Shortly after I arrived Sunday night, I spoke to these workers while one interpreted for the three. They were up from Vegas and hoping to land a flooring job in the morning. They said the shelters were full and that the authorities keep stealing their blankets, and that these were hard to keep replacing.
I kicked off the program that night by talking about why we were there and encouraging people to reclaim the word "comrades." After I spoke, people broke into small conversational groups to get to know one another.
The homeless remembrance sculpture offered a wonderful reminder of why the Mayor needs us on his doorstep.
I spoke to a regally dressed homeless woman who was born in 1927. She opted to sleep in a chair out in the open that night.
I did my first interview Monday at 4 AM. Fuckers woke me up.
Tons of media came in the morning to see us arrested, and lots of us got to do interviews. Here's Lead Vendor Staff Danina Garcia, telling it like it is.
It was a kick for us to see the favorable press in the morning papers.
Women in Black stood in front of the homeless remembrance sculpture and read the names of the 280 homeless who have died on the street in Seattle since 2001.
Church Council President-elect Michael Ramos thundered prophetically while surrounded by clergy just before we all went out into the street.
SHARE Executive Director Scott Morrow and I carried the tent out where it didn't belong.
You can always tell the true CD junkies. They're the ones right up front, staring down the cops.
I chat up my arresting officers.
We weren't sure police would choose to arrest RCOP activist Mike Smith, but with proper encouragement and forewarning, they obliged. Mike was given a ride to his door in an unusually nice ACCESS van.
"Free at last! Free at last! Lawd, Lawd, free at last!" The Camp4Unity 15, sans Mike Smith, released to the sidewalk behind West Precinct half an hour after our arrests.
All photos by Doug at Whitney's Corner. Additional photos and commentary may be found at his excellent blog.
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2 comments:
Awesome...Awesome....Awesome...Did I say...Awesome?
One important correction, and that is for the caption under the picture of you with Scott Morrow. He is not SHARE's "Executive Director." SHARE is not organized hierarchically and does not have an executive director, a weekly representative assembly is its decision making body. Scott is a men's organizer, one of several organizers on SHARE's tiny staff. It takes a special kind of person to remain content with being in the background of an organization. Scott would cringe at being labeled an executive director.
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