Occupy Austin Day 24 or 25

Occupy Austin finds it's time for a makeover.

Amazingly, after the arrests on Saturday night, and a few more on Sunday, the scene at the plaza is still alive, albeit tattered, with an air of Austin funkiness. Unfortunately, most of the core supporters and strategists of Occupy Austin are now banned from the plaza. While this is an unmitigated disaster for our camp, it gives others the chance to step up and hopefully get the movement going in another direction.

An interesting thing about all the camps throughout the US, is that the protesters, now completely surrounded by the uniformed fascists in every city, have actually built their own prisons in which they will suffer mightily in the coming months. That is why it is time for the protesters to go somewhere where they can work together, then present a better image to the community. Yesterday, as I walked around the plaza asking questions about the state of affairs, you could see many in shock from what happened Saturday night, but there were still plenty of street folks waiting for that cigarette or slice of pizza to arrive, oblivious to the disaster that had befallen our camp.

Since I am interested in fund-raising for the group, I asked someone who might know a little about the financial side of the movement, where the money would best be spent. Unbelievably, she said to get more food and water for the occupiers at the plaza. I looked at the "occupiers." What I saw was the bums who gave us a bad name in the first place, who avoided jail by just laying there and being lazy, and many of the people who worked very hard to make the movement work, but were now packing things up and milling around waiting for rides to somewhere-anywhere but the plaza. It gave the plaza the look of a busy bus station or the last day of summer camp, where everyone is saying farewell and waiting for the winds of fate to scatter them hither and yon.

We all felt like frogs in a cauldron, where the fire was turned up so slowly on us, we didn't know we were cooked until it was too late. We definitely learned about the psychological control of an angry mob by the fascists, and as the saying goes, "We won't be fooled again." But we have a choice, we can fight them like dogs, or work within a system that unfortunately favors the fascists. Nobody says we can't occupy the media, because the fascists have been doing just that for years. But that is an occupation that takes money, and that is where I want to work within the Occupy Movement. To bring the fight to the fascists on their turf. We have sat in the plaza for three weeks and allowed the fascists to bring the fight to us, while we became an easy target for their horrid and demeaning tactics. They have everything they need on their side to keep us under their thumb. We have to work smarter and be tougher in order to win this fight. At this point we have two choices, go to jail, or freeze to death, of which neither of those am I interested. But I am very interested in promoting the core beliefs of the Occupation movement.

On Sunday, King Acevedo, true to his passive-aggressive form of mind-fucking,  made a statement quoting Gandhi and MLK before releasing the protesters, who, like I said, cannot reenter the plaza. A small group of angry and passionate survivors marched from the plaza to the police station to welcome the prisoner release, but most folks didn't want anything to do with the cops, and especially didn't want to go stand around the police station. The release was still an emotional moment. While I recognized some of the folks being released, some of them must of shown up Saturday night for no other reason but to create chaos and get arrested, because they were completely new faces, to me anyway. Meanwhile, back at the plaza, the police presence was becoming overpowering. By Sunday night they nearly outnumbered the protesters.

I thought about the speech I wanted to give on day one, when I still thought this was a free country and I wanted so badly to express my thoughts and exercise my freedom of speech in a public plaza to a group of like-minded people hungry for change. Now I know, if I stood in that plaza right now and gave that speech,  in which I implore the police to stand with us instead of against us, I would be immediately arrested. Over 2000 people across the country now have police records from this protest, and not one of the war criminals, war profiteers, investment banks or hedge fund managers that caused the financial collapse in this country or control our government has gone to jail. Obviously, this is a fascist state we are now living in. To some of us, it's plain as the nose on our face. To others, they just don't "have time to think about these things." Or maybe they don't understand what freedom of speech means. It is the ignorant people who taunt and laugh at those attempting to exercise one of the basic tenets of our democracy that frighten me the most. While they talk about our troops overseas fighting for our freedom, they don't have the slightest clue what freedom really is because they are imprisoned by the straight-jacket of fascism and corporatism.

On Saturday's march to the Capitol, before the camp was raided, I caught up with my friend Carmen, who I profiled in day 9. When I spotted her, she had two large cardboard signs and some protest chants she had written. She was trying to get the few protesters at the back of the line to go along with them, but was frustrated because her small voice, with its beautiful Puerto Rican accent, was not being heard. And the tall folks in front of her, many in Halloween costumes, had relegated her to the back of the line. Her notes, scratched in blue ink on a scrap of folded notebook paper read, "Whose water? Our water! Whose food? Our food! Whose land? Our land! Are we afraid? Nooooooooo, we are not afraid."

I hollered, "Carmen!" and she was happy to see me and thanked me for the profile I had written about her. I asked her what was going on and she explained her disappointment that she couldn't get anyone to chant her demands. So I took a look at them and Carmen and I chanted in the loudest voice we could muster, "Whose water? Our water! Whose food? Our food! Whose land? Our land! Are we afraid? Nooooooooo, we are not afraid!" We chanted the lines over and over and louder and louder and let the voice of freedom ring out and echo against the glass and granite of the downtown buildings. Our cadence rang down the hollow side streets and the alleyways where the downtrodden sleep and newspapers blow on cold lonely nights. It rang over the capitol where the lady of liberty looks over streets where the mentally ill wander aimlessly in search of help, and it rang over the din of expensive cars and city buses filled with those too blind to see. It was freedom ringing and it was ringing for us, for you and for all the folks in this fight who are jailed, shot, humiliated, tasered, beaten and maced because, like Carmen chanted, "Whose land? Our land! Are we afraid? Nooooooo, we are not afraid."

At one point, Carmen was confident enough to stand in front of a group of bewildered diners sitting at a sidewalk cafe while she chanted. I was so proud of her. After we made it a few blocks, and were out of breath from exercising our First Amendment Rights to such an extent, Carmen looked at me with her beautiful face full of life and excitement. The bright autumn afternoon sun made a tear in the corner of her eye look like the most spectacular topaz ever seen, and she joyfully exclaimed, "Boy, did that make me feel good! Thank you, Tawdry!"  And I hugged the tiny fragile body of this beautiful woman, whose only mission on earth is to express love for her fellow man, and replied, "Thank you, Carmen."

As the march made its way down dirty 6th street, I noticed the police had abandoned us and were hot-footing it back to the plaza to begin tearing through our personal belongings and throwing them away. It was then I knew the end of the movement as we knew it was nigh.

Afterthought: This is the end of the segment about the birth of the occupy movement in Austin, Texas. The movement is by no means over and is going full force, albeit in a different more sophisticated form than before. I am proud to be part of the movement and am a passionate believer in the cause. We are the 99%! Carry on brothers and sisters!

Occupy Austin Day 23

Plaza Occupation RIP

"If you take a house and put a bunch of shit on it, then add more shit, then every year add more and more shit, what are you gonna end up with? A big pile of shit."  Sam

Today is the day we found out the APD Chief Art Acevedo is just another slime-ball, like the rest of the fascist ilk. His slick speech on Thursday night about how he supports us blah, blah, blah was met today with what is basically an eviction notice. He came around  to pass out the fliers himself. There were so many rules, they will be impossible to follow. For example, everything has to be moved once a day, such as the food table, so it is not a "permanent" structure, and any sign not being held when they show up to fuck with us, will be confiscated and tossed. Then the power washes will resume three times a week, which means the freezing cold plaza will be soaked with water between 3am and 5am, and don't think you can evacuate to the island, because the park curfew is now enforced after 10pm.

Chief Pig Art Acevedo wearing the official fascist uniform.

Then there were enough other rules to keep the GA meeting arguing until late in the night, with some vowing to do nothing but stay there and Occupy-which is unfortunately not a radical idea, but just fucking lazy. It's funny that no matter how hard I rack my brain, I don't remember one Tea Party protester ever being evicted from a town hall meeting when they stood in the middle of it, waved their arms and did nothing but disrupt the entire thing while a democratic senator was trying to speak about delivering healthcare to everyone. But look how many OWS protesters have been removed from every meeting, park, plaza or "town hall" for just standing up to complain about their plight, which is real and not manufactured by the propaganda machine. The police brutality forced on the innocent people who can see through the fascist lies is unspeakable.

The sad truth is-the plaza scene-our little sideshow is over, and is over in much of the country. What is amazing is how slick that little greased pig Acevedo managed to move us along. It never occurred to some of us, including me, that have never experienced the psychological part of crowd control, only brazen force, exactly how it was going to be used against us. But this was a typical fascist technique we should have recognized: smile while you fuck 'em over good. Now we have a choice to physically engage them, which will last for about 5 minutes before we get beaten and gassed and handed a police record the fascists can use to forever lock us out of society, or we can get worn down by constantly moving our shit around to appease King God Acevedo, so we finally get fed up and leave on our own. Nothing like rearranging the chairs on the Titanic to keep you from causing any trouble.

