FOOD NOT BOMBS SPRINGFIELD MISSOURI, TEXT CONVERSATIONS;

 

Darin and J.

 

Apparently there have been people here who have wanted to start a local chapter [in Springfield,] for years it just never materialized; J has been an #OO Nomad and has made his way back to the Midwest with his lady-friend C.

 

Howdy! Springfield Food Not Bombs first feeding will be on Sunday! We planned it to be small since we are just starting out. We are making food for about 20 or so people. Tonight we have a meeting for a group of us (very small group) that are looking to start a food not bombs.

 

How are you getting food and stuff?

 

That is what we are trying to figure out. Dumpstering is not really an option here, We saw an alternative in Reno, they hit food banks and used that then there are some people who worked with some local health food place and other businesses to get some food donated for various actions so that is an avenue to check out as well. I am pretty excited, C. is even more so. She had been wanting to start a food not bombs here since we came, we found some people who have been wanting to do it but never did. It’s not Oakland, but we are trying to bring some of that spirit here. I figure I have done enough complaining about lack of things going on here, and the way that activists do things here it’s time to actually try to help change things not really qualified for that, not much of an organizer.

Do you feel that by offering meals to the homeless you are sublimating yourself to the subservience of the mainstream or do you feel, especially given the lack of effective care or services in this country as per social welfare that you are offering a unique service that no governmental agency could possibly live up to?

 

Well here the homeless services are pretty limited. There is only one consistent night meal provided here and the place that does it, The Victory Mission, requires anyone who wishes to eat to sit through a sermon. If you are late they lock the doors and you don’t eat if you leave during the sermon, you don’t eat.

 

Starve in the name of Jesus, halauliajah!

 

When I was there the guy in charge told everyone to make sure to use the bathroom before chapel because if we left for any reason, we couldn't eat.

There are at least a dozen like that in the bay area.

 

To me that is absolutely ridiculous that they will hold the ability to eat over people's heads like that!

 

Jesus told me to skin you alive!

(Dead Kennedy's lyric...)

 

There is another benefit of a Food Not Bombs here that I hope to see happen...

 

Wait, Jello Biafra is coming to Springfield!?!!!

 

There is no real anarchist community here. There a few anarachists that I have met, but they don't really talk about it or do anything because it wouldn’t be accepted here.

 

What is the population there?

 

I am hoping that by organizing a Food Not Bombs that we can bring some of these people together and show them that although we are a minority (especially in this area of the country) we do exist. A couple hundred-thousand maybe. It’s the biggest city in this part of Missouri.

 

O weird, I guess it is safe to say that both of us are excited to see how it goes. Or the 3 of us, I'm stoked for you guys really, I can't wait to hear about everything from you guys!

 

We will keep you updated.

 

That’s so awesome thanks!

 

Speaking of Slingshots, do they still send the newspaper places for free, or what is the cost?

 

Ask them for copies, send them like $5 or something.

 

Will do that. There is a small group of us who want to start handing out anarchist literature.

 

You might try Bound Together bookstore in San Francisco or a catalog or something.

 

We are collecting various pamphlets and what not. Do you know of any good ones for people who know absolutely nothing about anarchy at all except the lies the news tells us?

 

That sounds just like a question to send to Bound Together.[I’m more of a socialist actually, and sometimes I  revert to a time before The Longhaul or the Oakland Holdout existed, so naturally times being what they were I would recommend the bookstore. Seriously, J will be contacting our local venues and alternative bookstores and info shops. We had that discussion.]

 

....

 

Hey! We did the first Food Not Bombs event tonight !

 

Yea!

 

Went better than I thought it would. Fed around 40. There were a few who came at the end and we ran out of food. It was interesting because most of the people here weren't familiar with Food Not Bombs and were surprised by the lack of a sermon and more relaxed environment.

 

You did an amazing thing today!

 

It was fun. We are going to go over it tomorrow at the meeting and figure out how to make it better and be better prepared.

 

 

 

Interview with #OWS Nomad.

Interview with #OWS Nomad.

 

Darin

 

Author’s note: Nomad has traveled the country and has been able to visit several occupy sites. Many of Nomad’s insights seemed like east coast versions of #OO or #SF, just based on my observations and conversations here. The similarities made the interview process all the more humanizing. Many of Nomad’s observations are well documented via video on the internet.

 

Describe how you became involved with the Occupy Movement and your initial moments at Zuccati Park.

 

I honestly never cared about anything political before I arrived, my traveling buddy sent me links about the protest, and bought me a bus ticket and said “you’re going.” My thoughts were, “I just want to be where the action is.” I arrived at an almost empty park and went to sleep, only to wake up to hundreds. Talking to people made me feel as if I was at a University having private discussions with fifty professors a day. It was incredible discovering my dormant passion for renewable resources among other desires to change social injustices.

 

What were the occupiers like there?

 

Certainly an eclectic group of individuals, any stereotype available was there, from your “crusty-punk,” to your ex-homeland security worker. Even an ex-Wall Street worker! The clash of the classes I observed at the park was a three class tier. One class was the leachers of the resources, the media whores, and the brilliant minds that strive for systematic change.

 

Nomad describes police brutality that she personally witnessed.

