Inside Inside Occupy LA…. Is the Occupation of LA City Hall About To Implode?

Rancho Larry's picture

Forums: 


Tonight at the general assembly the pitched debate was on. It was all about whether or not to comply with the non-negotiable DEMAND by Captain Sherman of the LAPD that the donation of organic garden boxes should be removed, forthwith.

What you say?  What are you talking about, Gardening Boxes?  What has THAT got to do with Wall Street?  Not much as far as I can see, but way too many of the folks at the GA tonight saw it far differently.  Many expressed their feelings that THIS should be the line in the sand where the battle starts.   Too many of the Occupiers seem to be itching for a fight.  Maybe it is because everywhere around the country that IS what the occupations have gotten, a fight, complete with riot cops, tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets. And so far NONE of that has been seen in LA, thank God.
Be careful what you wish for Occupiers, THAT is this reporters advice to the crowd. You MAY think it is NOBLE, or it is inevitable or just plain part of the process to be beaten, gassed and arrested.  I do not see it that way.  I see that the LA Occupation has had more leeway and understanding from the LA city officials than any other occupiers anywhere else in the nation from the get go.   I believe the Occupiers should embrace and be thankful for that leeway and insight from the LA powers that be. Work-With-It, DO NOT throw it all away over some organic garden boxes intended to GROW THEIR OWN FOOD.

What the majority of the Occupiers do not grasp is that they are there for ONE PURPOSE and one purpose only.  That purpose is to Peaceably Assemble and to petition the government with redress of their grievances.  That’s IT folks.  You are NOT there to start a people’s university.  You are not there to feed and cloth the homeless who have flocked to the lawns to take whatever advantage and raise whatever hell they can get away with.  You are not there to drum, dance, and party far into the night, disturbing the PEACE of the neighborhood.  You ARE there to Peaceably Assemble to petition the government with a redress of YOUR grievances. That IS the one reason you are there and that one reason allows you the PROTECTION of the First Amendment to remain in Occupation of the City Hall lawns.  Once you move outside that Peaceful Assembly process THEN the LA City officials and LAPD can and will make the case in Federal court that YOU ALL were no longer Peacefully Assembled, to petition the government with your grievances. That's the Ball-Game, you've screw it up and open the door for tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets.  THAT is the cold hard FACT that Occupy LA better embrace fast or it is going to get real messy.  AND all the hard work and sacrifice the TRUE, down-for-the-cause Occupiers have invested with suffer the unnecessary set back of Legal Eviction from the lawns.  And what a shame that will be.  Because, dear Occupiers, ultimately you are there on the lawns of LA City Hall because of this and this alone:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

So Do the WORK, Get It Right, DUMP the garden, turn down the PA at 9 PM behave like responsible CITIZENS, peacefully assembling to petition the government with a list of your grievances.  Like the song says: Be Cool Or Be Cast Out.   Don’t Blow It! Do you REALLY want to go back to Square One and begin all over again?

Mahayana's picture

What laws do the box gardens violate?

Larry,


On what grounds do the cops have for wanting the box gardens removed?  Have any of the OLA legal advisers given input on this?

The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves - in their separate, and individual capacities. -Abe

Mahayana's picture

There has got to be legal grounds for this

It just seems like a bizarre thing for them to take issue with. Maybe there is some State Agriculture code that forbades the growing of fruits or vegetables on public property. If this is the case, then these people who are pissed and ready to get violent with the cops, need to know about the law. That is unless the Occupy movement has adopted all out anarchy. I mean, would people think it would be ok to shoot up heroin in front of the cops? No, because it's illegal. Nobody is going to get outraged if a cop arrests an occupier that does this. The same goes with the box gardens. If it truly is illegal then they shouldn't be mad at the cops and instead address the issue with the appropriate lawmakers. This is important because if people are aware of this law, then they are not as likely to jeopardize the movent by fighting the cops on this issue.


I know when I read your post, I was upset when I read the cops wanted the organic box gardens removed, as if they would be acceptable if they were Monsanto grown veggies. I'm pretty sure whether they are organic or not is irrelevant.


I won't beat down any pigs this time Larry...but only because you said so.


:)


 

The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves - in their separate, and individual capacities. -Abe

Mahayana's picture

Thanks!

great link.


you gotta love alex jones :)

The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves - in their separate, and individual capacities. -Abe

occupation blog's picture

Rancho Larry's Post

Thanks for pointing this out. I watched the video of the exchange with LAPD, and the two points they made were regarding the garden and amplified noise, both easily dealt with. The cops sounded reasonable.