Meanwhile, the Koch brothers, who are two of the wealthiest men in the world, will spend billions to defeat Obama and once that's done, will attempt to install a fascist dictator into our government in the next election, which we are only a presidential election away from having. This news comes as dirty tricks by the GOP will prevent 25% of African-Americans from voting in the next election, and the fascist money flooding to the corporate media will brain-wash us into believing that having our throats cut by big business is good for us. Do you really think the corporate media, from Rockefeller Center to Main Street USA, that stands to make  millions from the corporate "citizens" in the upcoming election cycle, will be on our side? Hell, no.

All of this news about dissolving the Austin camp follows on the heals of more arrests in Nashville, where the camps are being cleaned out, and the order in New York for the protesters to give up their generators and gasoline, which provide power and heat. So, the camps, which just yesterday thought were getting a reprieve, and that the fascists were backing up because they had a heart, are continuing to get demolished and demoralized, but just in a nice way. For some reason, this new tactic is even more demoralizing and causes the protesters to seethe with anger even more than if we had our day in the ring with these fuckers.

In reality, the camps could not last forever, and in America, to be seen is to be heard, so they had to be cleaned up. The fascist state cannot tolerate anyone making a complaint or wandering around homeless and upset because they've been picked clean by our system. But true to what a grass roots movement is, the anger is stronger and will only grow. Cut us off at the top and the roots just get deeper. This is real grass roots, not the AstroTurf of the Tea Party. I believe the camps should be allowed to remain and dissolve on a consensus vote by the occupiers, which is coming anyway, because most of the people involved in the camps have little or no real-life management skills. I had to laugh last night when I heard one of the young protesters say the reason the number of protesters was thinning was that, "people were afraid to come and learn from our young minds."

That statement gave me pause, because I know the idea that if you are young, you are smarter than everyone else, is widely believed in our society, and not just by rebellious teenagers. The idea came from advertisers who make young people think they are in control of their lives and smarter than everyone else just because they follow a colorful slogan to the store and buy a certain pair of jeans or phone. After 50 years of it, the idea is ingrained in our culture and works so well because young people are foolish with their money, and the advertisers tell them they are "smarter" to spend it. "Smart" phone, anyone? So, of course, the young think they're smarter if they all own the same jeans or phone because that's what the fascists on Madison Avenue told them. This constant manipulation of our thought processes from birth is what is used to give the fascists power. Just follow the colorful slogan and everything will be OK.

This idea, that a certain group of people with no experience and little education are in control, or "smarter", has a corrosive effect on the unity of our society. For example, older people, with years of experience, are not hired, and pushed out of society to the detriment of our country. This is a country where older people cannot get jobs because they don't have their head buried in an iPhone all day. They are considered too dumb for even the most basic work even when they have years of experience doing it or advanced college degrees.

But to be fair, the Occupy movement has generally been inclusive of everyone, including the older folks, but you can see from last night's meeting that the youngsters were in charge, and they've fired or pushed out the older people who were running some things. Maybe it's because, like the young man believed, the old people are afraid of learning things from all those "young minds." But in reality, too many of those young minds at the plaza are not in control of anything due to an absolute inability to organize or get anything done besides spout off a lot about a system in which they don't have a voice or knowledge. Add the cold weather, and even the true protesters who braved the cold the night before, had left it to the "brains" of the outfit.

The entire camp has become a homeless shelter populated by a few who really want to be involved, but can't get traction due to how things have degenerated. Still, there were some great speeches last night, including a beautiful one by my young friend Kendall, who has soaked up this movement like a sponge, and who I am so proud of. Hopefully, he will go on to college in order to flourish in this world, even though it will mean taking on massive amounts of debt that will put him way behind his peers, most of who will become a cog in the wheel of the fascist machine. But Kendall, if he holds true to his values and keeps an open mind, has great things ahead.

Now that the lunatics are in charge of the asylum, it's time to dig deeper into the movement. Instead of spending time writing about what is going on at the plaza, I am going to volunteer in the Occupy community and become more involved in this movement in which I still strongly believe. This "occupation" brand of civil disobedience is pushing us further to the fringe where we can be ignored or taunted. Just today, a man about 30 stormed up to the steps and demanded everyone take this crap off his city's property. Then he stormed off. This man is the type who would stand by while our skin was being stripped off by a pair of pliers. One would hope people like that don't outnumber us, but they do. So we must work against them on the national stage, on their turf, with intellectual arguments, which they don't and will never have on their side. We will never accomplish anything by wandering aimlessly around a makeshift camp hoping for a cigarette or a slice of pizza.

Believe me when I say there are heroes in the local movement that exists on that plaza, especially the women, like Jamie, who leads the night marches every night at 9:30, and is constantly coming up with ideas to get more people to the plaza. I can still hear her chant and never again will I hear a call to action that carried more conviction and came from deeper in the soul than when Jamie shouted, "This is what democracy looks like," over and over until she lost her voice. And other women, like Michelle, who worked the welcome desk all day, then was disheartened to see the food line of hungry homeless form faster than she could get across the plaza to get a slice of cold pizza. People like Michelle and Jamie and a host of others did without a lot to keep the scene together. And to all those folks, I am deeply indebted. But when our main focus becomes dancing around a bunch of rules made up by disgusted fascist suits, that are designed specifically to trample on our right to peacefully assemble, fuck it. Mean is ingrained in our culture and has been since the days when the puritans believed if you were sick or poor it was your punishment from God and you did not deserve help. And if you didn't fit into their rigid view of society, which changed depending on who was in charge, you were burned alive at the delight of the others. Sound familiar?

The Occupy movement has changed me as a person. I am enlightened, tolerant and genuinely love the people I've met, who enjoyed exchanging ideas with me. For the first time in years, I had conversations with people who had open minds and not minds moldy from age or slammed shut years ago because of some prejudice or another they are not even aware they have. I enjoyed talking to people interested in what I had to say, and also being interested in what they had to say. We let our ideas soak in and not just roll off all the layers of preconceived notions. The Occupy movement is and will continually be fun and interesting, but to be effective we must change our tactics. That is what political movements are about, and like it or not, this is a political movement.

Yesterday, I brought a sleeping bag donated by my neighbor, Tom S., to the plaza and gave it to Sam, a middle-aged African American man who has become my friend, although he occasionally asks me if I am going to kill him, which I assure him I'm not because, why would I waste my tobacco and a perfectly good sleeping bag on somebody I was going to kill? But, his troubling questions aside, he was very appreciative. He has nothing except the clothes on his back and gets cold and lonely at night, just like everyone else. Just like you do.

Today will be my last day on the plaza, but I am attending the march to the capitol at 4 pm and will attend every organized march thereafter. And I will continue to put my energy, money and time into this cause, that has risen haphazardly without the use of millions of dollars of dirty money from the propagandists such as Fox News, the Koch brothers or Dick Armey's Freedomworks. We are the people, and the Occupy movement will continue. Who knows how long the plaza will be occupied? But I'm afraid the sideshow is drawing to a close and it's time for the carnival to reside in the back of our collective consciousness. But it is also time to bring the fight underground, where we can work and think without trying to survive the elements or having some crazy bitch screaming about someone stealing her whatever.

Now it is up to us-the older and educated people with experience who can put a professional face on this movement and begin to work through the established power structure as well as the young idealists who have the energy and optimism essential to any political movement. But there has to be some guidance and organization. I have seen so many young people in this movement try to reinvent the wheel, unaware the US does have a system to be heard, albeit confusing and complicated. And while it doesn't cost money to break windows, it costs A LOT of money to change opinion through a structure that, like it or not, includes working with the corporate press. So we have to raise money. That is how America works. At this point the occupy movement reminds me of someone sitting on the roof of a car instead of the driver's seat and getting pissed because the car isn't taking them anywhere.

So as I walk into the plaza today, I know this movement, that came into the world kicking and screaming like a child born in a cabin somewhere in the darkest woods, will grow up and walk into the sunlight and become a powerful force that will conquer the fascist demons that have pillaged the countryside. Now is the time to roll up our sleeves and stop sitting around the plaza waiting for food to arrive without even taking the trouble to hold up a homemade, worn out and illegible protest sign while being fish-eyed by the fascist tools. It is disgusting to see everyone grovel at the feet of the fascist police so they won't run us off, which they eventually will do anyway.