 

I witnessed incredible instances of police brutality, including a 70 year old woman crying out in pain, “loosen the cuffs x2,” [U-Tube title.] and policemen throwing her into the back of a paddy wagon as if she were a rag doll. One moment a medic friend “Jo,” was on a march and a police officer threw J’s head into a storefront window so viciously the window had cracked! A number of friends getting fractured ribs, boys and girls, young and old. I suppose an upper punch to the ribs is a favorite among NYPD tactics. One very severe case was Brendan, on the night of the first eviction one cop pushes and pounces on the 17/18 year old boy and punches him, then five more cops join in and the first officer grabs him by the hair and smashed his face into the ground while the others are kicking him for what seems like twenty minutes. Fast forward to the third night we kept Union Square; [Hundreds of cops, barricaded every night, for the first time in history, despite a rich history of Union related activism. It was so hectic at Union Square that Nomad did not see how the woman was thrown. As it turned out the woman in question had a preexisting spinal condition.]a woman gets thrown about six feet in the air, at the same time she’s getting on a stretcher and a friend is holding her c–line (a device that keeps the neck straight,) in place. I overhear a captain tell an officer to place a barricade in front of the “mob” of occupiers, and make arrests the moment someone pushes it. Lo and behold my friend “D,” kicks it and a barrage of cops go after him, they trample over the girl getting on the stretcher and I’m watching cops trying to hold back other officers. A more recent incident is my friend “J,” who has been hurt plenty of times for having blue dreadlocks, yet this instance in particular during the NATO action, was run over by a police vehicle. I could go on about much brutality on my comrades but those were some notable ones.

 

Nomad describes her least favorite or most interesting moment regarding interaction with police, in this case the NYPD.

 

March 17^th, 2012

 

The incomplete Fulton station a block down from Zucchatti has no cameras due to unfinished wiring and some hanging outlets. I was there charging my phone on the night of the movements sixth month anniversary which overlapped the St. Patties celebration. I saw a family of ten struggles with paying fare and tried to explain / point out the fact there were no cameras. Any other night skipping fare would be no problem, but not that night, ha-ha with at least 200 cops upstairs. Two Caucasian cops come waltzing down the steps and stop and frisk an African man on his way out. Only half the family had gotten through by now, I tried to distract the officers by interrupting their uncalled for search by asking about the trains schedule. By now the family had gotten through smoothly and the officers let the guy go so now all their attention was diverted to me. They told / ordered me to remove my phone and threatened to charge me with petty larceny. Some of the conversation went like so:

 

Cops: Why did you interrupt our police activity?!

Nomad: I was unaware of the trains schedule sir.

Female cop: That isn’t why! Tell us why!

Nomad: Ma’am why else would I ask you?

FC: You stopped us solely because you saw two white cops stopping and frisking some black guy and you felt because you are an occupier that was so wrong and in your “righteous” fight, you need to intervene!

Nomad: So why did you stop him? You did not find anything on him. I saw.

[Cops now looking really hot in the face and intensely raising their voices.]

MC: What?! What if he WAS a bad guy and had a gun on him and shot all three of us, both of us would be alive and you would be dead because WE have bullet proof vests and YOU don’t!!! [Insert grrr!]

 Nomad: Yet he didn’t.

MC: All you occupiers want is a free ride and utopian societies where you don’t have to work for anything and have everything handed to you, don’t you?

FC: Do you have any idea how hard I work for my pension?! I get next to no vacation and work x amount of hours to pay my bills and house – I mean I work my ass off.

Nomad: How can you generalize the movement like that, everyone’s sentiment and agendas here is different and no, I don’t believe in a utopian society. I believe in a renewable resource based economy. I also don’t deny the fact you work so hard for your pension. That makes you happy. Yet I believe if you make your work your passion, it’s no longer work.

MC: [Sounding a bit defeated yet still malicious tone.] Get outta here.

Nomad: [Cops start walking away; Nomad walks after them almost chasing them down.]

But sir!

MC: You and your little movement had to come here on this day to take away and distract the general public from 150 years of Irish heritage! So thanks for taking that from us. Thanks a lot, goodbye!

Nomad: I can’t believe you brought it to something so ludicrous! Just because a revolution is occurring doesn’t mean you can’t go drink green beer plus I’m sure the Irish have been celebrating much longer than the Irish Americans. [A little history, there was no Irish Republic until there was a United States, just the same I’m sure Nomad is right, nationalism aside that is.]

MC: Why are you dragging this on just go; you’re the one following us now.

Nomad: K. Goodbye Mister. [Mumbling.]

 

Other highlights from Nomad’s time regarding #OWS;

 

-Texted friend while watching on U-Stream, Nomad’s friend locking neck to something with a kryptonite lock, during critical #OWS action. [This is a hectic process, yet we must remember that solidarity and morale are of the upmost importance.]

 

-When a line of riot cops came marching, with the USA Constitution over Nomad’s right eye, Nomad said audibly using a drill sergeant voice: "Sir, I can't see out of my right eye and when there is nothing right, what left is there?" [That was a popular one at #OWS, which was also documented and performed by various protesters, during the excitement and naiveté of the initial activities.]

 

Author’s post script: As I have mentioned Nomad’s activities and observations seem to be on par in some ways with other events and activities by others at #OWS and elsewhere. It would be nice in the future if people could somehow relate more of their personal accounts so that we might have a more thorough understanding of how we relate to our actions in times of crisis especially as we work towards continuations in fundamental change with our revolution. I think this process helps us grow and comprehend our situation more fully than simply making conversation with our friends. Let us know what you think of this kind of example, should you think you have something additional and relevant to offer. Thank you.

The Berkeley Oak Grove Tree Sit [2006-2007,] and #OO!: A Photographer’s Urban Studies and Sub-cultural Related Sociological Assessment

 

            I came to the Berkeley Oak Grove tree sit in 2006 after reading a little blurb about it in The San Jose Mercury News. At this point I should tell you that I have spent most of my life in the east bay and bay area. [I’m a rider hommie!] Anyway, urban studies casual vernacular aside, in 2006 I would come to visit the Oak Grove several times from the south bay to attempt photography. I was between my fine arts undergrad and my fine arts grad programs. I took a nine year undergraduate sabbatical starting around 1996 due to a student loan application mishap. I did a lot of blue collar work then, I was always scraping by and I haven’t had too much steady employment since.

            Before I moved back to the east-bay I didn’t really get as much out of my photos at the tree sit as I would have hoped. Once I was living in West Oakland in 2007 however, that had changed. I became a regular activist, at least I thought so. I photographed especially in the last four months of activity at the grove / Piedmont Avenue. It should be remembered as yet the world’s longest running urban tree sit of 648 days. I’m imagining the events surrounding the XL pipeline may also break new records. Let’s hope for something positive.

