OYC helps the Occupied Puppetistas SD!

As we've been taking corner occupations and sidewalk marches to new levels, we've joined many members of Occupy San Diego to form the Occupied Puppetistas to up our ante on getting the attention of the sleeping masses. With large 12-foot puppets, specially designed model drones, and other interesting props we've been marching with Occupiers, Veterans, Activists, Concerned Citizens, and Union members to get the message into people's minds that the power is in their hands...

The beginning sketches...

Occupied Puppetisas creative forces in action to build the Angel of Debt!

For the late summer, OccupYrCorner and members Occupy San Diego have been working on a 12 foot tall, 3-person puppet we call "The Angel of Debt".

OYC and the Puppetistas join Occupy San Diego and Women Occupy San Diego to inform the masses about the Yes on 37 Campaign to label GMOs

Working toward the S17 Occupy Wall Street Anniversary, we joined forces with Women Occupy San Diego to take over one of the more highly visible bridges over a main artery in San Diego during the busiest part of the day to bring the power back to the people and get the public informed and activated about labeling GMOs in California and the evils of Monsanto. As a bell-weather on the issue, if California passes this prop, it will filter throughout the country, bringing more information and choices per food item to the nation on what is healthy and what is genetically modified poison parading as convenient foods. The "Monster of Monsanto" was a hit, and we crafted the puppet to be a modular concept, using multi-colored cloth to symbolize the wide-reaching effects of debt, GMOs, Walmart's destructive practices, immigration and deportation, and the ravages of war as we modify the sign (using chalk... "Chalkupy!") and the form of the Angel to bring the message home to the masses! 

OYC and the Puppetistas march with the Unions at San Diego's Largest Rally against Walmart to date!

Joining forces with the Unions and many other local organizations, the Puppetistas marched with the crowds though Sherman Heights to call attention to the evils of Wal-mart. Remamning the Angel "Wal-Muerte" we took to the streets to end up in front of the location a new Wal-mart is opening up, which was approved under suspicious circumstances and against the wills of the neighborhoods and people of Sherman Heights.

Occupy San Diego Anniversary March with Veterans For Peace in Commemoration of the 11-year War in n Afghanistan

Occupy San Diego, Women Occupy San Diego, OccupYrCorner, the Occupied Puppetistas, Occupy City Heights, ISO, Canvass for a Cause, PLI, and many more joined Veterans for Peace to celebrate Occupy San Diego's 1 year Anniversary and to commemorate the 11 year war in Afghanistan. We raced to get together our latest Puppet: The Peaceful Protester! Here's the Puppetistas in action that day...

(Thank you to all of our photographers and videographers, Occupiers, Veterans, Activists, Concerned Citizens, and Union Members who have helped make all of this possible...)

OYC Helps The Yes On 37 Campaign!

In preparation for Women Occupy San Diego's Yes On 37 Rally, happening on the Occupy Wall Street Anniversary, we are making our own OLB signs to make sure the night time crowd gets an idea on how to protect American's from GMOs.

Check out the progress from a work day! Occupier Larry was the mastermind as he had everything set up and ready to go for San Diego's own Overpass Light Brigade! A true Occupier!

Next on our list... the 37! 

Occupy!

OYC July and August

After the team took a break from all of the amazing TPP outreach, we put our energies into a variety of important actions and events that took place around San Diego that needed the Occupy stamp...

OYC Comic-Con

Occupying Comic-Con was amazing! We had a committed group of Occupiers head over to Comic-Con to Occupy the entrance of the Convention Center as well as strategic points all around the Gaslamp handing out over 450 flyers to the throngs on Comic-Conners. Plus, we distributed piles of little comic books the OSD GA created about "How to Leave Your Bank" and "The Glass Steagall Act". We even had some racy political comics positioning Rumsfeld and Cheney as lovers!

Everyone was very responsive to us proclaiming things like "Be a real Super Hero! Occupy!" and "Save the World! Smash the State!" Many people, when they heard "Occupy" reacted like "Oh yeah!" and took a bunch of flyers. We were also happy to see a small group of young protesters taking on the Bible-Thumpers big condemning signs with small, funny signs of their own! The rallying against the Westboro Church and their ilk is finally in fashion!

The crowning achievement was the amazing "chalkupying" that spontaneously appeared as Comic-Conners joined Occupiers in exercising their right to chalk! Check out how OSD/OYC occupied random street theater like the Zombie march with pointed politics... educated and entertained!


