RunningWolf was not there this morning when police arrived. Two other tree-sitters, who go by SittingFrog and Jenna, voluntarily came down after police told them crews were going to dismantle the structure.
Police said that structure was deemed to be illegal lodging and that human waste had been found under the tree.
hyphy_republic Jaime Omar Yassin
#oo Tree sit was taken down at some point this morning. 100 city employees taking it apart, reports that cell, wifi blocked--unconfirmd
This is the same Mayor who ordered the Plaza turned into a lake, and then turned on the sprinker system during the rally yesterday afternoon. Perhaps she and her friends got some brief amusement -- watching the public get sprayed unawares -- as they looked out her office window atop Barad-Dur City Hall, looking at the thousands of the 99%.
Frank Ogawa Plaza / Oscar Grant Park -- photo courtesy of Smellybeast
What is the Mayor thinking? To put it unoriginally, it's a Quandry.
3:34 PM PT: DING!
geekeasy Adam Katz
Can someone please ask @jeanquan if her husband and daughter were guilty of "economic violence" when they marched on Nov 2? #oo #ows
3:49 PM PT: Alyssa is back on the job.
alyssa011968 Alyssa
#OccupyOakland vigil still here. Tepee is here about 15people organizing. Tepee and vigil