The video was too long to post on YouTube but I can split it and post it later.

Thanks to all for your observations and input.

That's not right bro,

That's not right bro, honestly, we are being bitches if we are going to start getting violent. With the exeption of oakland, we have no right to start throwing rocks for gardening boxes u gotta understand g. If we start getting violent for shitty shit like that we look vulnerable don't u see, like we are sensitive to every move they make. A real revolution was thhe real American revolution of 1776, they started getting violent after laws started being passed, not pussy threats. If anything we should take all this bullshit the cops, the rich and what all those fuckers are trying to do and hold it in till we explode. Basic psychology g, a people person or entity who cannot air their griefs are most likely to tantrum. Wait till they pass a law to try and limit our rights something retarded, remember the tea act? That's when we should react.

I mean all I'm trying to say is, theyre demanding like WE DON'T OWN THEM. I'm sorry for paying for iPhone bill officer, but please it's disobedient to NOT suck on my nuts when I tell u to dog, I say start roasting pigs rather than growing plants.

AM3R1CA_s2n

Fex's picture

That would be absurdly

That would be absurdly shameful if this does go as your fear. Well, good on spreading the message, it's a good one.

"Word following word- I wrought words. Deed following deed, I wrought deeds." - The Havamal

daniil's picture

Scarcity is a tool of capitalism.

For some reason, this is a major point of contention: Food. First the health department tried to shut down the food tent.  Now this.

Teenagers are showing up every weekend drinking booze and dosing on god knows what, and the police are nowhere to be seen.  But the instant we try to grow food... whoa, slow down there! That's a little too revolutionary.

Here is MY grievance: rich motherfuckers are controlling my food supply.  Industrial agro-corps are poisoning us with GMO crap that rots our bones, renders us sterile, and contaminates the heirloom gene pool that we've inherited from centuries and centuries of selective breeding.  Pretty soon, it will be the only food available.  Unless we fight back.

Let the cops try to smash up our garden boxes. Is that really the fight LAPD wants to pick?  It may not look too good.  There are a lot of food activists out there, a lot of people who are very, very angry at Monsanto.  We could all be hiding up in the woods, squatting on BLM land, going off-grid. But here we are, in the middle of our population center, trying to create a model to live by.  We are no longer redressing grievances. We are creating solutions.  The South Central Farmers were creating solutions too.  The city should have helped them, but they didn't.  The city should help us too... but they won't.  The LAPD should be hoeing down.  But they're not.

Anybody who tries to stop us is merely revealing their true nature and showing who they really work for.

We cannot, by the longest of

We cannot, by the longest of long shots, grow anywhere near enough food at City Hall to make the tiniest dent in the food needs of this occupation.  To do so we would need more space than this block has--and I'm including the part that the building is sitting on.  It is not possible, and it makes us look unbelievably silly if we pretend that we can.  Every single square inch of occupied land that we devote to this batshit idea is quite literally wasted space. 

So it's not just that the garden boxes aren't worth fighting for...it's that they are not worth having at all.  They are worse than useless.  I'll say it again: worse than useless.  Significantly worse, because the fact that some hotheads are determined to fight the police to keep the stupid things imperils the whole Occupation.

Let the cops take them.  It will save us the work of carrying them off site.  The space they would take up and the effort it would take to maintain them would both be better off used for other things.

 

The right to garden wherever

The right to garden wherever is not really that central to the core messages that Occupy is spreading.  If the cops decided to get rid of them, it would probably just show up as a blog post somewhere, and you'd be deprived of your boxes.  Worst of all, nobody would really care besides you, and you'd look silly to probably a good fraction of the people out there, including many supporters.

I know it seems important, but that's a really subjective thing.

Here's a good example.  I like and use, and sometimes promote free open source software.  It's my "thing".  By most standards, using FOSS is very progressive.  But most people don't care.  They want to use the stuff on Windows or Mac.  They don't want to learn the FOSS stuff.  They think it's weird that I don't like Windows much, don't care about the Mac, and seem to want to use the weird programs.

I've dedicated most of my life to learning, using, and participating in FOSS, but I just have to accept that for 90% of computer users out there, it isn't important, at least not so overtly that it's in their conscience.

So if I got into a conflict or altercation about FOSS, and a cop beat me over it, I'd just look foolish.  I'd need hundreds of people to protest that beating and work FOSS into it, before anyone understood what's going on.

