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Saturday, October 29, 2011

Occupy Today, Occupy Seattle Moves to SCCC

Posted by Brendan Kiley on Sat, Oct 29, 2011 at 4:20 PM

Here's the order of operations for this afternoon on the Occupy Seattle website:

5pm: March from Westlake to SCCC

6:30pm: SCCC Speak-Out

8pm: Halloween Party Begins!

8:30pm: Tent-Raising

Bring your Tent and a Pumpkin! Come in Costume!

Rumor has it there will be prizes...(there will be no prizes).

Occupy Seattle will only succeed if you show up! And camp out! Occupy Together!

As Dominic reported, the president of SCCC has issued a letter to Occupy Seattle that seems to begrudgingly roll out a welcome mat while giving him the rhetorical leeway to roll it back if things go sideways:

Yesterday, I met with representatives from Occupy Seattle. They declared that regardless of college policies and college concerns, they intend to continue their action. While I remain concerned about a host of possible adverse impacts (personal safety, financial impact, etc.), the WAC, as it is currently written, allows this occupation to take place.

Meaning, I take it, that that SCCC president Paul Killpatrick isn't thrilled to have Occupy on his college's doorstep but that he won't call the police and try to have them evicted for trespassing. Yet. (And also, per a press release sent about ten minutes after I put up this post, that the teachers' union Local 1789 supports Occupy Seattle's move to SCCC, which has to put some pressure on president Killpatrick.)

As Dom has also reported (and many people have anecdotally noted), Occupy has looked a little anemic in the past week or so, as arguments between factions about how to proceed and what the tenor of the protest should be seemed to sap its core strength.

But if people show up for the SCCC occupation this afternoon and evening, they could give Occupy Seattle a dose of reinvigoration.

Comments (20) RSS

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Occupy Wall Street in NY has balls, Occupy Oakland has balls, Occupy Seattle has passive aggressive process

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on October 29, 2011 at 4:28 PM

"But if people show up for the SCCC occupation this afternoon and evening, they could give Occupy Seattle some reinvigoration."

are people showing up for the occupation or are they showing up for a halloween party? bring a pumpkin! wear a costume! go trick or treating!

Posted by zeebleoop on October 29, 2011 at 5:07 PM

Either way, now SCCC has the opportunity to create a host of innovative new AAS degrees:

Certificate in Urban Tent Camping

Police Combat Degree I & II

History of Successful Middle Class Revolutions in America (no textbook yet...actually, no material yet!)

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe

on October 29, 2011 at 5:14 PM

Great, now this camp will vanish from public view. Nestled in the cozy and accepting confines of Hipster Town where face it, the tattooed, faced pierced smoking kids really wanted to be, away from the daytime working squares and night time pyscho homeless in Westlake; you know, the 99%. No cops to bother them. It'll be Nicklesville for white college kids with C+ GPAs and no media harassing them.

Enjoy the long cold, wet winter kids.

SOME NEW NAMES FOR OS:

Occupy the really white parts of Seattle (Census: Cap Hill is 78% white, whiter than Bellevue)

Sorta-Occupy Seattle?

Occupy Convenient Parts of Seattle?

Occupy Cool Parts of Seattle?

Occupy Parts closer to my friends on Cap Hill in Seattle?

Near-Occupy Seattle?

BTW kids, remember, only 29% of Americans have a privileged college degree and the unemployment rate for them is 4.4%.

So repeat after me, "WE ARE THE 29%!"

Keep wiggling you fingers ladies; say what you will about the bucket shitting psychos at Occupy Oakland but they weren't pussies.

Posted by Sugartit on October 29, 2011 at 5:50 PM

Pathetic.

Posted by tacomagirl on October 29, 2011 at 6:01 PM

I find the animosity directed toward OS to be surprising. I find the snarky and elitist comments toward SCCC to be close to contemptible. The students I've met are trying for better lives, doing the best they can, and no one should be putting them down. Both the OS folks, and the SCCC students believe there may be a better world for themselves, and even, unselfishly, the rest of us. What's the problem?

