Moved to Westlake Plaza. Two arrests last night. Medical tent still up as I write. Legal support out and about, encouraging and telling people what to expect. Up to the minute info is here: occupy seattle dot org. From that excellent site comes news about what OccupySeattle does not need:
Ok, people who are on safety and legal groups, we love you. The work you do is invaluable but you need to stop passing on wild speculation and rumor of police action. Over the last three days riot police were "guaranteed" to move in every night, police transport vehicles were on their way, ect. After all these false alarms and dire warnings, we no longer listen to you. Stop spreading panic and fear, your job is to keep people calm and safe, do it!
What they do need is clothing which is warm and water-proof: the rain's been coming down fierce and this morning the temp was 45 degrees. Use the www.occupyseattle.org site to find out how to send clothing or dollars. Also they could use some food and some coffee. Pizza. Sandwiches. Bread, mayonnaise, mustard, water, tea. Police drove by last night and blipped sirens to keep people awake. Pretty miserable.
If you can't come for a week and occupy Seattle, just come on down and stand with these 99% for a half an hour. Come by on a lunch break. Come by on your way to the busline, the 17 is good on weekends too. Speaking of the weekend, the General Assembly voted:
"To call for and plan a mass occupation of Westlake Park with tents starting Saturday, October 15, 2011 in solidarity with the worldwide Occupy Movements."
Seattle needs your help to reclaim our occupation. We can not maintain our space unless we attain critical mass, and we need everyones help to do it. Seattle is one of the top corporate head quarters of the world. It is important for the integrity of this movemenet and this country that we the people of the great north west let the powers that be, the powers that surround us, know that this occupation is not going anywhere. So this Saturday, bring your tents, and your sunday best.
Meet at West Lake center, and we will decide from there where we will set up base camp.
Show your support of this event on Facebook, go say you're attending!
That's this Saturday, bring a tent and some food.
And now, on a more personal note, I will tell you something about me.
My wife, the lovely Mrs. zenBeehive, would have been sixty-two today. She passed three years ago. We met when she was a dispatcher at my station, in 1985. Two more different people I don't think ever existed. I was a bullish, uncharming man and very proud of my sharpshooter medals; she was a pacifist and preferred debate to conflict. Unmarried, she had moved back home to live with her dad, who was dying of lung cancer. Days she worked at the police station; nights, she cooked and cared for Jack. I knew nothing worth knowing before I met her.
Her favorite writer, Molly Ivins, considers protestors and civil rights after the toasted croissant.
I have watched peace people sitting in ditches in the Texas Panhandle in August singing "Kumbayah" in hopes of stopping nuclear war. I have seen them give blood and get arrested for trespassing on their government's property. I have seen them keep silent vigils and hold candlelight marches for peace. I have heard them sing and pray for peace. I have watched them carry funny and touching signs in demonstrations for peace. One thing I have never seen them do is anything that calls for investigation by the FBI.
Mrs. zB loved reading Molly Ivins. She got me reading her columns, so we'd have something to talk about. Before long, I became what you might call Democrat-curious...
Ah, but perhaps these peace people — these lovely, gentle, harmless, pacific peace people — perhaps they are being infiltrated by people who are not real peace people. This has in fact happened in the past — people with no real interest in peace join peace groups and try to manipulate them for their own purposes.
We married in 1987. I was promoted to Lieutenant. Our daughter was born. Mrs. zB stayed with our tiny zb until she turned four. zb started pre-school, Mrs. zB started grad school.
I am pleased to report that peace people are perfectly well of aware of this, on the qui vive, en garde, ready, prepared to fend off these interlopers. Their rule is simple: "Anyone Who Suggests That a Peace Group Do Anything Illegal Is Automatically Assumed to Be an Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
I became a Democrat. Our family gave money to the ACLU. I encouraged men and women under my command to learn the law, to read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. To study and reflect on their role as law enforcement officers. My daughter graduated high school and was accepted at the University of California at Berkeley. When she got there she called me on a cell phone and said, "Dad! I'm standing in People's Park!"
Sometimes I feel like I've lived two lifetimes: the one before I met my love; and then this one, which sometimes hurts, but is still filled with proof that I can make things better if I try.
When I go to Seattle, I see Mrs. zB and my little zb and my college-aged zbee in every Occupier.
In a repeated pattern — Phoenix; Evansville, Ind.; Kalamazoo, Mich.; St. Louis; Trenton, N.J.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Neville Island, Pa.; Columbia, S.C.; Houston; Richmond, Va.; and Washington, D.C. — protesters holding anti-Bush signs or antiwar signs have been either arrested or segregated further away, often into so-called "free speech zones," while demonstrators with pro-Bush signs are allowed within hollering distance of the president.
Since when have one's constitutional rights depended on one's political opinions? I have news for the Bush administration: This country is a free speech zone. There are no zoning ordinances that apply to our rights. Freedom is a beautiful thing, and it is fantastic to come to a country where people are free to express their views. Let us give thanks.
It is an excellent idea to carry a camera or smartphone that shoots video. Police will confiscate phones during and after an arrest, and it's likely they will consider information in the phone to be part of a legal search. Think ahead and protect yourself and your friends.
My daughter's advice to anyone about to be arrested is to use a cell to call your own voicemail, put the phone in your pocket, and record the audio to a remote location.
Please stay safe by thinking ahead! Threats are designed to provoke you into unwise action. Most cops, when they look at you, they do see their brothers and sisters, sometimes they see their children. Be peaceful and suspect anyone who suggests violence. That one is not your friend.
8:25 PM PT: OccupySeattle has moved over to the Grand Hyatt to protest a Mitt Romney fundraiser. From www.occupyseattle.org:
"If you can't make it down to protest in person we encourage you to go to Mitt Romney's Facebook page and tell him this yourself:
Dear Mitt,
Corporations are NOT people.
Love,
Occupy Seattle"
Also, in addition to the two arrests at Westlake Plaza, two other arrests were made last night at City Hall, when protestors refused to leave at 6:00 pm. h/t Lefty Coaster
10:43 PM PT: JustJennifer adds a link to a YouTube video that is worth a look: http://youtu.be/...
More excellent videos on that YouTube page, btw. Thank you JustJennifer! Feel free to post any photos in your comments as well. Much appreciated.
Lefty Coaster sends two more links for alternative media:
http://www.livestream.com/... LiveStream
http://twitter.com/... Twitter
Thank you Lefty Coaster! His diary from Tuesday 11 October will fill in many of the gaps in my update. Lefty Coaster's diary.