The "Occupy" part of the movement on its surface is also faltering because many in the US like to see people in pain, especially when the power structure they dared to challenge crushes them. This allows the coward to say, "See I told you so."  But oddly, while we look at pain and torture as a source of satisfying entertainment, we sit in our homes scared to death we will be the next victim. I'm sure there is a psychological term for that, but it escapes me-oh yeah, it's fear manufactured by the fascist corporate media. It keeps you in the house watching the TV so you'll watch commercials and buy more crap. That's how a cult-and most western religions work. They keep you afraid so you won't leave the fold. The bogeyman, or devil, is waiting just around the dark corner. The sheep will always fall in line once the big scary sheep dog starts nipping at their haunches.

The number of people who laugh at, criticize and taunt the homeless and sick in our country is truly amazing. I've seen it now. But I have also seen the light, and I am not going back. I am a warrior for what is right and what will be right for our democracy. But tonight, after the march, I am going home to play with my dog, catch up on some reading, stuff my bong with the best bud I can find, and wait for my marching orders from the part of the Occupy movement which is now moving to create real progress instead of a sideshow. It is easy to find, just go to the resources section of Occupy Austin and signup as a volunteer.

Thanks everyone for reading this blog over the past 3 weeks. My personal and spiritual growth experienced through the movement is amazing and life-affirming. I was dead inside and now I am alive again. I love everyone I've met and I know together we will make a change, but I am moving to a bigger battlefield that is not surrounded by slimy police who are not the 99%, and people who do things like vandalize city property or steal from each other. And for the young people involved in the movement who are still hanging around the plaza and not doing anything-read some God-damned books.

Whose street? Our street! Remember that? The plaza was our boot camp. We must follow our hearts and tell people every day to do their part to stop the the fascists from rolling over us. There is no second act-this is it. Move your money to a credit union, shop locally, support local farmers, don't buy anything made in China and look who is behind all the propaganda you hear. America is in no danger of  becoming a socialist or communist state like the propagandists want you to believe. But we are in danger of becoming a totalitarian fascist state run by billionaires-and we are on the edge. That, you can believe. Let's all work for the better of each other and this country and stop trying to strip others of dignity and then laughing when we do. Do you want to continue to be that country? Do you? If that is the case, may God have mercy on us all.

Who is the biggest threat to your freedom?

Update: While we were on the 4pm march the fascists took a lot of sleeping bags and personal items and threw them away. Then at 12:30 am on Sunday morning, they raided the camp, arrested our main spokespeople and about 20 others and confiscated our food and food tables. Power washing began at 2am Sunday morning and there were more arrests for a total of 38 . Denver was also raided tonight in a brutal display of fascist terror on a small group of flimsy tents and freezing cold people. Portland camp was raided also, along with Tampa.  Fuck the fascists. We are down, but not out. We got the nation's attention and found out who the cowards are. And best of all, we can clearly see the preposterous bullshit forced on us by our political system that is ready to demean, beat and arrest us rather than help us. The sides are clearly drawn. It's the people of the United States vs. the investment banks and the military industry that owns our government. So now, the real work begins.

Occupy Austin Day 22

America-what are you doing?

Today was a turning point in the occupation. Across the country, the actions of the police officers in Oakland have caused a collective sense of outrage from plenty of people, including police and elected officials. The good news is the police across the US did not take the lead of the Oakland police and start acting crazy on everyone else. In fact, there was a sense of peace and organization today. Because we are so connected to each other, from person to person, from city to city-a hurt on one camp is a hurt on all and we can feel it. And we can feel it when the pressure is relieved, such as the pullback by the fascists, who frankly don't know what to do with us right now. They vast majority of Americans support us. The fascists realize they can't live with us and they can't shoot us. There is simply too many of us. The top 400 households in America make more money than the bottom 150 million people. You want to fuck with us? Well, come on, then.

The reason for the easing of tensions, at least in Austin, is two-fold. First of all, the police know we are unarmed, and are now working with us to keep the camps safe. They are learning most trouble is coming from rumors and saboteurs who have nothing to do with the movement. Secondly, the rules and structure set up in the camps after long hours of painstaking work are starting to accomplish what they are intended to do-which is keep the peace and create progress. But most importantly, the social services that do exist, along with some church groups, are going to the camps and helping those who need immediate help.

This is good news, because good people, who are ignoring the voices of douche bag religious-fascist mouthpieces, like Pat Robertson, who've told churches to avoid the Occupy movements, are realizing what is happening to our society, and seeing an opportunity, are stepping up to help. Although the occupiers want to keep this a non-religious event because of the fear of fascist religious dogma infecting the movement, we realize there are some people who come from local churches and charity groups whose main goal is to help people who need help now, not in the Utopian future we hope upon hope we will one day see. Because frankly, the Utopian future is not going to keep you warm as the cold wind blows the camp to shreds.

But this is part of the awakening the occupy movement is creating in America. It is obvious that many folks who got involved in the movement were shocked by the depth of the homeless problem in America. Although the idea anyone wasn't aware of it is difficult to get your head around, idealistic young people, and even the intelligentsia, usually pick and choose what they want to see. But once they left the dorm room or comfortable home, it was uh-oh, what do we have here? And why are these rag-tag people so angry and threatening? We are finding out that we are angry about what might be taken from us, while they are angry about what has already been taken from them.

An example of this coming together as a community was evident on Day 21, when a lady from a group home came to the Occupy camp and offered some of the most mentally ill shelter and access to medication and doctors, which they eagerly accepted. This was an important moment, because the reason the camps all over the US are attracting the mentally ill is because there is food and they feel safe there. Also, because so many folks are just wandering around the country these days, those that just came in from the road have no idea how to get around the city, where help may be located, or even have a phone or money to access public transportation. The fact someone came to the camp to help these desperate folks means the larger community wants to help. And then, in Austin at least, the police are carefully picking off the trouble makers one at a time, and they apparently ended up getting the crank and smack dealer, which stopped the blatant hard-drug abuse that was occurring.

The plaza was organized, clean and neat.

You could feel a new day of cooperation had evolved now that the neediest were helped, the troublemakers removed and the terrible events in Oakland finally made America wake up. Social services, already struggling with funding cuts from the state and federal government, and still taking the time to help us is very encouraging. So yesterday, even in the blustery afternoon and evening, I felt optimistic and knew the movement was becoming bigger than a few fascist cops and drug addicts could destroy. The police and mayors all over the country are  beginning to realize they are the 99% too. Their pensions are getting raided, all the city services are in danger of being cut, and anyone is in just as much danger of ending up on the street fighting to survive as anyone else nowadays, because the money went to-well, you know.

It is hard to believe the shit you hear that continues to spew from the fascist right. For example, I was just listening to Paul Ryan (R.Wisconsin), the Republican poster boy for fascism, blame Obama for starting a class war, as if one side can blame the other for the mess in which our country is fermenting. Well-there's a class war all right, and the fascists are winning because of the laziness and apathy of the American people who are more upset about Adam Lambert kissing another guy than the fact they are getting mauled by corporatism. But that is because they were told by the propagandists to hate on Glamour Boy rather than the thieves stealing the world blind.

After I got home late last night after freezing my ass off, I saw one of my Facebook friends, Dale, who I grew up with, had posted the picture of the bloodied Iraq war veteran injured in the Oakland police assault on the unarmed protesters. Dale is one of those people who always wants everyone to re-post fascist propaganda about supporting the troops and the flag, etc. Apparently, you're only supposed to support the troops when they are getting their legs blown off while defending the military-industrial money machine that is contributing nothing to our economy, but is happily murdering innocent children overseas. But when those same men come home and fight against an American experience that has gone from the promise of "work hard and prosper," to simply survive the fascist assault on our civil rights, then gets critically injured, he is fodder for smug jokes. Dale's quote was, "that's what you get for sitting on your ass in a public place because someone is making more money than you-get a job!" That was followed by several of the fascist talking points commonly heard on the myriad propaganda sources available 24/7. I commented that, "Sorry-we are going to win this time-whether you like it or not."

The real Occupy Austin crowd prepares for  a cold night.

Although, early yesterday afternoon was comfortable, about 5 pm a cloud bank formed in the north and the cold wind came whistling through the plaza. For the first time, the plaza was populated solely by Occupiers as most of the people who needed help, or blew in from Hades over the previous few days, were now gone. There was a meeting at the flag pole at 5:30, and it was with the folks who are actually occupying the plaza for the cause and are staying there 24/7. These folks have seen it all by now, are survivors and deserve our utmost respect. These are the folks putting their lives on the line in this freezing cold plaza to make the United States a place where everyone has an opportunity, where businesses and homeowners can get loans and the immorality that exists on the federal level is stopped. The cold wind whipped around them as they made plans for surviving the night. Blankets were needed and there was even a shortage of water, so donations are still desperately needed. You can contribute by going to the needs list on the resources page at occupyaustin.org.

