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Revisiting #OccupyOC
The other night, I finally stopped by the Irvine Civic Center to check out the latest in the @Occupy movement, OccupyOC or OccupyOCIrvine. There has been quite a bit written about a movement that started on Wall Street and has swept across America, with folks from every background joining in. Occupy Irvine was, apparently, the first in Orange County. But, there have been several other Occupy [insert city here] throughout the Real OC, including Fullerton, Garden Grove and Huntington Beach. In fact, there are over 10 Occupy cities in our fair county. Yes, there is even going to be an OccupyTustin on November 4th at 3pm in front of the Wells Fargo bank at Newport and Irvine Blvd.
Back to Irvine. I wanted to stop and talk to a few of these folks for myself and see what, if any, message they were trying to convey to the public. What I found was a small group of standard bearers (it was 11:30 pm) holding their ground until the next day when the larger group would get together again. They had been forced off the grass onto the sidewalk but everyone I saw seemed to be in great spirits. In keeping with the anonymous nature of the movement, I did not ask names. I did not seek anyone in particular out to speak with. I didn’t have to. Of the thirty or so folks who were out there, many of them came up to me when I pulled my motorcycle up on the side of the road next to them. Of course, the first thing I asked was, where are the cops?
One young man told me they had not had a police presence for the past day or two. That said a lot to me. This eclectic group of people were so peaceful and orderly, the police did not need to do much more than swing by once in awhile to check on them. They moved off the grass when told to and moved back on in the morning, when Irvine’s “parks” open back up for general use. So, what about the message? One young lady, the wife of a United States Marine, said it best I think, when she said, “I have no voice in this Country.”
Listening to a few of them speak, it was quite clear. The overriding theme was, “end corporate greed”. They specifically told me they were not looking for handouts. They were looking for a fair shake. While some did tout an increase in government services to the poor and elderly, most simply wanted to have the ability to make a life for themselves in spite of the fact that megacorporations, aided by the government, were working daily to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. That was a pretty clear message and one I could not disagree with. Of course, there were lots of signs up and everyone there was advertising some different aspect of the overall message. Once thing was clear – they were going to be around for awhile.
So, last Saturday, there was supposed to be a culmination of the Occupy Movement at the Santa Ana Civic Center area. Some reports had the group pegged at about 120 protesters. Pictures and reports from the OC Weekly showed quite a larger crowd in front of the Ronald Reagan Federal Building. The Santa Ana Police Department was so worried about this being a major riot, they called in 
the mounted patrol. At that site, four members of the protest group were arrested, cited and released for camping in the area after hours. The police had, apparently, explained the protesters would not be able to camp out after 8 pm. Interestingly, many of the homeless who inhabit the area stood (or laid) side-by-side with the protesters. One of them had it right on when he said, “They are protesting for me”.
Should you think the Occupy movement is just a bunch of disgruntled, out of work college kids, think twice. OccupyOCIrvine has seen as many as 1000 protesters and as few as 20 or 30, who are willing to brave the cold and the isolation of an Irvine thoroughfare in the middle of the night. As one Twitter feed said,
@execplatinum: #OccupyIrvine looks like a commercial for Abercrombie & Fitch, Juicy Couture and Mercedes Benz” lol. 99%=everybody but 1.
They are lawyers, doctors, blue collar workers, bankers, students and housewives who are fed up with the pending demise of Middle Class America.
The City of Irvine “accidentally” turned the sprinklers on them one night. Subsequently, they attended Tuesday night’s city council meeting where they respectfully stood their ground and won some concessions from the City Council to be able to stay on the grass and, in some way, camp. They had plenty of support from the community. Councilmember Steven Choi commended them for their actions, saying they should be proud of themselves. They did not come to riot, they came to stand up for the 99 percent. And, they seem to be doing a pretty good job of it.
Councilmember Larry Agran said, “This is a new kind of demonstration.” It is, Larry, it is. And, it may be here to stay.
#OccupyTustin?