Yeah but I'm saying if we

Yeah but I'm saying if we starting taking up arms for a fairly weak offense, we show how weak we really are, vulnerability is weakness, and that's what they're trying to figure out, what's our weakness. You're right it's a totally different situation, but it's still no means for violent retaliation. I'm still in favor for roasting pigs, they can't stop a peaceful barbecue right? If anything give some pig to the pigs.

Think now is the best time to start demanding what we want, in a professional manner. We exposed their weakness, lack of revenue. B of a and others arent gonna tax cos for using our own money, it's a start right? At least now they know they can't take advantage of us. Secondly, theres this Createjobsforusa.org and hopefully others trying to put some Americans back to work, we have the upper hand we should strike now.

AM3R1CA_s2n

On top of that, winter is

On top of that, winter is coming and it's supposed to consume most of the occupation, if we can thrive throughout the winter, perhaps getting some of our demands met, i guarantee it will scare the 1% into at least considering more of our demands/needs/wants. Surviving the winter or better yet, winning the winter campaign will sway influence toward the movement no doubt.

AM3R1CA_s2n

Bro that's what I'm saying,

Bro that's what I'm saying, if the occupation shows it's vulnerability for the garden stuff, who knows what they'll take away next, no need to get angry.

Stick with the shit we started with right, and don't stray from the cause for the side effects.

AM3R1CA_s2n

I won't presume to speak for

I won't presume to speak for Larry, but I believe he means that the First Amendment protects the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a fair redress of grievances...it does NOT protect the "right" to grow some stupid goddamned garden on the lawn of a government building.  So it's the protest part of our occupation that keeps us under the protection of the First Amendment, whether the police like it or not...but not the garden.  And therefore, the garden boxes are not even remotely worth fighting for.

I hope Larry will correct me if I've misinterpreted him.  (And for the record, I fully agree with him on this.  It's really, really sad to see how many people seem to be congenitally unable to focus on the real work that these Occupations have got to do.)

Well maybe its worth fighting

Well maybe its worth fighting for because the garden may be a source for free food, not the the primary source but still a source. Think like villagarosa or however u spell his name. How do u make these people go home? Cut their food supply or something on the lines of that right? Food I'd say is a major variable in the occupations but not one that calls for violence when taken away. Protest I agree, violence nay. Tell me if I'm on the right page, I try to understand everyone's view to build atop mine.

AM3R1CA_s2n

Nope.  Not even close.  Not

Nope.  Not even close.  Not even in the same county, let alone the ballpark.  We live in a city.  City Hall and its lawns are a tiny part (geographically speaking) of that city.  The amount of food we could grow at City Halll without a significant adverse effect on the use of our space would be so tiny (relative to the density of our Occupation, i.e. the number of people in a cramped space needing to be fed every single day) that it's not even worth fighting for with words, let alone our bodies. 

The amount of effort that you and I are putting into typing these messages right now is more effort than this gardening idea is worth.

(Not to say that I am not enjoying our conversation. Laughing)

I'm just giving off the ideas

I'm just giving off the ideas that pop off in my head, if they work hooray if they don't then scold, apologies is they aren't scientific or professional, seeing things your way, now knowing gardens can't feed the whole occupation is reality. But idk I've read a lot of people's grievances here and elsewhere and it really seems like they're done giving things up to anyone. And I'm part of the cincinnati movement and it was heartbreaking to see people go home cos the cops told them to. I like debate even when I'm wrong, bt I don't know how to keep this one going!

AM3R1CA_s2n

I agree with all of that but

I agree with all of that but the pork! What they gonna do without food lol pork was a sarcastic remark btw cos of the cops pigs eh nvm haha. But I find it funny how it's hard to agree when we speak almost the same things brother.

AM3R1CA_s2n

Maybe I used the wrong word,

Maybe I used the wrong word, let's try this approach. Someone tells u u can't do something and by law he's right, let's take it like men and not cry about it. The police is the also part of the 99% that's just listening to their boss the mayor who probably gave the chief a general agenda to end the occupation in Los Angeles. God forbid but if this revolution turns violent with the federal government, we will eventually need the police to act as our militia. What u gonna do if this goes violent bro, buy a shotgun at walmart and start fighting? I probably would but it would be nice if my nieborhood police officer was on my side.

AM3R1CA_s2n

Weekend Warrior's picture

GIVE LAPD CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

     I was at Wednesday's march.  I have to give the LAPD officers credit for acting professional during the whole thing, despite people calling them pigs the whole time and blaming them for the conduct of less professional Oakland police thugs.  Don't forget the cops' pensions are on the line too.  They have kids they want to put through college on a cop's salary. I'm sure allot of them are upside down in their mortgages.  If their pricks, call them out.  When they are courteous professionals doing their job, give them credit and maybe a smile and a thank you.  