There was a tall, older bicyclist I knew and we would exchange road rage in the east bay whenever we met, it became a pretty fucking pointless effort. He showed up at Berkeley Critical Mass, and the Oak Grove protest from time to time, and we finally got sick of the conflict thankfully. From that time onward I decided to treat all cyclists like brothers and sisters regardless of my thoughts of who I considered them to be, a lesson in karma. During a protest event at the tree sit sometime in 2007, we had blockaded Piedmont Avenue; this was a regular activity of the tree sit. It had become very difficult to get food and supplies to the tree sitters. The UC Berkeley administration had hired workers to encircle the Grove with tall fencing. The UCBPD were a constant presence. In retrospect with all of the security costs that the UCB took on to “secure” the grove it would have saved them at least half a million dollars if they had endeavored to remove and replant the endangered trees. This is a practice that is more common in Japan, where costs are high and resources tight. Their practice involves replanting somewhere for a year to ascertain the stability of the tree in question, and if it is healthy then it is moved onward for park service or some kind of landscaping. The point actually was that placing a stadium on a fault line for the purpose of deforestation was not logical, the stadium has been there since the 30s, before that time UC science professors had used the area as a natural habitat for educational purposes, destroying an ecosystem and building in that area is not very intelligent. They wanted to build a NFL training center for their star athletes. So they eventually did. To say the least preventive maintenance and diplomacy are not the strong points of the University of California agenda. The UCBPD knocked my tall nearly senior citizen friend face down from a standing position onto the street. He actually bounced a bit, it was really dreadful, and I was horrified. I was also really angry so I was motivated to take a lot of photographs.

The tree sit lawyer got my photos on CD, which I delivered to her Berkeley residence, and I had burnt the CD at home. The gentleman in question was acquitted and a UCB police officer received a damning reprimand. It was too much work however for a simple abuse case I was told, however the trauma and the injury to the individual made up for that at least tenfold, from the lawyer’s perspective, it was cause worthy. So anyway FUCK YEAH! GO COPWATCH! That was my first occurrence of photographing police abuse, or having my photographs used for such a purpose.

I got so sick and tired of witnessing police harassment and abuse. My living conditions at the time had deteriorated to the level of volatility also, so my life was a lot like WW3. It was good training; I couldn’t really photograph at Occupy without these kinds of experiences. Also at the Oak Grove in another instance during the Piedmont Avenue blockade an Asian woman stood by her vehicle while her young son sat in the passenger seat. She was very talkative. At the Oak Grove Berkeley tree sit we were trained to integrate with the public and in this case the drivers to keep them informed, to help them chill out for a while, turn off their engines, read a book, maybe chat with them about the tree sit, offer them condolences for the wait, etc. It was seen as an opportunity to make a connection with the outside community. The fucking cops man. At first her not going into her car and ignoring the cops seem pretty much normal it should be noted. The UC pigs kept telling her to go into her car. It really didn’t help that she was one of the first three cars in front of the blockade. Eventually I was almost begging her to sit in her car, warning her. I was going back and forth with my camera, always walking around trying to be observant. This incident was worse. In front of her kid the cop violently shook her. Like I’m going to shake some sense into you somehow high velocity vibrating is going to really positively help your brain. She was traumatized, the kid was traumatized, and I was WW3 angry as fuck as usual. Patients, time, pain and calmness management had already become major tasks at the Berkeley Oak Grove tree sit. The Asian woman was handcuffed, it was so awful. This lady wasn’t very much older than I and I could do nothing. She spoke with our attorney who was present, and they reviewed my photos. The woman should have pressed charges, we didn’t want to give her too much pressure however, and I had already explained to the attorney how I couldn’t get her to heed the police warnings. She told the TV news reporters that although she could almost accept the apologies given to her by the police officer and the UCBPD it was not her intension to press charges. She also explained on television that although what the officer did was basically assault [she played it down and said “wrong,” the newscaster explained it was assault somehow,] that she would still encourage her son to respect the authority of the police of some such bullshit. I don’t recall the specific wording. The whole ordeal was terrible. Adding insult to injury was a major activity of the UCBPD at that time in the protest. I haven’t seen either the cyclist or the Asian lady in quite some time now. We live in an age of spoiled community. http://www.flickr.com/photos/darinbaueroakgroveberkeley/5478617298/in/set-72157623954170126; This is the main photograph in the set that clearly shows the anguish of the Asian woman who was being harassed and abused by the UCBPD. She is a very strong woman to have tolerated that. You need a flickr account and the authorities may be watching so be forewarned, you might consider a secure channel. There may have been a video also, but I am guessing it was deleted as per her request.

Zachary Running Wolf would joke that he lined his PD yellow slips on his wall like a collage or wallpaper. Zach received hundreds of arrests during the tree sit. Occupy Oakland is pretty good at telling off the cops, we at the Berkeley Oak Grove received honorary accreditation in shit talking with significant immediacy, sophistication, and extreme grandeur. Also it was usually a pretty boring place to be. I don’t have any examples for you at the moment, so I apologize, you might be able to imagine. You can also probably imagine how creative some of the citations became. Jay-walking? Really? [Remember this predates NDAA and CISPA, although the police seemed aware of encapsulation as a tactic.] Verbal abuse, just complete bullshit charges, especially considering the police liked to pretend that they could give fair exchange in tense situations. They weren’t fair at all and I dislike imagining their insipid behavior. Photographing ZRW became a steady source of indybay.org fodder for me. Oscar Grant, John Woo, Critical Mass, for a time I was ZRW’s media person, sometimes I still am.

