OYC: Notes from the Field!

As the harshest of Winter may seem to be behind us, we begin to work toward the dawn of the American Spring! And furthermore, a Spring for Humanity Across the Globe! A time of change and hope and connection, as the seeds that were planted before the winter frost are already just causing the soil to shift, changing the landscape, digging in the roots of progress.

And so we Occupy Corners.

This Winter has been an amazing run for OYC as we have had many successful and interesting Occupations occurring all over Southern California, as well as word of upcoming springtime Corner Occupations happening in the Midwest and Northeast of the country!

The Latest:

OYC Balboa & Genessee

Occupiers Anita, Josephine, and Jerry hosted a very important and impactful Corner Occupation of the heavily-trafficked Balboa Ave and Genessee Ave Intersection in San Diego, California. Already having a history of Corner protests (very recently with a large group from Occupy), on December 31st, 2011 eight Occupiers peacefully stood in protest and informed interested area residents of important issues for two hours... while being "protected" by a equal amount of police officers! Here is the tale in Anita's own words from a speech given at the San Diego City Council this month:

"I am a La Jolla resident and long-time community activist. From 2005-2010 I protested on San Diego street corners with sometimes 10-40 others holding signs. Never was any police officer sent to "protect" us. That all changed after October 7 when Occupy Wall Street came to San Diego.

Recently, I announced on Facebook that I would be at Balboa & Genessee on December 31st holding a sign and asked others to join me. When my friend and I arrived just before noon, four officers joined us to "protect" us during our march. I told them there was no march, but they heard otherwise and were ordered to be there. Ten minutes later we were a total of 8 sign-holding protesters between the ages of 82 and 14, eight officers, a wagon of police bikes and a lieutenant in an unmarked car. There was no march and no riot, but there was an outrageous waste of my tax dollars during those two hours."

Having distinct experience with peaceful protesting and direct action during and prior to Occupy, the hosts of this Corner Occupation handled this event with calm control and such peaceful panache that the police presence worked in their favor by attracting more interest from passer-by and drivers. Suddenly an Occupation of 8 turned to 16! Here is a video, our first on-film debut:

From Anita: "And one more tidbit: we took pictures of all the officers, including a Lieutenant sitting in an unmarked car... We rated a Lieutenant!"

Evidence of success: this weekend's most recent Occupation of the Corners of Balboa and Genessee only attracted one officer... but many Occupiers and much interaction with the public!

(A small point about the police using Occupy as an excuse for their outrageous pillaging of tax-payer funds for the holidays: cities will spend millions a year protecting visiting movie stars, celebrities, musicians, and athletes. So, the armed guards and interactions are pure flattery... we are obviously touching upon an important nerve and ARE making a difference!)


OYC Chula Vista  

Occupiers Charlene and Ken hosted another amazing Occupation of the Corners of East H Street and Otay Lakes Road in Chula Vista, California on Monday, Jan 9th. They had a great turnout of Occupiers as they informed pedestrians and transporting Chula Vistans about urgent issues that effect their families, and that Occupy is still here and still working toward a goal of more equality for all - financially, medically, spiritually, racially, politically, educationally, and more. The hosts in Chula Vista are especially good at getting media and local support, with coverage from local papers such as the Star News and representation from the Teamsters Local 542 and Iron Workers 229.

Upcoming OYC Events

• OYC Chula Vista, January 16th - The event was so good they already have another scheduled for a new location! Go Occupy Chula Vista!
• Occupy The Courts, January 20th - We will be helping represent Occupy the Courts, a one day event at Federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., to lead the charge against the judiciary which created — and continues to expand — corporate personhood rights. 
• OYC Balboa Ave & Genessee Ave and Occupy Encinitas has a Corner Occupation each Saturday afternoon
• Every Wednesday we have some sort of meeting or Corner Occupation in solidarity with other Corner Occupations
• Free Speech Fights, 100th Anniversary, February 8th - We will be helping represent the 100-year anniversary of the San Diego Free Speech Fight, one of the most important moments in the history of the city of San Diego where members of the IWW and the community engaged in a pitched battle against a city ordinance that banned public speaking in the area around 5th and E Streets in downtown San Diego.
• Homes Already Occupied - We are working on this project, choosing areas, and making sure everything is perfect for our first outing in the Spring! www.homesalreadyoccupied.com
• We have been in contact with areas such as New York, Oakland, Phoenix, Sante Fe, and Maine about spreading the Corner Occupation concept to cities that are emerging from the camp format and into the community outreach format!

Happy 2012! OCCUPY!