(UPDATE: Arcata Police Chief Tom Chapman released this letter calling on Occupy Arcata to “remove all tarps, tents, and structures from the Plaza immediately. Continued violation … will be subject to arrest.”)
The following was posted by Travis Turner — a Navy veteran, freelance writer/photographer, and Humboldt State student — on his Facebook page Thursday morning.
I listened to several people in the community yesterday, and voiced my own concerns about the plaza and what was happening down there. I stayed up all night on the quad at HSU thinking about this movement, what it means to all of us. Or at least what it should mean to all of us.
Yesterday a friend who works at an investment firm in town told me that, with a friend, she tried to go down and talk with the protestors in the plaza. She said the people there were inarticulate, didn’t know what the movement was about and basically the situation there was disgusting from a hygiene point of view.
I agreed. I watched a video where some protestors screamed racial slurs at my friend Rodney Dickerson and chanted “Fuck You Cops” as they arrested two people. The arrests did not have to happen and one could say it was initiated by the officers intervening in the plaza situation in a very unthoughtful way. Writing one person a ticket in the plaza for camping in the middle of an encampment seems a bit thick.
I went down the next morning and checked on the camp and it seemed peaceful. I went down last night and saw people heading over to Eureka to stand with their group in case the police tried to evict them. Still peaceful.
It was smelly. You could smell urine. You could tell people were living there and the protestors did not have access to clean clothes, showers, sinks or bathrooms
So now we want to take back our plaza. We want to push these protestors out. My question is, are we seeing the bigger picture? Am I seeing the bigger picture?
Our country is suffering, the people are suffering. Thirty million people are out of work, more are underemployed. We have more people in poverty than ever before. We have the largest percentage of homeless veterans per capita in the nation and that number is growing. Two homeless vets work and sleep at the HSU quad. Both are in school. Both are working diligently to help change our system here. Beyond that we have widespread mental illness, child hunger and systemic apathy to problems like these all over our county. We push people into the forests and hills so we don’t have to look at these problems. We don’t want our children to see a bunch of homeless people on the plaza. Yes, some are travelers here for the working season, but not all. These things are only getting worse, not better. The scene in the plaza will be repeated all around this country and soon we wont be able to push it out of our sight.
Here at HSU I know students who can’t afford to rent a house and go to school. I know students who live in that forest, on people’s couches and in cars. I know that hundreds of students work in the marijuana industry here to make ends meet. Sometimes in very dangerous situations. I know the school over the last decade has consistently replaced living wage jobs with minimum wage student work.
Our financial system is in ruin. Our government has taken a giant leap from its senses and allowed/is allowing one of the greatest swindles in history. It is corrupt, our banking institutions are corrupt and our country and the people who live here are suffering by the millions. Yet, we worry about taking our plaza back.
Here is another option. Grab a tent and join them. Teach the young and old there to harness that anger, from a lifetime of being stepped on in this system, that there is a different way. Susan, get a bathroom constructed ASAP. I will raise money for public, single stall showers to be installed in the Endeavor House. Let’s subsidize a laundromat like our electric company subsidizes grow ops. Let’s feed people. Let’s spend time with the smelly unwashed masses, because damn it, they are us. They are the cousins who lost their homes in unfair/illegal foreclosures. They are my sisters who were laid off. They are my brothers who pay more for less education. They are all of our problems. Let’s own those problems and be a light to the rest of the world. Let us teach. Let us be compassionate.
Let’s all join in on the conversation, together.
My fingers are frozen this morning. I have a home to go to, things to do, but I am here on this quad because I think it is important. I am going to go down to Arcata today and I will march with my brothers and sisters as they march on BofA because I think it is important. I am going to look past the smelly parts because that is a function of our inability to be a real community. I am going to try and put a stop to the drinking and smoking at the camp. I am going to try and put vets in shelters.
What are you going to do? This is a messy business, being a community. Time to get your hands dirty.
This article appears in Beer in the Headlights.
The biggest question is, how long do you people intend to occupy the plaza, courthouse, HSU? From my point of view, there’s no end in sight! Time to dismantle the camps and clean up the area. Wall Street, White House and America heard you loud and clear. Don’t overstay your welcome as it could cause a bad backlash.
The first mistake was referring to us as “you people.” We are the same as you, no different. Secondly, there is no end in sight. Our government has not changed, corporations have not changed so we are not moving. Third, OccupyHumboldt runs a very clean operation on campus, come see.
I applause the youth of today that is willing to make a stand. Far too often we as a culture chose to hide away from the ugliness. It is easy to be judgmental when you can’t see the rust or the cracked paint of our reality. It is clear our way of life is not working for us as a society, and the idea we are in race against our fellow human and not an organism as a whole needs to stop. If we are to continue we need to learn to work together.
HOW LONG until you get off your ass and join the revolution?
HOW LONG until YOU get off your ass and join the revolution?
I am very very much in favor of Occupy Wall Street….but honestly, I do not understand the reason for doing it here in Humboldt. The local equivilant of corporate money power being used to own the political system would be Rob Arkley. But he doesn’t seem to be a target. I think the people protesting on the plaza are doing more harm to the movement than good. They come off as unappealing uninformed generic hippies who just want something to protest because it’s what they like to do. And that doesn’t help anything.
SO what Rick is saying is that Rick thinks humboldt’s protesters are unappealing uninformed generic hippies. Hey, Rick, go occupy somewhere other than humboldt.