Posted by Richard Wells on October 29, 2011 at 6:26 PM

On the receiving end of many emails going around SCCC at the moment, I can say there is quite a bit of support. The instructors appear to be with occupy Seattle and are excited to use their message and the state of our country as an opportunity for education and change.

Posted by ya! on October 29, 2011 at 7:06 PM

What will happen to the Farmer's Market? Will the Occupy Seattle people be so selfish as to disrupt hard working farmers trying to make a living?

Posted by TechBear on October 29, 2011 at 7:44 PM

Wow, The Stranger has basically written this movement off for Seattle. Tonight's march ended two and half blocks from your office and yet what we've got here is a journalistic piece written from a living room couch.

If you cover this piece later (and I hope you do), people will read about the hundreds of reinvigorated families, students, teachers, community workers (such as myself), and others who bothered to get off our asses. People who came out in the face of the what's-the-point apathy that's enabled Seattle, Washington State, and this country to slide deeper into our malaise.

I marched with a teen in my face while his friend filmed for YouTube or whatever. He confused "Community-Based" on my sign as "Communist-Based." I asked him if he was drunk right now and he said, "Hell yeah!"

This isn't fun. I don't want to be out in the streets. But this is what it takes.

Posted by Frozen Few on October 29, 2011 at 8:07 PM

Based on Livestream this is looking like a brilliant move.

http://www.livestream.com/owsoccupyseatt…

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe

on October 29, 2011 at 8:49 PM

Occupy Everett had, um, about seven to ten people at five PM Saturday afternoon. And two extremely bored Sheriff's Deputies leaning against their squad cars.

Posted by Dr_Awesome on October 29, 2011 at 9:55 PM

Well, what a nice little place for a nice little protest: a nice little college campus! I'll bet the Seattle oppressors will sleep well tonight in their downy beds. Doubt they ever did lose any sleep over this most civil of civil disobedience. Night-night everyone...

Posted by blathering michael on October 29, 2011 at 10:30 PM

Posted by blathering michael on October 29, 2011 at 10:34 PM

re-occupy Seattle!

Posted by 8Way on October 30, 2011 at 12:06 AM

The comments here make me LOL. People who aren't participating bitching about how those who are aren't doing it correctly. Classy.

Posted by brokn2pieces on October 30, 2011 at 4:55 AM

@15, I did participate at first, and then Seattle's movement became a cluster fuck of Seattle process.

I really wish Occupy Seattle would take some notes of the other cities protest movements and learn from what they are doing.

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on October 30, 2011 at 5:13 AM

@3 you need to go SCCC and take a history class. The abolitionist movement was largely middle class. The feminist movement has always been a middle class movement all the way back to Susan b anthony. In fact they have often been criticized for being TOO middle class. Civil rights movement was supported by an emerging black middle class. Need I go on?

@8 I'm sure they will do everything they can to not disrupt the market. Remember they've said they don't even plan to be on campus during the day. Occupy movements everywhere have worked hard to minimize unnecessary disruptions for local communities.

Posted by ML77 on October 30, 2011 at 7:14 AM

The only people talking shit are the ones who haven't actually taken the time to go to Westlake and see what their community is doing. If you're sitting at home complaining that OS doesn't speak for you, the only suggestion I have is for you to get up off your butts, turn off the boob tubes, and get your voice out there.

Posted by suddenlyorcas on October 30, 2011 at 8:52 AM

I like this Occupy Wall Street movement. You can easily pick out who among us "got theirs" and don't give a flying fuck about their fellow man.

Posted by suddenlyorcas on October 30, 2011 at 8:54 AM

@19, if you're looking for a "with us or against us" binary I hope the Occupy movement does not meet your needs. I fear it does, but I hope it doesn't.

Posted by gloomy gus on October 30, 2011 at 10:51 AM