Most of what I learned about photo-documentation of activism, I learned at the Grove. In 1988 or 89 George Bush Senior was to attend a $10,000 a plate fundraiser dinner by some old lady in Orinda, she grew everything in her home garden. I did some black and white photos and mostly didn’t know what I was looking for, I was in high school. Lines of cops and protest stickers on the back of people’s leather jackets such as Act-Up! was one image of mine. Somebody got arrested for throwing a tomato at the limousine, but that was on the other side of town. I was the only punk enthusiast at my section of the protest. Many of the protesters were from San Francisco. In regards to the sub-culture I was informed that punks never want to protest seriously, that was the consensus at the time. 

Today that seems somewhat less the case. More people come to protests with digital cameras of some kind and I do my best to encourage photographers and photography in general. I have my BFA and Post-Baccalaureate in Photography from The San Francisco Art Institute. Ansel Adams helped build the darkroom, and there are three Diego Rivera murals on campus. Annie Lebowitz, Mark Pauline, and Enrique Chagoya are my all time favorite alumni, look them up. In the early 1990s before his retirement I lucked out taking a required photo elective with Pirkle Jones. His wife Sofia and he were amongst the first people to photograph The Black Panthers in Oakland. His photographs are amazing and quickly became part of the Panther media at that time in the 1960s. Many memorable images of the Panthers from early in the movement are his. In the last decade as a return student I was fortunate enough to attend a photo-documentary class with Darcy Padilla. Her work of interest was black and white photography of SF Hispanic street gangs, which I believe she may have photographed as a student at sfai, her emphasis was the gangster women [Chicanas,] and their culture.

I tend to keep these kinds of things in mind while photographing at protests; the memories keep me going sometimes. At the recent Occupy Oakland First Anniversary I was treated to a very exceptional slideshow presentation. We booed at the cops and cheered for our friends, even while speeches were being made, and during music performances. It was pretty cool. To look at my 80 or 90 or so indybay.org photo-documentation articles type [darin bauer; use spacing and lower case letters,] into the search bar on the left of the home page. I have a few public websites. I have a lot of protest documentation, I don’t know if any government agencies are monitoring it, it can’t be worth it to them, but you know how they are, perhaps a remote server or a public computer is best if you love to look at good images.

If you look at http://www.artwanted.com/artist.cfm?artid=45308, you will see a variety of images. Printing costs have become too difficult and most galleries aren’t interested in helping with printing costs; to put it mildly. I’ll ask again if #OO art / media can help me out. Image 13 of 21 and 10 of 21 give a general sense of what a Berkeley Oak Grove / Piedmont Avenue blockade would look like. Image 11 of 21 is different in that Ayr and ZRW were part of a sage blessing ceremony of the Oak Grove with Ohlone elder Wounded Knee, (not pictured.)

If you view my Berkeley Tree Sit “set” on flickr.com you will receive a much larger interpretation of events at the Oak Grove. In many cases you will need a flickr account, which is free however. The photo in the Oak Grove set after Ayr and ZRW in sage ceremony is a picture during CAL game day with UCB administrator Dan Mogulof [current nemesis of Occupy University of California Berkeley,] and ZRW facing off. There is another photograph of Piedmont Avenue with a man with a tee shirt over his face that is typical of our street blockade also. In order of mention;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/darinbaueroakgroveberkeley/3030124603/in/set-72157623954170126

http://www.flickr.com/photos/darinbaueroakgroveberkeley/3030141363/in/set-72157623954170126

http://www.flickr.com/darinbaueroakgroveberkeley/3030099117/in/set-7215762395417026; This is a good photo of a typically boring day at the Oak Grove tree sit. The following photograph in that set is of Dumpster Muffin who was very prominent in the Mama redwood tree’s tree sitter god box, defending the tree. It was good to see her out of the tree and in good spirits at that time. My overall favorite is of a young woman with her son and a young man playing guitar in the background. http://www.flickr.com/photos/darinbaueroakgroveberkeley/2726567970/in/set-72157623954170126 There was a time in 2007 before the fence had been erected by the UCB, the tree camp was a very nice place at times. I imagine the grove, and how it looked before the fencing dividing the grove and the stadium. Hippies, travelers and students harmonizing under the canopy, distinct from the crowds intent on football. Generations of people…public space is shrinking, the oak grove protest was a way of coming to terms with how things have changed in the bay area since I was very young and that photograph typifies the sentiment succinctly. The parties and celebrations at the grove that I was not able to attend were legendary to say the least. Almost all of this is available on the internet somewhere.

My “#OO” flickr set is easier to manage. Just because a photograph makes for decent journalism on indybay.org doesn’t mean it should appear on the web within a fine art context. The Death of Capitalism on February 29^th 2012, Leap Year Day has some prominence in that set. The General Strikes and Move-In day are also included. During the Scott Olsen ordeal I was talking to as many people as possible to get a handle on the situation and to make sure that shit was getting taken care of. The street stragglers from the protest on Broadway Avenue negotiated amidst tear gas and somehow Jesse was capable to carry Scott. I have back problems and had been walking and bicycling all day, and most of that week. Jesse seemed calm and rational, fresh somehow at least he would appear so at the time, I was uncertain who was going to help. I have photos from that evening. We kept going back to get tear gassed repeatedly. My images are mostly of urban landscape portraiture. I have no images of the Scott Olsen incident. I felt that this was too exploitative to document. People worried at that moment inquired – but I had to say I couldn’t justify it.

I had never been tear gassed before that evening. One of the double images I used in my flicker #OO set is among many more blurry images that I do not choose to publish. This one is okay. http://www.flickr.com/photos/darinbaueroakgroveberkeley/7504915724/in/set-72157630427659640 The protesters almost appear to be ghost walking. http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/26/18695170.php : “Todos Los Negros Valen Berga…Putos!” All black burqa worth fucking was spray painted on the 19^th St. sidewalk near the stay away order park near Broadway Avenue. It was fresh paint. My memory of this is not clear, I think someone overheard hispanic cops speaking and decided to give a warning. Or perhaps Hispanic people had overheard the police. That was months before the Fuck the Police marches would regularly organize.http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/30/18696031.php The infamous End Police Brutality shields, and march, one follow up article can be found if you typed my name in the indybay search engine. Hella Gay, People’s Park tree sit, and People’s Park were also areas I was interested in photographing. http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/12/13/18702713.php image 640 dsc 02354.jpeg, picture of Occupy Banner on truck during the General Strike, this went viral! That had never happened to me before. The image of the bike scouts preceding the late afternoon march with the cranes in the background with fading sky coloration is in that article as well. [Would make for a good bike shop photo! Maybe the Hold-Out anarchists community center in West Oakland will purchase one for their bike shop.] The first photo in this article really tells a lot about activism’s sociological demographics-my emphasis obviously.