World Beat Center Update

Anyone paying attention to the many issues that OYC has been working on knows we've worked to ease the plight of the World Beat Center, San Diego's only Multi-Cultural Center that is under threat due to the City Council's attempt to privatize the century-old public Balboa Park. After months of flyering, calling, outreach, meetings, and testimonies to City Council, we joined Occupiers, Concerned citizens, and organizations such as SOHO on July 9th to stand firm against the privatization of this landmark and the destruction of it's history and intention. After 6 hours of testimony, the paid-off City Council sold the park to the highest bidder, but not before promising to give the World Beat Center a 25-year lease to protect it! Success! Next up: Save Balboa Park!

Occupy Gay Pride

OccupYrCorner, Occupy San Diego, Women Occupy San Diego, and many other area Occupies joined Canvass For a Cause, SAME, ASD, and multiple San Diegan organizaitons in the 2012 Gay Pride Parade this July!

It was an amazing and hot day as we marched through Hillcrest, San Diego to the cheers and chants of the crowd! Being one of the only floats and marchers that weren't trying to sell something, many spectators became extra vocal as we passed by! Happy to see a group that cares!

Oddly enough, we were positioned between two banks (Chase and Wells Fargo) so, of course we made some large "Thieves" and "Liars" signs to designate our opinions on our parade mates!


City Heights Profit Prisons Corner Occupation

The Impromptu City Heights Corner Occupation on August 1st went amazingly! We had 5 Occupiers join in as we handed out about 160 flyers in an hour talking to interested pedestrians about the For Profit Prison System. We spoke to one man who JUST got out of jail on false charges... he was lost in the system for 38 days, they broke his wrist, and he lost everything! He is working on a lawsuit and going to the media, so he wouldn't give me details, but he was elated to see us talking to people about this institutionalized injustice.

We also talked to an old time protester who told us about how he was arrested and released almost 100 times during the Brian Wilson Train Incident era... he said nowadays, the laws are so strict you couldn't possibly voice your opinion about outrage in public!

Also, some members of the community jumped in and chalked up the sidewalks with some facts and figures about the Corporate Corrections System...Chalkupy! 

OYC CityFest

OYC City Fest on August 12th went without a hitch! We had 7 undercover Occupiers handing out 350 flyers amonst the other flyer-distributors, partaking in meaningful and informative conversations with the throngs at the festival about Breaking Up with Bad Banks, switching to Credit Unions, and the shenanigans following the Bail Out...



Oh and... 

WE STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH
PUSSY RIOT!

STOP TPP! July 2nd through 9th!

All of June the members of OYC were busy working with The Coalition to Stop TPP on a week long awareness event in July in San Diego to highlight and expose the dangers and recklessness of this latest "Free Trade" agreement the Corporations have cooked up.

Starting the week out with a major march rally outside of the Hilton where the talks were being held, OYC, OSD, various local groups and Unions took part in letting the delegates know: The People Are Here!

Then, all week, OYC were at the Hilton at noon each day holding signs, banners, having conversations, and handing out flyers to the delegates and passer-by about the weeklong events the Coalition planned: Teach-ins, Street Theater, Actions, and the big March!

Jun Haro, a video reporter from Japan, decided to follow us around and make us the focus of his report as we made a presence at the HIlton and took our Sidewalk March into the Gaslamp. He interviewed us all, as well as the people we talked with on the way... he couldn't believe no one knew what TPP was!

Here's the video he created! OYC How-To-Video?

We marched through the Gaslamp informing interested folks: making the diagonal corners of 5th and Island as well as the busy corner of 4th and Broadway our fave spots to get the info out.

From the site: 

"From July 2 to July 10, the political leaders of the Pacific Rim nations are meeting in San Diego to turn the Pacific Ocean and its peoples into a giant privatized corporate lake characterized by non-union workers, Wal-Mart supply chain feeders, poisoned, landless agricultural laborers, a dying biodiversity, and rising, drowning sea levels. We cannot and will not let this happen."

www.stoptpp.org

The week of amazing teach-ins and actions focused on the TPP, it's effect on international economics, indigenous rights, biodiversity and more was rounded out with a large-scale Pots and Pans March and rally attended by groups, organizations, unions, occupiers, activists, and concerned citizens!

Check out the shots and videos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STOP TPP! FAIR TRADE NOT FREE TRADE! OCCUPY!