OccupYrCorner - 5th and University, San Diego

In support of the Occupy San Diego Benefit Concert at The Ruby Room in Hillcrest, San Diego on Wednesday the 14th, OccupYrCorner took the the intersections around The Ruby Room to talk to Hillcrest residents about things we were happy to know they were already talking about! From topics of NDAA to Banking Bailouts to moving to amend city and state constitutions banning corporate personhood, we had 7 occupiers and one chaperone covering the Corners and inviting all to the concert at 7:30pm.

We started the night at 6pm (we have found that an hour and a half is a good amount of time to get some action happening) and, like the mighty ninja, we each just appeared on the corners—silently—as each persons schedule allowed until we had the entire intersection occupied within minutes.

Some highlights of the evening:

• We have created a small science of the practice, quickly ascertaining which corners were "cold" and needed large, visible signs to incite honks and waves; while others were "hot" with a variety of medium and handheld signs doing the trick with stopped cars and pedestrians.
• After speaking with a pedestrian reading one of the "Ditch Your Bank, Join A Credit Union" signs, she told us she had been hemming and hawing but after our talk she was going to go and make the switch! Another said it was her New Years Resolution!
• Occupier Pete brought a sign that said "Honk if you can't afford your own Politician!" assuring us many honks from cars, trucks... and busses! 
• A great moment was seeing a very tall Occupier Mark walking up the street donning a Guy Fawlkes mask and waving a large Adbusters flag, giving peace signs and waves to cars as he began rounding the corners of the intersection.
• We were happy to have an impromptu chaperone join us. He was actually there in support of Occupier Mark, but we quickly convinced him to have his cameraphone on hand in case of any undesirable attention. We have been lucky to have a chaperone at each Corner Occupation thus far.
• Occupier Pete also brought along his own "Move To Amend" petition, doubling up OccupYrCorner's impact and maximizing reach! 
• Occupier Linda and Occupier Anoki discussed with a security guard inquiring about our little practice, and upon handing him a flyer and telling him what's up, he explained how he saw exactly what we were talking about and our ideas on how to start change were smart.
• Occupier Susan, Holly, and Johnny all used their Pocket Protester hand held signs like champs, not being afraid to go right up to cars and busses, talking to passengers and drivers at lights, flyering and inviting to the concert.
• Occupier Holly happily reported that she later saw some people she talked up about the concert at the Ruby Room, who quickly thanked her for the invite. 
• Occupier Dave and his friends followed our Corner Occupation with one of their own, taking up a second shift of occupying as we moved on to represent at the Ruby Room! 

An awesome experience watching every Occupier talking to people right now about things that are going on right now! At the concert later, everyone was happy to find our little Occupy Your Lunch table tents representing throughout the club! 

Another OYC-related news item: while attending a GA at Freedom Plaza in San Diego, Anoki was approached by the awesome Dante, who quickly helped him stage a Corner Occupation with Occupiers Ernie, Mike, and DT. We took to the Corners of 5th and Market as well as 5th and F St in the Gaslamp, taking on the night-time crowd and talking to San Diegans about how Occupy is doing, what are next steps are, and how everyone can help to fix everyone's future! 

Finally, we were thrilled to see that when the going got tough at the Occupy Port Shutdown on Monday, the Occupiers stood their ground... and occupied the intersection! Hooray!