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/11/29/18701319.php; The first image…you know how Oakland is, a young African American strolls by with his friends, he is clearly a non-activist. “Check out that shit man! They put a nigger in a tree!” I mean for fuck sake, really dude. It gave the tree sitter and I something to laugh about, I think he had tears in his eyes at some point, keeping good morale up during a tree sit is an imperative. It was simply too fucking hilarious. You might have had to have been there. That might not have happened on the same day, although it was the same tree sitter.

            As these events transpire within Oakland as well as around the world, bike block is preventing road rage during marches, there is more integration within the activist community between different orientations, within our various sub-cultures, and the cops began selective arrest tactics, targeting specific people who they believed were crucial to the movement, just like they did to the Black Panthers back in the day. Look at these articles and related series carefully. You might be able to learn something new as you see them differently as time is passing. The actual physical dynamics of Oscar Grant Plaza I believed would dictate future kettling.

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/12/30/18703658.php; This was two hours of non-stop photographing, arrests, and police brutality. My worst day on the field ever, many photos at the end of this article of our occupy brother being pushed, pulled, and twisted against his will, the arrest was obviously adamantly protested and our occupy brother was tortured by the Oakland Police for what seemed like forever. OPD officer Christopher Keder was the assailant in question. My female friend was arrested for possession of a yoga-mat. Other charges infringed against people’s constitutional rights also.

Other favorites include; http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/01/30/18706165.php Aquapy Lake Merrit! Not worth the swim! I took a lot of mini tee pee photos, although I grew weary of it eventually. San Francisco Occupy Capitalism, Occupy Love was a beautiful and fun Valentine’s Day event, Death of Emeryville Squat Hellarity, #OO Six month anniversary, [If my camera had not been stolen, Occupy Albany Gil Tract Farm,] Lakeview Elementary School Occupation, Obama fundraiser protest and cannabis initiative, Occupy’s First Birthday, and Occupy Oakland’s first Birthday as well, etc…

 

Peace.

People’s Park: A Brief History of Activism, Outreach, and Organic Farming

This was my section in a publication called A Fresh Look.

A Fresh Look: Observations on Artistic and Social Practices in Urban Farming. A book and website project by the second year MA students at The San Francisco Art Institute. One collaborative interview and one article, plus photography, 2010.

If you have any questions about farming, read anything by Vandana Shiva, especially: Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace, Southend Press, Cambridge, MA, 2005.

Also you might try: Novella Carpenter: Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, Penquin Press HC, 2009, or The Essential Urban Farmer, with Willow Rosenthal, Penquin, 2011.

In People’s Park, located in Berkeley, California, privately cultivated organic fruits and vegetables are grown along with freedom of thought, freedom of speech, equality, and grassroots radicalism. Since its founding in 1969, People’s Park has represented civic and civil rights freedoms that have been threatened since the beginning of modern global expansion.1 At one time the heartbeat of resistance, the park, along with the circumstances revolving around it, has always defied the conventions of racism, sexism, poor urban planning, and murderous political foreign policy. You will also find in our park a community gardening farm, of slightly less than one acre, that so far has completely survived Reaganomics and might possibly survive post-modern transnationalism also. In this essay, I will give a brief history of the park and its garden and how they relate to the community of Berkeley.

In 1969, The University of California, Berkeley (UCB) began planning a community park for residents and students at the current People’s Park location. Ultimately, in the spirit of the times, community members decided to start early, beginning construction on April 20, 1969.2 The lack of comprehension by the UCB administration and a few unpopular choices by activists, community members, and city officials made a fairly popular community building project into an unholy quagmire, as protests regarding the park’s closure turned to riot. These and other incidents led to what is known as “Bloody Thursday.” On May 15, 1969, Governor Ronald Reagan sent two hundred-fifty Highway Patrol and Berkeley Police officers to shut down People’s Park. Student protesters were met with violence, and the newly planted park and garden were left in shambles.3

Students and the people of Berkeley worked hard over the following decades to restore the park. After a five-year stalemate, during which a fence that had been erected around the park in 1969 was torn down, David Axelrod and Cal students started an organic farming course at People’s Park. In the spring of 1974, this group, led by Axelrod, became the People’s Park Project/Native Plant Forum and affiliated itself with the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC).4 Some of the efforts of this group are still noticeable to longtime park attendees.5 On November 15, 1979, community volunteers tore out the parking lot that had been installed that fall and planted a vegetable garden, using chunks of pavement as landscaping berms.6 Now the garden beds dot the landscape of the west side of the park. At least a dozen fruit trees and many bushes and flowers fill bed plots and adjoin the landscape. Flowers, trees, fruits, vegetables, a variety of urban feral animals, open-mindedness, equality, pacifism, and human beings are all grown there.
As a community facet, the People’s Park garden has operated the same way as many other community gardens of this nature—if you plant it, you get to keep it. Volunteers, activists, and concerned community members have grown, cultivated, and distributed produce from the garden for over thirty years. Community members such as Terri Compost, Arthur Fonseca, and Charles Gary delegate the use of the park. They also help to protect the park by being outspoken with authority figures—including the UCB administration and police department—by protesting, and by attending community meetings.7 This group, known by authority figures as “the user-development group,” believes that the park belongs to the people, and that all changes should subsequently be subject to the approval of “the people.”8 Mostly, however, the community runs the park.

