Below the cut is the full text of the letter the Department of Public Works sent to Occupy SF today, in response to the health inspection yesterday. The camp has been scrambling to comply all day; if they do not comply "in a few hours" (as of this morning), they will be raided with the intent to destroy the camp tonight.
Some of these demands, like clean bathrooms, are reasonable and already in force. Other demands, like no pets, would require evicting at least 20 people. Where do they go on half a day's notice? If they want to stay, do they abandon their pets or turn them over to a shelter? No-kill shelters in SF are rare and overbooked.
The demand for no mattresses or furniture is a sticky one, and seems very broad. Campers are sleeping on cement -- they aren't allowed to sleep on the grass. Now they're not allowed any padding. The city-ordered raids have consistently been a tactical move to deprive campers and OSF organizers of sleep, using the exact same methods that interrogators use to wear down a POW, wielding lack of sleep and high stress conditions to make the prisoner give in to demands.
[Read more: the notice of compliance demands]
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
[word] Today's inspection
I am exhausted, it's 11 pm, I stuck around late to help prepare for the raid. But I know people want to know how today went. So here's what I saw while I was media liaison for the inspection today, 4pm, at camp.
It went okay.
They were happy to see compliance, a sign of continued compliance, and that we're "showing willing," ie, that change has been made and will continue. They seemed to want more things done, considering they honed in on two pieces of cardboard that were still on the ground where someone had just moved out.
The inspector's face was stony, but I think he was just being professional considering a media train of about 50 reporters and camera men were trailing him like a pack of wolves the whole time.
It was a quiet, solemn, nerve-wracking procession. We had people from our contingent -- a few from media and comm, and one senior medic -- answering the inspector's questions. He had a lot of specific, hard questions, and they had good answers.
The campers did a great job. Almost everyone was helpful and respectful, I didn't see any camera-clowning. I saw a lot of the kids jump up and finish up the odds and ends that hadn't gotten cleaned during yesterday and today's big overhaul.
The camp looks more open, orderly, and thinned out. There's more light, less crowding, less feeling that something hidden could be going on somewhere. There's less mud, the Porta Potties don't smell inside (they were inspected).
The kids got up a drum circle with vocalist and dancers at the end of camp, which the media loved.
Kitchen packed up and moved out temporarily, in anticipation of a raid tonight. Instead, we had a wedding-sized feast of Greek casserole-type entrees that were absolutely wonderful. Kitchen was kind enough to shuttle a few chafing dishes to 101 and GA.
Check occupysf.com and @occupysf for up to the minute news.
It went okay.
They were happy to see compliance, a sign of continued compliance, and that we're "showing willing," ie, that change has been made and will continue. They seemed to want more things done, considering they honed in on two pieces of cardboard that were still on the ground where someone had just moved out.
The inspector's face was stony, but I think he was just being professional considering a media train of about 50 reporters and camera men were trailing him like a pack of wolves the whole time.
It was a quiet, solemn, nerve-wracking procession. We had people from our contingent -- a few from media and comm, and one senior medic -- answering the inspector's questions. He had a lot of specific, hard questions, and they had good answers.
The campers did a great job. Almost everyone was helpful and respectful, I didn't see any camera-clowning. I saw a lot of the kids jump up and finish up the odds and ends that hadn't gotten cleaned during yesterday and today's big overhaul.
The camp looks more open, orderly, and thinned out. There's more light, less crowding, less feeling that something hidden could be going on somewhere. There's less mud, the Porta Potties don't smell inside (they were inspected).
The kids got up a drum circle with vocalist and dancers at the end of camp, which the media loved.
Kitchen packed up and moved out temporarily, in anticipation of a raid tonight. Instead, we had a wedding-sized feast of Greek casserole-type entrees that were absolutely wonderful. Kitchen was kind enough to shuttle a few chafing dishes to 101 and GA.
Check occupysf.com and @occupysf for up to the minute news.
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