Pictures that speak the truth about Occupy LA are on my web site laststandla.com
I drag myself up to the portapotty at about 7 AM. Lucky me, I was wise enough to remember to bring cleaning stuff. No one is using it and it is the one used most because it is the only one facing the sidewalk. I will save describing the mess but it had already been seen by many so my cleaning brought many brownie ( a definite pun) points. To do this on a regular basis, I have bought paper towels, laytex gloves, a scrub brush, and tons of disinfectant. The portapotties are simply suctioned not really cleaned. I have spoken to the guy who comes daily---we are making his work much more difficult because of the cans and bottles being thrown in. I have to clean this because I must use the bars etc. I am not doing a good deed but what must be done.
I am not writing a witty little opening because the occupy movement is one continual presentation of evey day obstacles that must be solved. Getting consensus on the big stuff remains almost impossible, without everybody behaving responsible we would be imploded not slowly sinking as we are.
I go back to my tent and sleep some more.
When I get up, I am back out on the sidewalks cleaning. If I were a bus commuter, I would find the people most distracting. I would be really unhappy if I had to step through piles of garbage waiting for the bus.
Two older women come up and talk to me. They say they are from Santa Barbara. They ask me to take pictures of them standing by various signs etc. I do. Then they borrow my hat and my broom and dust bin and take pictures of themselves "sweeping." They say they want to help and will come down once a week. I have never seen them again but that does not mean they are not here. My hope is that they at least donate. If they are tea baggers, I have been gracious and kept my committment. If they are liberals, they are back to their keyboards and now have the pictures to prove their committment.
Tonight the GA meeting is mostly about rather or not we will incorporate into a 501c3 0r a 501c4. There is much bruhaha about this. It is going nowhere but back to committee. The splits are starting to show big time. There is also again alot of time taken up about coming to consensus which is also sent back to committee. We are told there is 15,000 dollars in the kitty and that there was a substantial collection from Saturday's great surge but we are not told how much. The 15,000 was before that. The biggest expense is the portapotties.
In between this, there is a young guy who is given the microphone repeatedly on an emergency basis so he can rant about occupy long beach and get a bunch of people to go down there and prevent a raid. During his rant, he tells the group that the swat team was at occupy LA last night and they faced them down.
Since I was out on the side walk sweeping, I both saw and heard the so called police encounter. First, some guy had gotten so drunk that he was making a mess in several people's tent and they called the police. They were there and calmly going to arrest him for disturbing the peace. There was no big confrontation of anything. Certainly no swat team of any kind, presence or form.
After his rant, I go up to one of the people that I see in what appears to be some kind of leadership position and I ask why they are allowing this? I point out where I was and how and what I saw. I say this is a kind of fear mongering and is not the lack of truth one of the things we oppose?
They tell me everyone knows the real truth of this and nothing has to be said and this guy is free to do his own thing. I can get that. But why is he given their microphone to do it? This is my first seeing of our own forms of kabuki dance. It confuses me and makes me doubt what is really going on.
As time passes dealing with my doubts becomes a bigger issue.
I have now found someone who will create a website for me about all these issues. It is called laststandla.com. In the top right hand corner you can click on the people and the messages of a mass accumulation of signs at occuply la. He can teach me in 15 seconds but the problem is I cannot learn in 15 seconds. Everyone give us patience as this evolves.