I visited Occupy San Diego at the San Diego Civic Center Plaza at about noon on November 15, 2011. There were about 60 people at the encampment just outside the plaza. There were about another 15 people protesting in the plaza. There were about 25 police officers in the area. I talked to several of the protesters. Many of them were unemployed and homeless. Many of the homeless admitted that they were homeless by choice. There were also several of the homeless who appeared to be suffering from mental illness. In speaking with several of the protesters, they claimed that a large number of them were veterans. I did notice several of them wearing parts of military uniforms. One individual recommended that I too should wear something that identifies me as a veteran so that I would not be hassled by the police.
All of the protesters that I spoke to claimed to be protesting some aspect of those who are in power or the 1 percent. Many of them had printed or handmade signs. Some of them had printed mini protest signs that were held up to mock a previous ruling by local authorities that larger signs were weapons. I did not speak to anyone that claimed to be a direct victim of this most recent economic downturn, although most claimed to know a friend or family member that was negatively impacted by the economy. It appeared to me that most of the crowd was joining in with the national Occupy Wallstreet movement, even though they were not impacted by the recession.
After 1:00 P.M. a group of 8-10 people showed up in the plaza along with news media. They identified themselves as members of a local Tea Party organization. A woman from this group was there with her attorney to protest being assualted by a member of the Occupy San Diego movement. This appeared to be just a publicity stunt by her attorney and the Tea Party group. Relating to conflict theory, the Tea Party group claimed to have something in common with the Occupy San Diego movement, that being their dissatisfaction with the government. They specifically pointed out the government's bailout of the country's financial institutions. Other than this one common point, the Tea Party group seemed to be in opposition to the Occupy San Diego movement. They actually were siding with the establishment, in this case, local law enforcement. They believed that the occupiers should be prohibited from establishing their encampment on public property.
I was not able to find anyone from the Occupy San Diego movement that seemed to fill a leadership role within the movement. I was also unable to determine through talking with several of the protesters, what were some of their goals. I was impressed with many of the occupiers in that they appeared to be experienced protesters. This came out as they mostly allowed those in opposition (the Tea Party) to voice their opinions without interupting. I will continue to follow the stories of the Occupy movement nationwide, looking for stories that highlight the movement's goals and its leadership.
One thing I noticed at the Occupy movement is that they are purposelessly leaderless, they seem to take pride in that fact. The people I spoke with said they attempt to maintain a sense of horizontal structure, at least between the committees they are forming and such. The statements that you received from the police seems to mirror the statements I heard as well, they seem to think the movement is powerless without leaders. Frankly I believe that it is powerless with such a weak showing of support, I think the Occupy San Diego movement is quickly running out of steam. One of the police officers I spoke with said something along the lines of, "What would a middle class person do when they are faced with what is frankly a homeless population? They would walk away".
ReplyDeleteI noticed that as well. I sat their for a while trying to understand why they didn't have a leader and I realized that maybe they want it that way. It seems as though that is almost their message. That they can come together as equals without a leader to support the 99%. It is like because they are protesting against the leading 1% they are against leadership. Or maybe the occupy SD movement has not existed long enough for them to establish such leadership. Either way, I think that occupy SD will not make as big of an impact. Its sad to say because their are a little of people in San Diego that have voices that need to be heard, but their is a lack of support it seems to me.
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