Bridget with her awesome coat. 

About that time I heard a call for a volunteer and I went with a group to the third floor of the parking garage where a man was donating some coats and hot drink containers. We carried them downstairs and there was one awesome coat that I was happy to see distributed to Bridget. She is in a wheelchair because she broke her leg in a terrible accident, then lost her home because she was unable to work  and the medical bills piled up. But Bridget had good news. A lady who was involved with Occupy Austin as well as a local church, had guaranteed Bridget a small apartment the next day, but Bridget still needed to make it through the cold night. Regardless, she was so happy and excited about her new place. Although Bridget has been on the street since March, all it would have taken to keep her in a comfortable home is affordable healthcare. That was all that she needed to keep from falling through the cracks. But for now, Bridget is on her way back up.

Heather

On the other hand, I talked to Heather, a lovely woman with a 4 year-old daughter and husband. She is an artist and her husband is employed with a good job, but is also a photographer showing his collage work at the East Austin Studio Tour in November at Pump Studios. His name is Kafka Lenton. Heather is at the plaza to show support because she sees a lifestyle that seemed so much easier to maintain even a few years ago, beginning to elude her family, even though they are working very hard.

Heather feels she isn't just treading water, that she is drowning, and she knows it is the same for most Americans, they just don't want to admit it. That fact I know is true, because in America, admitting  failure is considered taboo, even though our entire country is failing right now. I've always learned if you fail, the first thing you do is to fix the problem and start over. But in America, we are not only ignoring the problem, we are making it worse by enabling the criminals that caused the problem in the first place. Amazing. And even more amazing is how many American sit and let this happen to their brothers and sisters.

And as I was talking to Heather we realized all her family needs to thrive is once again, affordable healthcare. That's it. Just like Bridget who only needed healthcare she could afford to keep her home. That's all millions upon millions of Americans need to survive. The lack of affordable healthcare is destroying our population and breaking the backs of our businesses. And I've said this before-the fact we have an entire party running for office that is competing over how many folks they can prevent from having healthcare is an outrage.

Universal healthcare is such a simple fix to keep Americans from being stressed and homeless, it's hard to believe the fascists are allowed to get away with denying it from us, while they pad the books of the people who have all the money with our tax dollars. Unaffordable (or no) healthcare destroys our culture. It stifles creativity and snuffs out the artist, who instead of creating beauty, is tethered to a life of misery crafted by a lawless corporate system designed to destroy the human spirit. It is this deep-seated cruelty and self-hatred that now defines the American experience. Why oh why, are we not all involved in stopping this insanity?

Since 1985, the divisiveness in America has eroded our sense of oneness. That is when the burgeoning fascist right-wing did away with the Fairness Doctrine, that was supposed to create fairness when it comes to political programming. Each side, by law, had equal time. Since then, the Limbaughs and Rupert Murdochs, have polluted the American consciousness with a 24 hour diatribe of hatred aimed at people who either need help, or want to offer help. They've brainwashed an entire generation telling them that helping each other is a socialist scheme that will lead to Marxism. And these propagandists make their money by airing commercials and public relations spots that contain even more propaganda from big polluters and organizations serving as fronts for the fascist maggots that are consuming the rotting corpse of the America they think they've killed. But I've got good news. There is life in that rotting corpse, and that is what the Occupy movement is about, which is creating opportunity for all who want it, and smashing the mantle of fascism that erodes our very souls.

At the GA meeting, the much awaited speech by Austin's police chief, Art Acevedo, was finally given after he waited his turn on "the stack," or list of speakers. The use of electricity by the occupation appears to be cut-which thankfully, means no PA-and  we have to resort to the mike check, where the speaker says a few words then the crowd repeats it so others can hear. The Chief had to go along with the new method of communication, which is used throughout all the camps, so it was slow going. But he said the Austin police department stands with Occupy Austin and this is not Oakland and no one has to worry about getting hurt, as long as we follow the few simple rules they've laid out for us. He went on to say, "The APD is there to protect us and our right to protest." That was met with lots of sparkle fingers. Then a few people, who are determined to be jerks, asked something like, "If that's true, why you carrying your gun then?" or some crap like that. But everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and even the 20 or so new folks who attended were excited. Suddenly, we could all see a future paved with hope rather than horror. Is there really hope for us? I say yes, and am sticking to it.

Just before leaving the freezing cold plaza, I spotted Nathan, a precocious 12 year old, who has been at the plaza with his guardian every day. He says he loves it here because of the community spirit and how nice everyone is to him. I asked him, "Ten years down the road, when you tell your friends about this and what it was all about, what will you say? He replied, "That I was part of it, and that I helped change the future."

Occupy Austin Day 21

"Anyone who is still asking what the Occupy Movement is about is an incurable and dangerous fascist. Avoid them as you would a rattlesnake."  Tawdry Soup

The sun rose on the news that the young man from Oakland, an Iraq war veteran, who was shot at nearly point blank range with a rubber bullet by the fascists clearing the Oakland camp, is now clinging to life. In San Francisco, an attack on the Occupy camp was called off at the last minute. The fallout from the attack on the camp in Atlanta continues and across the country occupiers are beginning to dig in for the winter. With the occupy movement only a few weeks old and the fascists reacting so badly so early it makes you wonder what the future holds. In Oakland, the blame for the disastrous attack on the protesters is being shuffled between the mayor and the chief of police. But isn't that what the fascists always do? Keep shuffling the blame until it goes away? I got bad news for them. It's not going to work this time. WE are not going away until the fascist system that has created a one-sided casino where a few win while millions starve is destroyed, demolished and ground into the earth never to return again.

There will be no more lobbying. No more payola to congress on the local, state or federal level. No more corporate citizenry that carries no responsibility to any laws whatsoever. No more commodity indices that drive up the cost of food. No more unregulated financial instruments and NO MORE free loans to investment banks. We want a fair tax system that stops the vacuuming of money off the streets allowing it to flow directly to the fascists, who are then using the money to decimate the laws that are supposed to protect us from them. And for God's sake, we demand the fascists stop using the police to beat the crap out of us-or kill us. If that young man dies in Oakland, the streets will run with the blood of more victims of this fascist regime that was once a democracy, but now lays in ruins at the feet of black-hearted fascist criminals. It is a regime put in place by the very people we thought were going to help us-remember jobs? But instead, these so called job creators became infected by the fascist ilk, who spread their disease on the back of a dollar bill.

Occupy Austin Welcoming Committee

Carey of Occupy Austin Infoscribes 

I arrived at the plaza on the last warm and balmy afternoon of the season as October is drawing to a close. The mood was subdued and of course the local press was out hoping the 25 or so occupiers hanging around in the middle of the day were going to try and burn down a tree or something. I wandered over to the welcome booth and took a picture of the welcoming committee, Carey, John and Melanie. I interviewed Carey who's been with the scene since the first day. He is optimistic the GA is functioning well, and people are getting together better and the goals are getting solidified. His optimism was contagious and it was great to hear some optimism at this point. What most don't know is the movement is burgeoning behind the scenes to such an extent, it is getting difficult for one person to answer the singular question-what is going on with the movement? For example, Carey is part of the Infoscribes, who gather and relay information relevant to the occupation. This is where you go if you are looking for information or if you have information to post, such as working groups, meetings or eyewitness accounts of incidents.

The Much-Maligned Mezzanine

Then, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo arrived on the scene in a business suit and made a statement to the press: "Out of all the people out here, 99% are exercising their first amendment rights, but then there is the 1% who step off and do things inappropriate that cause the APD to step in. Quite frankly, most of the arrests that are made here are made from those drinking in public and causing fights or what have you." He did not seem irritated, but every time he looked up at the mezzanine, which sits above the wide steps most people use for sleeping, meeting and storing gear, he looked concerned. The press has reported only 1 or 2 arrests, but today, according to the folks I spoke to, there had been 7 so far.

Shelton: Take me to your leader. Please!

Then I had a question for the news reporter from KVUE-TV who was covering the Police Chief's statement. It was an old friend named Shelton, who was wearing the most beautiful burgundy guayabera shirt you ever saw. I asked him what the biggest challenge was while covering the occupation. He expressed frustration on finding who was in charge of this leaderless movement and sorting out the truth, because he hears something different from each person he interviews. I was pleased to see the maddening effect we are having on the press. The guerrilla war against the media we are waging in which we use the lack of information to confuse, obfuscate and keep them guessing is obviously working well for us-and driving the establishment mad. This media tactic will be very important in the coming days. I suggested to Shelton that he talk to Sylvia, who is our official media person, and he said he did talk to her. Sylvia told him the press should only talk to her and that anyone else was an impostor. Then Shelton pointed at a man in a pink shirt who told him he was the media contact and Sylvia was an impostor. You could see Shelton's frustration manifesting itself in beads of sweat along his brow, but I told him to talk to Sylvia anyway and he thanked me before I took off. Later in the day, I saw Shelton interviewing Sylvia and didn't look quite as harried or alarmed.