Food Not Bombs began in 1988 in San Francisco, and is now organized internationally.9 The goal of Food Not Bombs is to help feed anyone in need. The organization considers itself a radical anti-capitalist group, and others, including The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, agree.10 Produce from the park has been known to be grown exclusively for the nonprofit, volunteer-run Food Not Bombs, which on February 6, 1991 began to feed the homeless in People’s Park.11 Food Not Bombs had a garden bed in People’s Park around the year 2000, but it has more often relied on the donation of food from the other beds in the park and from outside donors. In addition to occasional produce from the People’s Park garden and specific private plots, this organization has also been known to dumpster dive for food. Food Not Bombs also relies on greener chain stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s who donate their excess and soon to be expired goods, and on churches that donate their kitchen spaces. For five days a week almost every week for the last nineteen years, Food Not Bombs has served healthy vegan food in People’s Park.12

One of the most influential forces behind the People’s Park garden is Terri Compost, a naturalist who has been studying plants and nature locally for over fifteen years.13 In her early forties, she is an Oakland resident and works as a naturalist with the American Youth Hostel’s Adventure Program. She’s also an organic gardener and the curator of the Bay Area Seed Interchange Library (BASIL) at the Ecology Center, and for a time she was a docent at the Oakland Museum of California.14 She’s worked closely with Food Not Bombs for over a decade, and she has tended the garden and offered organic farming education to children and adults in People’s Park since the mid 1990s.15 Terri eventually started her own program to educate people about the preservation of the planet, often teaching courses in wildlife, flora, fauna, permaculture, and organic farming in the watersheds of the Berkeley area and in People’s Park.16 She is an educator who has deep knowledge of native, edible, and medicinal plants and wildlife and how they relate to native cultures and to a larger sense of the metaphysical.17 She believes that the key to permaculture and organic farming or gardening is harmony and synthesis, not mass corporate domination over the elements. Caring for the garden has not always been easy. Over the years, Terri has encountered complications with police, homeless persons, and anti-urban farm antagonists.18 Her fifteen-year devotion to the park has inspired volunteerism and ensured the success of the garden as long as she tends it. However, so that she may pursue other ambitions, Terri is planning to retire from being a full-time gardener and caretaker of the People’s Park garden. She is currently encouraging fellow activists and gardeners like Nathan Pitts to take the reins. “It’s a free garden…anyone can come in and plant something.”19

Berkeley is a fairly sizeable city, and in my opinion, the community at large could definitely benefit more from the People’s Park garden. My observations over the last decade lead me to suggest using the entire southern fifth or sixth of the existing lawn area as an organic farm to be put to use for the Alameda County Food Bank, or perhaps for the exclusive use of Food Not Bombs. The garden could be tended by students and perhaps be linked to a class about urban agriculture at UCB. However, due to the nature of the persistent and ongoing conflicts between the UCB administration and students, community members, and activists, this suggestion may prove difficult to instigate.

In summation, teaching a naturalist and resourceful viewpoint is vital to helping us realize the importance of wildlife, nature, herbology, permaculture, organic gardening, and Native American natural preservationism, and to helping us realize the danger of losing it all to agri-corporations and bio-engineering. For the community, People’s Park will always symbolize the importance of civil rights and the need for public assembly, free speech, and community gardening. The garden survives in light of these poignant difficulties, difficulties that few urban farms have been known to survive or fight against. The garden, like the park, is in bloom.

How Occupy Translates into Klingon.

How the Occupation [Occupy] relates to the future of the Klingon Empire: Qa-Pla!

 Klingon Empirical Occupation Major General Gaardox HeH-Het Mong Dech Bauer

            As a Major-General of the Empirical Honor Guard and Klingon Occupation Force I must inform you of the following, since it is vital information and you must be in the know if we are going to bring honor and glory to the empire and destroy the nefarious corporate oligarchy.

            As we all know the Klingon Nefarious Corporate Oligarchy [KNCO] is solely responsible for the following atrocities against the empire;

Enslavement of the Gorn, Orions, Nausicaan, Ferasan, Lethean, and other minority class Klingons and species! That is nonsense! We are all Klingon the moment we hold our Batlith and shout GLORY TO THE EMPIRE! There is no room for inequality, economic or otherwise, we must prevent the KNCO from devising slavery at all costs! Obviously were it not for the tireless efforts of factions such as the Klingon Occupation Force there may have been no equality or freedom within the empire at all. We must still endeavor to ratify the planetary councils if we are to end xenophobia within the empire! The empire grows weak with such divisions. When all Klingons are free and equal then the empire is a strong and redoubtable force within the galaxy! Even the Galactic Senate has officially approved our ratification and anti-xenophobic efforts! This makes the KNCO cringe; let us make them purge blood also! Remember also that the Klingon Occupation Force Fleet is one of hundreds that encourage non-discrimination. My personal House Fleet includes all races even some that are not Klingon! Let us continue to encourage our allies, as well as our personal House Fleets to end xenophobia, it is not-diplomatic, it is too expensive, it dissipates lives, resources and discourages honor and glory within our ranks.

             The destruction of the original home planet Qo-Nos. We all know of the backroom deals that destroyed our original moon with bad mining practices and poor engineering that did not prevent the destabilization of its gravitational integrity. This is such a disgrace, there will be blood! I like many was able to leave the planet before the moon crashed into it. If it weren’t for the fact that my father was an engineer we would not have been able to warn anyone who could listen to flee the planet as soon as possible. Value your engineers, they will build you glory!

             The genocide against the Gorn Hegemony. Even though it is a conspiracy theory against the popular tale of political strife between Galron and Martok, trust me, it was the KNCO, they attempted to use both sides to drive a wedge into the empire and create slavery and profit for themselves, such as they always do. They will pay dearly for such a costly dishonor!