Max- in answer to your questions, I work my ass off on a daily basis to provide for my family. I don;t make much but I’m moving up the income ladder. So, unless you’re willing to pay my bills and buy my groceries, you will never see my middle income ass out there protesting. I agree with Rick to a certain extent. Just because Arkley is in the papers almost on a daily basis, he’s definitely not the richest person in Humboldt. There are many others who donate much more money to our local political system using various shell companies. Travis – I have seen how you people operate. HSU Occupation should be the example of what the other Occupiers should do. Arcata is run by alot of people who have no idea why they are there. But, they want to make sure they have a camera in a police officers face while yelling and chanting. Eureka is mostly peaceful until they start to cry wolf. Humboldt Occupiers have become an eyesore and people are just tired of seeing all the garbage. If your goal is to make a major change in government, then take it to the polls. You guys now sound like Miss America contestants, always wishing for world peace. Something that’s not going to happen.
One aside to your editorial – “Let’s subsidize a laundromat like our electric company subsidizes grow ops.”
It seems to me that it is all the other customers of said electric company to subsidize the grow houses (by people who also claim a financial hardship / low income discount.) and not the electric company, itself.
But to your main point – if the people in the plaza are “inarticulate, didn’t know what the movement was about” – as you agreed, why would I want to join them (even if they attain hygiene)?
I want to add my voice against the inequity of those who deem themselves above the law (too big to fail), but I don’t want to join an ignorant, angry mob.
I know others who might otherwise be sympathetic to this cause are put off by the realities of those who flock to protest, unable to maintain their passion while also respecting each other’s points of view.
Perhaps Chief Chapman’s ultimatium is not so unreasonable after all?
Perhaps we could take turns occupying the plaza, voicing our outrage and concern, with respites for our bodily needs.
I’d take a turn to occupy the plaza. But I wouldn’t want to live there.
The protesters of the past who brought true lasting change did so by having an articulate agenda. Even if the marches and gatherings weren’t too organized on an individual scale, the “movement” had a point..it could clearly define what it intended to change. No one should expect every Plaza Sitter to “get it.” However, even as violent and bloody as the Arab Spring marches became, most of those people knew what they were protesting. The average “occupy” participant seems vague at best in their understanding of the movements ideas and this alone weakens the power of protest. Protesting is our right and I support that right enough to accept the messiness of it, but unless a clear philosophy emerges this movement will die the death of so many other well intentioned ideas.
Hi, I’m MIKE! I want everybody to protest injustice unless I don’t like the protestors. We’re all in this together, except homeless people and people who don’t understand the issue like I understand the issue. Who do those people think they are, protesting without all the knowledge someone like me possesses.
Actually, I don’t think you are MIKE. You sound more like DICK.
I never said I wanted everyone to protest, nor did I allude to my like or dislike of protesters or homeless. I never said I understand the issues…I just said a lot of people showing up to march and chant don’t. Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd.
So if you’ve got something interesting to say that pertinent to the subject, we’re all happy to hear it, otherwise maybe you should just go back to the PlayStation.
To How Long- I think that having that sort of attitude is exactly why people are starting to rise up. Being apathetic is no longer acceptable. Saying that it’s “not going to happen,” is completely disregarding those who believe and who have worked towards living in a peaceful world. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but someday. Obviously there are wars being waged over who knows what that aren’t just going to go away and people may be scared to lose resources, to change their way of life. Our goal is to help people be ok with change, be ok with one another, and more than just that, but to love each other, accept differences and have freedom to do what they want. And also to let go of those fears. Learn to fear NOTHING.
…and for some reason you are still referring to us as ‘you people.” odd…seeing as we are all people, living in this world, growing, learning, fighting, evolving. TOGETHER.
Bank local, buy local, spend your time and energy on the next elections. Where are all these people when supervisors, mayors, congressmen etc. ask for public input at meetings? Protesters please include a real plan with all that energy and time.
I’m totally with this. Corporatism (really, it’s Fascism) is the main cancer that is eating away at the world. Maybe OWS will awaken the masses.
But, I have to think that our local contingent is slightly misguided. Occupying the Arcata plaza or the Courthouse lawn isn’t saying anything, because Humboldt County and especially Arcata are pretty sympathetic. If you want to make a real impact try occupying/demonstrating at the branches of Wells Fargo, Citibank, Bank of America, or some of the local stock brokerages. They are the ones that caused all of the troubles!
Redwood: I’d take this a step further. The New York protest is centered in the “belly of the beast” and that makes sense. These local protests though are placed where they are just preaching to the choir. But they probably are afraid of getting arrested. Much easier to camp out on the plaza then get in Wells Fargo’s face!
Because occupy is an arena for free speech and acceptance it becomes a haven to those that would abuse the kindness and acceptance of many of the people who are at the heart of this movement. Occupying the plaza is a bad idea because it becomes a haven for those that would otherwise give a crap less about the goals and ideas of the OWS movement but like the general protection from cops. You might think it is silly but how else can homeless druggies squat on the the plaza?
“They come off as unappealing uninformed generic hippies who just want something to protest because it’s what they like to do.”
This is exactly the problem in both Arcata and Eureka. There are too many signs with too many disconnected messages. Too many foul-mouthed people shouting too many inarticulate slogans. Centralize the theme, weed out those who are working against you from inside your group, and quit defacing the property on which you are squatting…then maybe, just maybe, you might get support from the community in general.