Comrade: Cautiously Optimistic.

I finally got an interview with another Joshua who prefers to be called "Comrade," because there are so many Joshuas. He is from Silsbee, north of Beaumont and started in the Occupy Houston movement, which was a complete disaster and pretty much collapsed after the fourth day due to a lack of communication which led to chaos. At Occupy Houston, the number of protesters dwindled to 50 or 60 from 800 occupants really quickly. Then he found that although Austin was having the same problems, it was at least getting its act together, so he took some folks from Austin down there to give Houston some help putting their house in order.

Then Comrade talked about security. He said, "We are allowed to protest against government legislation until we get outnumbered by people not participating, and then it is unlawful assembly." It is not the homeless that's the problem, it's the drag rats and drug addicts that are the problem. The mezzanine is becoming a problem, because that is where people are going to do illegal things. The public intoxication is a huge problem and each night, including last night, there were incidents." He went on to say that, "We are almost to the point of being called an unlawful assembly."  I asked, "What is the prognosis if steps are not taken to change things?" Comrade said, "We have two weeks."

But Comrade remained optimistic some changes they are working on to utilize the mezzanine will be completed, and the movement will succeed. He agreed that whoever controls the high spot (the mezzanine) controls the dialogue. Comrade is also trying to solve a few of the same  problems with base camp, although it is much more secure, and that he is trying to encourage others to think productively. As we talked, numerous patrols of 2 or 3 officers walked through the plaza. And it wasn't the new recruits with fresh faces either. It was the officers that looked like they've been through a few rodeos before. One looked like one of Michael Vick's pit bulls-that lost.  Comrade is not giving up, however, and is committed to the cause, even though he is also dealing with his mom's battle with cancer, who said she'll come up to the plaza and fight along with us if she must.

Sandra

So I went up to the much-maligned mezzanine and talked to Sandra, who was relaxing on a bedroll. I asked what brings her here and she said, "At first I was with the occupation, but recently it's got crazy, so I'm just here to sleep. I enjoyed the meetings and signs and thought we were for something, then it became a big slumber party and people come in to destroy the place, fight and do drugs. Everyone is just kind of here." I asked her how long she thinks this will continue?" She said, "The security comes out at 7 am yelling at everyone to move their stuff, and looks for little things to hassle or arrest people. Even if you make a comment or refuse to get up when they say, you will be arrested. One guy, who was sleeping on the mezzanine every night, was arrested yesterday. Sandra said, "The city officials are walking around looking disgusted and talking to the cops and are just trying to run people like us off. We work with carnivals and our daughter needed money so we couldn't save enough this year and here we are on the street, and I know cold weather is coming. My husband is out right now looking for a job, but good luck with that, you know?"

Brian Coalson: Racism and Justice.

I attended a meeting by Brian Coalson, who discussed racism in our justice system along with the dangers of prisons for profit. As an example, he talked about a situation in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania where two judges were  paid by a private prison company to send kids there for lengthy sentences. Because the kids were generally white, the argument goes, the parents had enough political clout to get to the bottom of the "cash for kids" scandal. He underscored the inequality in our justice system by describing a situation in Paris, Texas, where an African American girl of 15 was sentenced to 7 years for pushing her teacher and a 14 year old white girl burned down her parents house and got probation. It does make your skin crawl to hear these stories and this is just a taste of the new frontier of "privatization" that the fascists want to take us to. A place where a price is put on our head and they dehumanize us, chew us up in the system, and if we ever find our way out, can never find a place to lay our head because we are now damaged goods and to be seen is to be heard.

There was one lady that appeared several times during the afternoon walking across or on the edges of the plaza. She had on expensive clothes and a high-dollar hairdo and had the meanest, most disgusted and ugly look you could ever find on a woman. And that says a lot, because a disgusted woman can lay down a face on you, that's for sure. It was sad really, because at 50, she will get the face she deserved, and no amount of botox or expensive clothing will cover up the ugly radiating from that woman's soul.

Sam makes a statement.

I went to the honk if yer horny line and discussed churches with Sam, whose voice was a dead-ringer for Muhammad Ali's. We discussed how the fascists keep saying the churches will take care of the poor and the homeless, but, as Sam said, "the churches are filled with so many people that are brain-washed into the fascist mindset, they aren't going to help the homeless. Ever. And when the fascists come to tear up the camps and throw everyone's sole possessions away, is there ever one church member standing there saying don't do it? Hell, no. And the people standing out here protesting, trying to turn the page and get help for people screwed by this system are accused of being Godless criminals, communists or worse. It's not that the churches don't help, because they do help with food and clothes. It's that the churches are being co-opted by the politicians and then throw their weight behind politicians so much, you would think some of these Republicans are running for pastor of the church, not the President of the United States. It's like the churches and the federal government are running together for the same office and if that's the case, then tax the damn churches. The churches should pay for their part in this mess, this bullshit created by electing these dumb-asses who only pay them lip service while they destroy our country. They should all pay, whether they like it or not."

Dedicated Jere working among the din. 

I was given a flyer by Jere, who is fighting against the Keystone pipeline that will bring oil from the tar sands in Canada through the middle of the US. It will cut through East Texas and end up on the Texas coast. He is planning a march on Monday November 7, at Obama's campaign headquarters 1311 East Sixth street which is across the freeway in East Austin. There will be a short demonstration and they will ask Obama to stand up to the tyranny of oil like he promised he would. Similar protests will be held throughout the nation at Obama's re-election headquarters in every major city. This is in conjunction with demonstrations on Sunday the 6th, when protesters will circle the White House in protest of the pipeline. Jere said Obama can use executive power to stop the pipeline and doesn't need congressional approval. Go to stoptarsands.org for more information.

Jack Blood 

Then the plaza was flooded with a group of people protesting the body scanners recently put in place at the Austin airport. There was a series of fiery speeches by both men and women alike. They questioned why we can't use dogs or some other less invasive means of checking for bombs rather than a photo of your naked bodies. One of the best speeches was from Jack Blood who runs an intense site deadlinelive.info.

At dusk, I chatted with a man about 55 named Dan, who was a talk-show fan who insisted "the Greeks, Jews, Europeans and Americans all learned to write in the same year 6,000 years ago." He also claimed that we should put all Muslims in concentration camps like we did the "Japs" in WWII and that the Koran was the devil. He claimed that never in history were people tortured or killed to force them into Christianity like in Islam, and that the bible is not a collection of stories that people passed down by word of mouth before they knew how to read or write, it was written by God.

Thankfully, the general assembly started and today was the first day I noticed a sign language interpreter. I thought she must be there because so many were deaf after two weeks of listening to that obnoxious PA. Joking aside, the PA is actually needed during the GA meetings because of their size. The discussion was generally about how to get control of the mezzanine from the undesirables.

I thought about Sandra up there listening to the young people, who all had homes to go to, discussing one more way to make her life inconvenient or evict her from her spot in the universe. But we all know it's not Sandra we want out of there, it is the people who insist on disrupting everything, like the no-talent asshole who followed me around the entire day banging on a drum every time he saw me trying to record an interview. I have never heard such a bad drum player-even three year old kids have better rhythm than that guy. What an idiot.

But that is what all the occupiers are finding out-that some people hanging around the Occupy movement just need to clear out and go die somewhere. There are too many people who genuinely need help, like Sandra, who've been hurt by the system, who want to work and contribute. What some of us didn't know, and are now unfortunately are finding out, is how many people in our society are completely sane, but are incurably lazy spoiled bullies that take up space that someone could easily fill who is more productive. This awakening is going on throughout the Occupy movement. And it is causing us to fall back on either time-tested means of control, like the police patrols we hate so much, or locking those people up ourselves-or doing what the fascists want to do to us, which is just beat the crap out them and hope they go away.

It is at this point where the Occupy movement is in danger of becoming a farce. That is because we are working within a system of government we despise but need its structure and protection to survive as a movement. Also, when I see the same political infighting and me-me-me crap that goes on in every organization, I want to puke. I see people trying to gain power, be it from who is on top of the the mezzanine to who is in charge of some apparatus like the PA. I see new people come in and try to kick Occupy Austin to pieces, and I get discouraged. Then I meet someone like Gary.