Few people have not heard of the Occupy (insert city) movement. Fueled by Twitter, Facebook and other social media, the movement has swept the country. Several weeks ago I saw a Twitter feed that gave an indication that the movement may be coming to Orange County. It has finally arrived.
The so-called “leaderless” movement” began with Occupy Wall Street a couple of months ago when people of all ages and backgrounds flooded Wall Street in peaceful demonstration. The police were overwhelmed. They had no idea what to do with hundreds of protesters who were actually demonstrating in a way that would have made Martin Luther King proud. So, some cops did what cops do best and pepper-sprayed and arrested the demonstrators.
By now though, it was too late, as this has grown into a nationwide grassroots effort by people of nearly every class peacefully demonstrating for the cause. There are no color or religion lines. The people involved are not particularly Republican, Democrat or any other political party (more than one Ron Paul sign has been seen). The message is not even all that clear. It is just people who are tired of the same thing that has been happening in our country. They are tired of their voices being drowned out with money and rhetoric from the far Left and the far Right. They claim they are the 99% that want to be heard and, perhaps, they are right.
The far Right seems to be the most upset with the demonstrations, which have taken place in New York, Chicago, Denver, Washington DC, and dozens of other places across the country (this is actually a worldwide movement, but that is another story). Some have laughed at it. Some have written it off. Cal Watchdog writer, Katy Grimes, stated the Sacramento Occupy movement has cost the city $13,000. Really? She then goes on to say there she saw the protest dwindle from two hundred to seven “on a park bench”. Hmmm, that’s almost $2,000 per protester. Must be the overtime. Katy would like to write the protest off as inconsequential but she chose to write about it. Thanks for keeping the publicity up, Katy.
Occupy finally wound up on our doorstep about 2 weeks ago when, suddenly, Twitter keywords of #OccupyHuntingtonBeach and #OccupyIrvine began showing up in the time lines. It was almost comical to read Tweets, often accompanied by a photo, of a sole individual in a Guy Fawkes mask standing on a corner in Irvine holding a sign. Twitter feeds started getting busier with keywords relating to Orange County, urging folks to come out and support the movement on October 15th for a “Global Day of Revolution”.
So, October 15th came. The people came to Irvine, about 250 from one report. The cops came, about 5 or 6 from what could be seen. It was peaceful and even semi-organized. The leaders of this leaderless movement are working without compensation or apparent organization. However, I suspect there are a few and at least some of them know each other. The main job of the leaders seems to be keeping the message out there with the public and keeping it fresh. The police advised the group, late last night, they would not be able camp in the park or even stand in the park. In fact, they told them they had to move to the sidewalk until 6 am and had to keep moving or be arrested for loitering. It was clear the cops were worried. They were so concerned, they posted at least 2 officers at the civic center to quell any potential overnight riots that might have happened with the 20 remaining protesters. Well, I guess they can wear them down. Beside, after all, this is Irvine we are talking about.
October 22nd is supposed to move all the individual Orange County Occupiers into The Civic Center area of Santa Ana for one, huge occupation. The police are gearing up by watching old You Tubes of the Wall Street protest. I’m sure Shawn Nelson is polishing his gun and dusting off his CCW permit, just in case. The homeless will probably join in, if only for the fact that they can get a free meal or two and some much needed hygiene items. The “unorganizers” are calling for assistance with food, hygiene, tents, sleeping bags and other items that will be needed to keep what they expect will be a large encampment or occupation of the Civic Center area. Will the Santa Ana Police let them stay if they protest in a peaceful manner? Some cities have kicked them out, some have allowed them to stay until they tire of them. It should be interesting to see what happens here.
If you want to get an idea of what is going on without actually going to Irvine or Santa Ana, join the Occupy OC Facebook Page or, if you want up to the minute, sometimes blow by blow, reports then join them on Twitter. In the meantime, I hope we don’t #OccupyTustin. I have enough to do getting ready for my daughter’s first homecoming dance.
Our Town Tustin 