                 The current war against the Cardasians, Federation and the Romulans. If we listen to our allies in the Ferengi Federation then we know one thing: The price of peace is at an all time low. The fight with the Gem Hadar ratified the local stellar neighborhood, and the empire! However such battle creates economic strife. If we somehow manage to keep diplomacy on the forefront then we might have a better chance of utilizing such relations to keep our efforts within Borg Initiative Directive protocols at its most possible apex. We have learned to refine hexatanium from Borg technology, and our scientists and diplomats are working to de-borgify species, learn what we can from them, and send them to whatever possible home world we can find for them. Many augmented or deborgified species, such as the Nausicaans are already a staple of force for the Klingon Empire, and our Occupation Fleet. Again there is no time for xenophobia, we must fight together to save the galaxy! Already Occupation Fleet engineers are adapting Borg technology in order to continue to weaken the KNCO. Let this be the way to defend ourselves and bring honor to the empire, and the galaxy!

              Toxification of empirical planets, and worlds outside of our empire. The empirical scientific community has an outreach that extends beyond diplomacy. The science community in the galaxy knows no boarders, and all within it should be considered our allies whenever possible. This is sometimes true also in other empirical fields. Keep your allies close and your enemies closer! Occupation Scientists and Engineers are at the forefront of eco-synthesis and advanced terraforming technology. We take living samples of various flora from all of our planets, others to build a stronger seed bank, create larger biospheres and nurseries to create eco-diversity, and to help keep living planets with living Klingons! Such forests now are ripe with our targ! Selective animal husbandry and scheduled hunting keeps the targ healthy, our food supplies well maintained, and our warriors strong! Controlled hunting has lessened species endangerment on planets such as Khitomer, and our scientists are developing research to keep the herds strong! Working with empirical motivations is a good way to gain powerful and important allies in the empire for the Occupation Fleet and must be encouraged. Legislation, legal actions, lawsuits, activism and open combat are all good uses of the Occupation Fleet against the KNCO. [No offense so some of our allies however;] Are we Ferengi? Of course not, we are Klingon! The Corporate Oligarchy must be destroyed at once, end capitalism now before it destroys us all!

                   Institutional sexism [This includes homophobia]: Sexism of any kind will not be tolerated. All members of the Empire make gains by merit alone. The Corporate Oligarchy would have women make warriors and slaves as their exclusive function! The KNCO would prefer closeted individuals over free Klingons! I cannot for the life of me understand why, but should it not be for some reason known, any Occupational Force Occupier who is not tolerant and impartial on the basis of gender or sexuality will meet with the Occupation Force Tribunal of our highest ranking female warriors and their guests. I personally can think of no less than three Generals within the Occupation, and no less than twelve Captains also, who are either Klingon females or homosexuals that I work with regularly - most of them will attend your tribunal to ensure that your blood is spilled properly! There are more than a few high ranking Klingon females or homosexuals within the Empire and the Occupation. Fear them!

                  Child labor / Child slavery and Labor / Pedagogic exclusivity: Again this is such an outrage! Occupy Educators will ensure that training, exercise and pedagogy are the only influences upon our youth until they reach the age of thirty. If you plan on being your enemies worst nightmares you must realize that this is only ten percent of your life, should you live so long, and your lessons will never end - get used to them! Many of our Occupied colonies are now forced to reduce their labor size thanks to our efforts. Uneducated of all ages should endeavor to complete their fundamental training. We are lucky that we have our own Scientists, Engineers and Warriors willing to put the time into their own honor enough to give us all the strength and unity of unilateral consciousness, ensure that they are put to work! May the heads of their former slave-masters adorn every newly Occupied Unionized Workplace and University! DEATH TO IGNORANCE! [Of course all Occupy Fleet Ships and Houses incorporate their own training programs, let us guide the rest of the Empire to this practice by our collective example.]

                   Targeted Assassinations, Indefinite Detention, and Extraordinary Rendition: Our last rescue at Rurth Penthe was successful enough; all of the Occupy prisoners were stolen back from their dilithium mining facilities. Although many political prisoners of consequence are still incarcerated, let us mildly say that many non-Occupy prisoners were engaged with us as well. Of course the results at this time are still classified, yet obviously our objectives are not entirely complete. Our scientists, technicians and engineers are constantly devising new plans based on the objectives of the KNCO. Let that much at least me known!

                  

                     End note: Occupation Forces should currently use appropriate diplomacy and discretion when dealing with the house of Martok, the house of Mogue, and any non-KNCO factions in the Hatori, Negh-Var, and Khittomer systems or empirical familial houses that may be related. The current home planet of the new Qo-Nos is still an Occupation battlefield against the KNCO, if you plan to take your fleet there be prepared for battle and defense protocols at all times. In-fighting and secular combat should be expected on-planet if not within systemic orbit. Hatori and Khittomer both are currently engaged in diplomatic truce protocols unless otherwise noted, especially in regard to anti-KNCO activities, as well as in cases of unlawful xenophobia or slavery which the Occupation Force and the Empire has admonished. Let there be no doubt in case of xenophobia or slavery, the Klingon High Council will hear of this! The Occupation Force does not necessarily condone truce with Romulans in the Theta Eridani Sector, that all Klingons should be aware, however, pagan Romulan separatists who adhere to Vulcan theological beliefs should be granted honorable diplomacy, or else how can we justify polytheism within our very own empire? Remember this: The enemy of my enemy is my friend! Do anything you can to undermine the Romulan Empire-especially by supporting their pageantry! More importantly the Theta Eridani Sector[1] has long been in dispute in the Beta Quadrant, save your resources for the war against the KNCO, unless there is a Borg invasion. In such a case, all non-emergency and non-critical Occupational Fleet ships should adhere to the Initiative Directive and negotiate combat protocols. Remember to keep your engineers and scientists on the ready for after Borg-contact salvage operations! Remember this always; THEY are the Borg-THEY WILL BE ASSIMILATED! Strangely enough the Klingon Nefarious Corporate Oligarchy is still not the greatest threat to us.