Gary, is a part of Occupy Austin called the bank group. He informed me there are 31 different groups working on different aspects of Occupy Austin. The idea is to move money from the criminal banks, such as Bank of America and Chase, and move it into local credit unions. Gary got tired of watching the fascists eradicate our system. He says that just because you can think of something that is not illegal, but just immoral, there's no reason you should do it. The irony is there are plenty of illegal things that cause much less damage than the immoral shenanigans played out in our political and financial systems, but they are carried out every day to the detriment of our future. And they will never be illegal because the people perpetuating these immoral acts are in charge.

Gary reminded me there is a march on Citibank this Saturday, October 29, and November 5 is National Move Your Money Day, where people go to the banks to move their money to credit unions. It is on a Saturday, which is not the ideal day, but that is when people are not at work. His group is working on a "Fire your Bank, Hire a Credit Union" webpage affiliated with Occupyaustin.org. Gary said that in Austin, over 170,000 dollars has moved from the big banks to the credit unions so far.

 Amy and Azzurra

On the way out I met Azzurra and Amy and they are also working on the banking side of Occupyaustin.org. Azzurra said the University Federal Credit Union will give a 25 dollar donation to Occupy Austin every time someone moves their account and mentions Occupy Austin. She also said the local credit unions have reported they are overwhelmed with people moving their accounts.

Peaceful candlelight vigil for injured Oakland protesters.

I sidestepped a group of police making the hundredth round for the day. The day ended with a march and candlelight vigil in support of the injured Oakland protesters. And true to form, there were some provocateurs in the crowd who wanted to stir up trouble, but it was a candlelight vigil and they sounded stupid. Whoever had the idea for the candlelight vigil is a genius. It was a beautiful and poignant moment and brought us together one more time to fight another day. If you have not thought about coming out to see us, at least lend your support by going to Occupyaustin.org and clicking on the resources section to see how you can help.

Note: The candlelight vigil photo was taken from the occupy Austin Facebook page. Source unknown.

Occupy Austin Day 20

"All my life, people have said I was crazy--Well, the feeling is mutual"  Tawdry Soup


The fascists were in full attack mode in Oakland last night when over 500 people attempted to re-enter the  occupation camp demolished by the fascists less than 24 hours before. Of course, the police blamed the protesters for starting the riot by throwing paint at them. Something tells me the police weren't really waiting for paint to be thrown. We know the fascists started it, then over-reacted, of course, because the Oakland's  Democratic Mayor, Jean Quan, who rode into office on money from the white fascist elite, ordered the police to bust them heads in absolute total violation of our civil rights. Now she is finding herself in a shit-storm because-SURPRISE-we are pushing back and aren't going to take this shit dished out by big money interests to stay silent any longer.

This fascist criminal element has rotted the entire power structure, from the bottom up. Yes, it starts with your friends, family members or neighbors who are so brain-washed by the unrelenting propaganda machine, they  go to the polls and elect the fascists who have one thing in mind-to get their palms greased and rub elbows with the thieves that are destroying the world's economy, environment and financial system. Even people like Mayor Quan, who feel empowered because they are backed by fascist filth from both sides of the political aisle, happily give orders to  local constables and police to treat unarmed American citizens like terrorists.

But it's not just on a local level. You can bet while Obama is giving us lip service, he has his guys working on a way to kill the occupy movement before it gets any bigger. And especially before we occupy the upcoming party conventions. In the last two days, Obama threw out two milquetoast ideas that will go nowhere. One about helping homeowners underwater on their mortgages-if they have perfect credit, that is-and another program to help those with student loans that is so stupid and obfuscated it doesn't even require a comment or review. Both programs were designed specifically to appease the big banks, so they don't feel threatened in any way, that Obama is actually going to do something to help us that might cause a slight down tick in their murderous profit line.

You can bet every Occupy camp in the country is now very agitated with the developments over the last few days. No one is standing up for us and honestly some of the camps, including Austin, seem to be over run with complete idiots in the filthiest of clothes, shouting out the goofiest things and acting weird. But the police in Austin are also beginning to use tricks to move us out. Yesterday, they told us to clear off the lawn so they could turn on the lawn sprinklers-which is in line with the Stage 2 watering schedule. But then, they didn't turn them on. Then at dusk, we were told to clear off the lawn because they were going to turn on the lawn sprinklers. This time most people just stayed there and waited to see what would happen.

An Occupier being harassed for no reason at all.

There were 3 or 4 arrests yesterday. One woman, who I specifically wanted to interview today, was taken down for "unstable behavior." The cop had her down with his knee on the back of her neck, her face smashed into the cement, taser at hand. This was an unarmed woman. The other arrests were for similar reasons- unstable behavior-and one guy was hassled and searched because a little bitch that worked in City Hall claimed he tried to sell her drugs. He was clean, but I'm sure she smugly watched the entire thing from the tinted windows while sipping her $5.00 latte-which of course is not a drug (wink wink.)

The occupiers want to march down dirty 6th street tonight to support the Oakland occupiers. My feeling is the provocateurs will be in the camp today. Going on a night march is a BAD idea because the fascists and trouble-makers can work under the cover of darkness, and it will leave our camp unprotected. Once trouble starts, the fascists will isolate us on 6th street, prevent us from returning, then clean out the camp. And why anyone would want to march down dirty 6th when it is full of drunks and assholes is beyond me. You have to hand it to the people who have organized the last few marches down there though, those folks are super-dedicated and I admire their moxie, for sure.

The plaza on Day 20 was warm and balmy. A cool front is coming-with only a slim chance of rain-so the weather is about to turn for the occupiers, not just in Austin, but all over the country. We are about to see how together we can be. The authorities and corporate press continue to talk about how hard it will be on us once cold weather sets in. Yeah-like they really care. Maybe they can warm us up with flash grenades and tear gas.

Christina. Open your mind and your heart will follow. 

My first interview was with a Christina, a 19 year old journalism sophomore from the University of Texas. She came to the plaza because of what she is learning at school about the democratic process and the idea that citizens should have a voice instead of only paid-off politicians and corporations. She is forming her own ideas and admits she is a babe in the woods when it comes to what is happening. But at the plaza, since everyone has their own ideas, she says, "You get a little bit of everything." She went on to say, "This exchange of ideas are discussions we should all be having every day because it's important for our future." Christina is not sure what type of writing she will eventually do, but she is intelligent and inquisitive enough to do whatever she likes. And she carries the most important writer's tool of all. An open mind.

The Service Workers Arrive

Suddenly, there was in influx of protesters that represented the service workers, such as cooks and waiters, who work for insanely low wages and do not get health care. I interviewed Michael, who told me that he and some other guys are putting together a program to encourage other service workers, such as cab drivers and teachers, who work for low wages and tips, to come out and protest every day of the week. He commented on the rag-tag element in the camp, and we both gazed at a filthy shirtless man splayed out and unconscious along the honk if your horny line, where everyone driving by could get an eye-full. I repelled the thought that either this guy was a plant-no pun intended-or a complete clueless asshole. But really, some of these guys are so over the top, it's hard to believe they're real.

Looking at this guy reminded me of when I worked for the Dukakis campaign in the eighties. We organized a rally with free hot dogs and a few kegs of beer. By the time the bedraggled Dukakis-who had watched the crowd degenerate into what looked like a crew of filthy pirates celebrating the plundering of a village-had finished his speech, there was a near riot because the beer was gone. A chant rose up from the crowd and to the distress of those who organized the rally, it wasn't "Dukakis! Dukakis!" it was "More Beer! More Beer!" Then, two rough-looking women at the fringe of the crowd decided to settle an old score by pulling at each others hair until they were dead-locked together before falling in a drunken heap onto the asphalt. Dukakis got a clear shot of at least one pair of horrendously stained panties and God only knows what else.

My brother, Owyl.

Then I finally got an interview with Owyl, which is his moon name, Alexander is his sun name. I rolled him a couple of cigarettes and then one for Dillon, a blonde waif with a thick cockney accent-who insisted that 18 was the legal age to smoke in Texas. Then I rolled another one for another guy and hurriedly put away my tobacco.

Owyl is a child of the universe,  but is originally from Miami, Florida. He came to Austin to find something different and hitchhiked through the south to get here. He took a left in Chattanooga and got seven or eight rides all the way to Houston. The longest ride was from two Mexican brothers. At some point he ran into a group who were putting together a renaissance festival near Bastrop and went to work with them. That is where he learned a lot about the rainbow crowd and how well he fit in with these different, but kind and wonderful people.