     If they make us bleed, we win.  If we make them bleed, we lose.  If no one bleeds and the occupation continues, we still win.

Right on.  I have called out

Right on.  I have called out many a prick cop, to his or her face, in situations where I didn't have 500 people to hide behind.  Last night the LAPD kept their cool and did their job.  Tomorrow night they may be dicks again (I was at MacArthur Park on May Day 2007, among other police riots, and I know what some cops are capable of), but Wednesday night they handled shit pretty well.  Yup, I said it.

Isn't that cos there's a lot

Isn't that cos there's a lot of drug dealers and other illegal stuff going on @ MacArthur park, I used to go there all the time for shit. I wouldn't blame the cops for being dicks there. Depending on what they did though lol

AM3R1CA_s2n

Well, now...let's be real

Well, now...let's be real here.  They haven't come that damned far.  Like I said, the May Day Melee was only four years ago and I witnessed some egregious behavior from the officers present...and I'm talking about *before* they decided to fire rubber bullets into a peaceful crowd of thousands in response to some rocks and bottles from a tiny group of about fifteen very pissed off (and rightfully so) young activists that *they* had been provoking for almost an hour.

I don't know how many ppl you're getting through to Larry

I absolutely agree with you re extraneous causes. 

Ending the actions of the global criminal elites and their politician collaborators is the umbrella issue under which all other causes fall. It's the reason OWS came into being and why we have so much public support. I get exhausted seeing ppl expend so much energy on side issues, including some relatively big ones like the Tar Sands pipeline, etc.. We need to take our country back from the crooks, then we can fix all the other injustices under the rule of law & the Constitution.

The damn planter boxes almost broke me last night at the GA. Just unfuckingbelieveable. People on the chat were actually saying that "food security" is the central issue of our times and/or that planter boxes are the "symbol" of all that's wrong in this country. I'm about ready to curl up w/ a handy addiction and forget the whole thing until the environment is so compromised that no one has to worry about anything cuz we'll all be dead, which will be sooner rather than later unless we stop the 1%'s globalized rampage.

I've been thinking about it since the GA and have come to the conclusion that some ppl may not be ready for the responsibility for making the changes that need to happen. It is so much easier to dick around w/ planter boxes or run an amateur outreach to crazy street ppl. Folks seem to think those side activities give them the cover they need to not do the hard work of the revolution. They're wrong.

How to get OLA back on track? First, formulate a plan to get the disruptive, non-participating element moved elsewhere. They do not fall under the free speech/assembly rights that apply to OLA participants. Then refocus & recommit to the actual goals of the Movement and move forward. If the "church lady" element, the ones who want to grow dandelion greens & save kittens or whatever, won't get on board, then they can move on too, cuz they, as you already pointed out, also have no right to be there. Easier said than done I know, but necessary. And it needs to happen soon before others (the city government, the LADP, law-suit-threatening neighbors or violent revolutionaries) make the decision for us.

I know my patience is at an end.

 

Thx for trying Larry

Fex's picture

Time to make a sign

"Hell maybe we all need to Occupy our own Front Yards (those of us who still have one) to show our neighbors what is Up..."

Thanks for reminding me, making a sign to put up in my apartment window. A lot of people get stuck in their cars at the traffic light right outside. Free advert space :)

"Word following word- I wrought words. Deed following deed, I wrought deeds." - The Havamal

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I've been thinking about it since the GA and have come to the conclusion that some ppl may not be ready for the responsibility for making the changes that need to happen. It is so much easier to dick around w/ planter boxes or run an amateur outreach to crazy street ppl. Folks seem to think those side activities give them the cover they need to not do the hard work of the revolution."  --tovangar2

 

Thanks again

This is brilliant. We need to have public servants, not "leaders"; citizen legislators, not courtiers, in a representative government which serves us, rather than a separate entity ruling over us (especially since "ruling" has been reduced to 'exploit & discard'. We don't even get bread & circuses anymore). I really appreciate solution-based discussions. I'm sick of cataloguing the outrages against us. It's been done to death.

And, for crissakes people, listen to Larry, kill your damn TV's. They're a drug. They immobilize you and destroy critical thinking, turning us into a nation of dullards. Anything worth watching is on the net w/ minimal or no commercials.

P.S. And don't miss this peeps: http://www.occupylosangeles.org/?q=node/1551

 

Pages