Qa-Pla!

[Always use quantum or trans-phasic weapons systems against the Borg, your Occupation systems distributor will contact you with more useful information to this regard.]

[Finally; Occupation Forces are to avoid conflicts between, The House of Galron, The House of Martok, The House of J’mpoc, The House of Duras, and The House of Mogue, should there be any, although preventing divisiveness between these factions will be tolerated for now. Most of these houses have systemic alliances important to the Occupation, we honor them by preventing their anger and saving lives! We all must learn to fight another day and save our resources! If glory is at hand – it may be there also tomorrow!]

Author’s Note:

         I am an ardent anti-capitalist. I sometimes look externally in my efforts to understand ways to disable the dominant paradigm, and when that isn’t possible I like to imagine how Klingons might be capable of doing so. I think by studying these kinds of possibilities I can find new tangibles that were somehow not considerable previously. The human thinking verses Klingon thinking deal opens up new tangibles. This kind of thinking could lead to important clues regarding our own systemic functionality. My theory here is that due to the militaristic nature of the Klingons that many of the problems that we as humans face today could lay dormant in Klingon society, and that in their probable future…[go ahead and stretch your imagination if you must,]…they are in that future timeline beginning to deal with the rudimentary efforts of anti-capitalist measures in their variation of a more ratified multi-star systemic [multi-globalized?] realization, which would of course mean that of their entire empirical star systems. It’s better than Mothra verses Godzilla its Occupy verses the entirety of the Klingon Empire! Lots of entertaining hours daydreaming I can assure you. Although they will continue to be a species of warriors, it might mean that they could also abolish capitalism and populist tendencies. An enlightened species would try to find the end of greed. I imagine avarice could disable Klingons and prevent them from greater honor somehow.

           I like video games. One day I was listening to the radio and boldly going where no one has gone before while online, I had to realize that any such Klingon occupation would involve hundreds of billions of lives, and possibly millions of casualties. Imagine for every occupation around our world there would be a future Klingon planet undergoing various levels of siege somehow similarly. Although it kind of makes us humans seem punier than usual I suppose it might say something about the relevance of pacifism and although I’m still trying to rationalize what this comparison actually means, at least I’m willing to have fun with it.

As humans we have something going for us, there are only eight billion of us. We don’t have the resources, the population, or the future science that the Klingons would have. Occupy has yet to critically engage slavery in all forms and in all levels, wage slavery, sex trafficking, etc, all forms. I do not know how to solve that. Our planet is going to shit, and Occupy / Occupy Sandy is one positive outcome that is in its own way fighting corporate engagement against the planet. Although in a free society without capitalism, we would likely also be free of need or global environmental endangerment, at least that is to say idealistically speaking. Economic equality would likely have prevented most of Genocide, war and toxification: It is sad that the anti-war movement is not doing what it can to rock the foundation of governments into submission; at least in Europe anti-austerity measures have been major. It is weird to think that a movement would actually have to fight to create peace.

The Roddenberrian “Borg Initiative Treaty,” is something we don’t have and should. Things are hella more Borg round here than they should be, we should theoretically unite to fight the injustices of capitalist society, of course that’s just it, people don’t know they have been assimilated, and most people don’t like to think of concepts like conformity, or consider themselves conformists on some level. It’s really too bad, people should consider themselves capable of freedom of oppression in all forms. As far as I can tell capitalism just doesn’t work that way, and that is my point actually. It doesn’t work. Capitalism slaves pretty well, but it just can’t work, terrible theory, don’t try again! Give up while you are ahead! The whole Roddenberrian thing is that in the future people work, or educate or train themselves, because that’s simply what people do, and that’s what is done. In turn people receive goods and services because…yeah….that’s simply what people do, and that’s what is done. Absolutely no need for capitalism.

We don’t have an entire army of engineers and scientists working around the clock to terraform the planet, let alone many planets. We likely will never have this. Maybe in a hundred years or something, not now. Maybe we should. Occupy the Albany Gill Tract made me think that Klingons would fight GMOs in the fields, in many many fields. Activists in America, Europe and elsewhere have been known to burn GMO crops, I’m not saying that should be a specific goal for occupy, I’m merely pointing out similarities. I definitely think that Occupy could do more with urban farming. I think Occupy could look into purchasing land, creating an organic farm, and creating revenue for itself and future activities. I often think that Occupy should be doing something capitalist to employ its own people, create job security, an economic attempt to level the playing field. A café with a stage and an art gallery with a liquor license? I’ve done that kind of work, it’s really hard, takes a lot of dedication and the burn out ratio is pretty high also. It could be a lot of fun also.

I kind of skipped sexual inequality, that’s just so out. I don’t think it is too hard to imagine that Klingons suffer from the same kinds of inequality that we do. We don’t have space ships, only people in the future have that. [Going back to the teams of technicians,] We do have the East Bay Free Skool; there are free schools and independent universities out there. Localized non-profit education can help provide the community with something relevant, possibly integral. The Black Panthers had an education program, so should we. Occupy does seem to do what it can to help alleviate the injustice of the penal system. I know that Occupy Oakland’s Occupy the courts does more than general support, and works closely with the National Lawyers Guild. I have heard that this is true of #OWS also. I don’t think that Occupy can really engage a Federal penal colony, like that of Guantanamo or something, although it is an intriguing idea. Many futuristic Klingon occupation ideas do not translate into our current human format, diplomacy in either case seem relevant somehow.

Live long, prosper, live to fight another day. Thanks.

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[1] Occupation ships should not enter this sector in battle formations of less than three. Battle cruisers should be accompanied by at least two birds of prey and those ships should not venture into the Theta Eridani in groupings of less than six. We cannot afford to weaken our fleet! Let them know we are encouraging gang warfare in our own space! Attack them without mercy when it is possible - avoid them when necessary when you must! The Borg like to attack there also, have an appropriate arsenal in the ready!