At some point he found a wallet and sent it to the owner. Then the person who owned the wallet sent him 50 dollars in reward money. Since he already had 50 dollars, Owyl, who is already a top-notch guitar player, went to a pawn shop and bought a classical guitar for 70 dollars. That left him 30 dollars. Owyl squinted into the blazing autumn sunset, thought for a second, and said, "I  would much rather have 30 bucks and a guitar than 100 bucks and not a guitar."

He said he took it to the Renaissance Fair and played as a a minstrel to raise money. He said he grew a lot when he was amid the rainbow people surrounding the fair and loves the fairies who still believe in the magic of the medieval times. I agreed, because when I walk into the woods, I see fairies and wood nymphs everywhere. After Owyl left Bastrop and came to Austin, he saw all the opportunities for musicians and decided to stay. He slept on a hammock for a while, then stayed with a guy who works with lasers for dance shows, and worked for him until the work ran out.

One day, when Owyl was about to give up, he was walking down MLK boulevard in Austin and made a right hand turn on Chestnut. The heat was horrible and he passed a church and a small house with an older African-American lady sweeping her porch, he looked at her and she looked at him and asked, "Whatsa matter, baby?" She could see he was at his wit's end and said, "Come here, baby, I got a place for you." She cooked him a huge breakfast that was so good he cried, then he passed out and slept for hours. She let him stay for almost two months and he got to know Austin and met all the poets and plenty of musicians. Now Owyl sleeps in his secret spots-like a fairie, who we both agreed are real-because we know.

We went on to chat about the artificial shortages created by big money and how necessary things are turned to commodities so a few have more than others. Owyl agrees the Occupy movement is a learning process and we are all learning to get along with each other. But what Owyl said-and this bears repeating-to whoever you may see, is that so many politicians who are telling us what to do and how to act in reality hate their life and themselves. Think closeted gay Republicans. Miserable and stupid people who hate themselves are projecting their stinking rotten lives onto those who only want to live in a country that is supposedly free. That was the point of the day.

Then we talked about how some of the occupiers are starting to crack up from being outside over two weeks. Owyl said that is why the occupation needs the homeless, they are the ones who know how to occupy, who can survive this process-because their endurance is unbelievable. He also said the movement is bigger than this moment and the surface stuff, like the fighting or arrests, is only a sideshow. The most important thing happening in the movement is we are beginning to realize each person's infinite worth and are looking at each other, not as a commodity, but as human beings. Owyl says he doesn't understand why he has to pay to live on his own planet. That makes sense to me, because in America, even if you own your house outright, and don't pay the the property taxes, the fascists will take it away, sell it from under you and keep the money. They don't care how hard you worked to pay for the damn thing. You cannot live in America without someone climbing up your ass for money for something every damn day.

Then I found out Owyl was short for Alexander. My handicapped brother, who recently passed away, was named Alexander and I called him what sounded like Owl, but was Al for short. I passed through the nebula for a moment, that cloud of thought that stands in the way of the magic, and I saw my brother, in all his pain, and all the terrible abuse dealt to him through a broken governmental system run by greed, hatred and callous know-nothings. And as the thought of my beautiful brother and his struggle opened to me, it became an umbrella over all my brethren, like Owyl, who are fighting this fight for those like my brother and everyone else who does not have a voice. And I agreed with Owyl, that we are on a comet, flying away from the old days and those not on it are going to be left behind.

Mike Corwin, of the International Socialist Movement speaks.

I attended a meeting by Mike Corwin, who represents the Austin arm of the The International Socialist Movement  and is a student of Marxism and Socialism. He set up the idea that while we are in an economic crisis all over the world, there is very little-or nothing really-put in place to get us out of it, because that takes money and the fascists don't want to give it to us because they stole it fair and square. Six million people in the US have been out of work for 99 weeks. Mike, like the rest of us, believes all political and economic decisions are made by an elite who are destroying our planet. The one thing he wanted us to take away from his presentation is the idea that the problems we are dealing with now are not just problems of a capitalistic society, but problems in the way we think, that we must break the mental bondage that is placed on us by the power elite and learn to think differently (and independently)  in order to survive.

Beautiful Helen

I ran into Helen, whose son, Benjamin Roberts, is doing a virtual occupation called occupy cafe, and she was on her way to the Violet Crown to see a movie, The Black Power Mixtape, put together in Sweden that includes lost footage of interviews from people who were instrumental in the black power movement, such as Bobby Seale, Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael and Eldridge Cleaver. These people were my heroes when I was growing up, because they were fighting an abusive system that put laws into place for no other reason, but to hurt people and keep them groveling at the feet of the powerful. People who, as Owyl said, simply hate themselves.

I was so happy to see Decoi and her partner Michelle again. I met Decoi under the thinking tree in Zilker Park before we occupied the plaza. I asked Decoi how she thought things were going and she repeated a common phrase I've heard throughout this experience. That the Occupy movement is forcing people to work together and learn from each other so everyone can contribute. She gave an example her mother told her about a woman activist during the civil rights movement. The woman was a prostitute and  was shunned by the organizers, but she did have something to offer. She told them she's been in jail and she could teach the organizers what to expect and how to deal with jail. So this prostitute became valuable in the movement, even though she was marginalized by society. That in a nutshell is why the occupation is so important. It is hydrating the souls that our corporations, marketing machines, bankers and politicians have desiccated for years.

Decoi and Michelle. See Heath back there on the fringe.

At another meeting, a group of young people were talking about sustainability. I told them we need to get out in the community and interact with groups who are already working on it. In fact, the "Austin Green" convention that was held at the plaza on Saturday, was all about that. It was funny to hear one young man of 19 or 20 talk about the wonderful world of farming and he touched on the idea of communal farms-of which very few are successful-and fresh food for all, etc. After sustainable farming for over 10 years, living in a one-room cabin with no indoor plumbing and little heat-I admired his spunk, and his idealistic view. But I'm sure the leaf-footed bugs or the fall army worms that can ruin a tomato crop in one day, are drooling at the thought of getting another idealistic "farmer," whose never planted a radish seed, in their cross hairs.

While it is great to be young and idealistic-the first time I shit over water after using an outhouse for so long was pretty awesome, I gotta admit. And an automatic washer and dryer was pretty cool too. Those commodities are important because they save time and help us live longer. The problem now is that our country is mainly producing financial services and products that help a few make tons of money. The US is not producing tractors and steel and things that give people jobs. The money is not lent out from the banks like it was supposed to be after the bank bailouts-the money-your tax dollars-are used to make more money in risk-free gambling schemes that are guaranteed by the very people whose sweat and blood built the United States. Everyone suffers because the banks in New York, backed by the Federal Reserve, will never risk lending us money as long as they can make more money on our backs with no risk. That is why we Occupy! That is why we fight!

At the end of the day I noticed a middle-aged man who was clutching a stack of papers to his chest and sitting on the fringe of the plaza. His name was Heath and he was looking disdainfully at the plaza that was now burgeoning with occupiers. When I asked for his thoughts, he just couldn't believe what he perceived as a lack of organization, and that no one was giving a fiery speech over the PA, because that's how they were doing it in New York and Boston. I told him we cut the use of the PA because it stultified open conversation and thought. He just shrugged. I told him I just attended two meeting about new ideas and the GA meeting was about to begin and that we were more organized than it looks. I told him to go to the Occupyaustin.org website and see the work we are doing. He shrugged. He still complained that it seemed leaderless.

So I asked Heath if he ever worked for a start-up company, and he had. I asked, "What are the things you need to make a start up successful?" He said, "Enthusiasm, dedication, idealism, a mission, a market and someone who is the boss." I reminded him that we have all of those, but unlike the start-up, where the boss is  busy counting his stock options, and the people that end up advancing are usually the biggest power-hungry jerks, this is different. We are learning to work out our differences in a leaderless way, where we respect each other, and yes, one day leaders will emerge, but they are vetted by us and have gained our respect. They will not be leaders just because they gave the guy at the top a blow job after a happy hour on dirty 6th street. Heath half-heartily agreed and I realized that maybe he is just a half-hearted guy. That's why he sits on the fringe and shrugs and he may never jump in and be completely involved. But he is not alone. There are plenty of Heaths out there. The movement needs you and your ideas. It's time to reinvent yourself and your country. It doesn't matter your age or abilities, just get off the half-hearted fringe and step in. WE LOVE YOU, JOIN US.

As I walked away from the fringe where Heath and I were sitting, I moved through the swelling crowd of occupiers and all I could hear was animated conversations about policy, politics and philosophy-stuff you couldn't hear from the fringe. In the diminishing evening light, I spotted a smiling woman in her 50's named Carol clutching a red satin pillow to sit on. I asked her what she was doing, and she was absolutely aglow with excitement. She said this was her first time here and was happy to see everyone so engaged and was looking forward to being a part of the movement. Just then the GA meeting was called and Carol told me she had to go because she wanted to attend the meeting and hear everything that was going on. I told her thanks so much for coming and I would see her again soon.

Occupy Austin Day 19

Quiet down America! Class in now in Session.

Somebody in Portland, Maine threw a Drano bomb into the Portland camp yesterday. It exploded, but no one was hurt. The police said it wasn't related to the occupiers because another one went off somewhere else in town, even though this one was thrown directly into the camp.  A Drano bomb is made from putting Drano in a water or soda bottle-glass or plastic-with a few pieces of foil, sometimes rolled up in balls along with some water. When the foil contacts the Drano-the entire mess explodes. If  you are picking up trash around the camp or anywhere else, be sure you know what you are picking up. Look inside the container for cloudy water and foil strips or balls. You won't have time to make it to the trash can if you pick it up.

This kind of crap happens when the fascist press starts hating on us over the airwaves because people can be so impressionable and not even realize what they are doing. The press is trying to make us look less than human so the fascist can justify brutalizing us and no one will care. It is pure propaganda used against every political movement and war ever waged.

I remember when I had a radio show in a little town in East Texas. There was an industrial plant famous for its environmental damage just down the road from us. Because my show was about green subjects and the environment, I would occasionally complain about the plant. All I needed to do was slightly raise my voice enough to sound agitated and the phone would light up with callers. Most of them were angry about something or other, and not even clear on the subject matter. It was just my tone of voice that set them off about long forgotten grievances about who knows what. That is how the right-wing propaganda machine works. They yell and complain about us to millions of people and guess what happens? Well, you know by now.

While this site does it's share of complaining against the fascist right that has taken over our country. I can tell you right now, if you are going to do something crappy-do it to them-not us. We are the ones trying to help you and your future so your frustrations are recognized and you have a voice. Throwing Drano bombs isn't going to get you anywhere. It won't get you a medal or anything special, of that you can be sure. And there is always the chance you could be sitting in jail when a bunch of pissed-off protesters who've just had their camp cleaned out arrive.

I woke this morning to the distressing news that protesters were arrested in Dallas for blockading a bank and the fascists have finally destroyed the Oakland camp. Unbelievably, the reporter on MSNBC said they could not be sure if the tear gas canister came from the police or from a protester inside Oakland camp-yeah, you heard it right. One of the reasons given for the fascist invasion of the camp was the protesters had not allowed interviews and were threatening the news media. And now it looks like my blog is getting censored from some of the places it was always posted before. I am writing this story to show personal growth of myself as well as the growth-(or decline) of a political movement's arm in Austin, Texas . I've been writing this experience from day 1. It is an historical and important document that will be on the web forever. So if you don't like it-go fuck yourself, because more than 700 people a day do like it very much.

Perfect Nathan

Now, today is a great story. I ran into Nathan, who I mentioned in the post from Saturday when there was a dustup with some frat rats who came into the camp holding "we are the 1%" and "get a job" signs. I insultingly called Nathan Erkel because of his big sunglasses. But when I saw Nathan in the plaza today, I was anxious to get his take on what went down and asked for an interview. I found Nathan is an intelligent nice guy with a lot to say who carries a book about anarchy in the back of his pants. But ironically, everything about him is perfect. Perfect hair, perfect skin, perfect mustache-everything. So I have to say he is the neatest anarchist I ever met. Here is Nathan's uncensored take on what happened Saturday night (Day 17:)

"A group of young men from college station approached the plaza and immediately drew a crowd. I (Nathan) went to engage them because I have a gift for eloquence. I began attempting to discuss it with them and you (Tawdry) were asking permission for an interview. At first I was kind of reluctant to let you at them first and when I heard a couple of questions, I felt you were leading the interview and asking yes or no questions rather than getting to the heart of the matter.

I felt that time was of the essence and not sure how long these people would be around. And I thought it was an amazing opportunity to teach them critical thinking skills. What really set me off was when you asked if "these people disgust you?" Since I came from a similar background as these guys, I felt it was my duty to attack the discussion and take over, which is my personality. I wanted to attack the fallacy of their belief system. After you finished your interview, I think the best thing I was able to make them see is the procedures of our institutions of government are no longer responsive to the needs of the people. I wanted to share that the needs of the people are subservient to the needs of the economy since the industrial revolution. I read that in a book I know they will never look at." Nathan didn't attack me personally-only my actions that night. I was wishing I could say the same for myself.

Nathan went on to say he understands what the Occupy movement is about and we agreed it is psychological guerrilla warfare with the corporate press, who is our enemy. He says all he ever wanted to do was be a poet and would be happy living with very few belongings and says that is a morally respectable goal. Nathan recognizes our society rewards selfishness and abuses those who are selfless. He wants to see a society that  recognizes those who are essential to any living and vibrant culture such as the poet, shaman or the high priest because these people are relegated to the corners of our society. For example, look at the beat poets and authors, such as Ginsburg and Kerouac, who lived on the streets themselves for years. To prove his point, Nathan quoted Percy Bysshe Shelley who claimed "Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world" and have a central place when it comes to politics.

Nathan lived in Central Mexico from the ages of 9-14 and came from a middle-class background but feels Austin recognizes a culture of ideas that resonates with him. He has a world view and feels there are two cultures in the world-the corporate world and the world where everyone else lives. For example, even the drugs the corporate world uses-like caffeine and alcohol or legal-and the drugs the people use-namely the ones that grow directly from the ground, are illegal.

We talked about how different groups from the left and the right are trying to co-opt the movement. Nathan gave me an example of how Moveon.org came to the plaza with a list of demands, but were flying under another name. He told them by trying to co-opt the movement with the help of a larger organization, they don't understand they are being tools for the left. Nathan and I agreed that although many people feel the establishment is infallible and only needs to be reformed, it needs to be completely changed. We also agreed how humbled we are by seeing people who are rejected by society pitching in, who are just as valid as we are, and have something to contribute even though they don't "do the dance or are not as eloquent," according to Nathan.

Nathan and I parted ways realizing we were both on the same page, were now brothers in arms and will go down fighting for each other if that's what it takes. Nathan is dedicated, passionate, intelligent and of course, neat. This understanding and respecting of others is what the Occupy movement is about-this is what we have to do to survive. This is not about censoring what others say or being afraid to talk out your ideas. It is about finding common ground-this is OWS. Thank you Nathan.

Right about that time, a guy drove by with a megaphone shouting-I love you so much, I love you too, thank you, I love you. And it was a special moment and you could see how it picked up the spirits of the occupiers.

Professor Roy Casagranda 

I attended a meeting led by Roy Casagranda, a professor at Austin Community College about revolutions. He had a good point about the use of Facebook and Twitter, which I touched on in the first meeting and was slapped down. But anyway, he said during the Egyptian revolution, Facebook and Twitter were used to fool the authorities and keep them guessing where the protests were to be held. Since the protesters knew the government would cut off internet access at some point, they already had another source of communication in place-the old fashioned kind. Maybe this is how the freedom tower network can help us if things get creepy-but I still carry a land-line, just in case of a political disaster.

Ding Dong-the wicked PA is dead! 

Roy also talked about how important the occupation philosophy is, because once you leave your post, it will be occupied by the authorities and you will have to spend time fighting for space you had already occupied.

Then a group came in to the plaza that included folks from the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin, Live Oak Unitarian Universalist and Wildflower Unitarian Universalist Church, along with several of their ministers to show their gratitude and to bless those who've been at the protest since the beginning. I interviewed a tall, beautiful woman named Corinna, a name that holds a special place in my heart.  She explained The Unitarian Church is a non-dogmatic church with no belief or requirement for membership and are welcoming to all humans. Corinna said they are there as a show of support and they feel a resonance with the protesters for economic justice that is very strong. The program the different organizations are working on is called,  "Standing on the Side of Love," and is interested in marriage equality, equal rights, immigration and economic justice issues. The program has a very informative website. For more information about the local branch of the Unitarian Universalist Church, see austinuu.org.

We need everyone.

This was the kind of people Occupy Austin must include, although the philosophy of the movement is non-religious. Corinna and the people with her were motivated, intelligent people who are on our side. We can not afford to not welcome them. They had their huge banner and I could tell they felt a little intimidated and out of place. That is when we step in, like I did, find out what they are about, and if they are there to help us, let's open up our arms and give them a chance.

Joshua said it best, when he said of course the movement is about religion and politics because it includes all people and we are trying to bring everyone together. Everyone can occupy for change. It's super easy, and all you have to do is bring your butt to the plaza. We need you, the earth needs you. We'll see you there.