encamping

Today, I checked my cynical ass at the door and went into the encampment for the first time. Wow. Okay, so yesterday, having not walked through the camp, my perception of it all was that it was some punk squatters saying they wouldn't move until everything was fixed for them and they didn't have to pay their college loans back. Well, that was exactly what I DIDN'T see there. Instead, I saw a community full of a variety of ages, classes, races and backgrounds coming together to voice their frustrations with the system and to brainstorm how change can happen. Just...wow!

It really reminded me of the Oregon Country Fair, except nobody was trying to sell me a three dollar lemonade and I wasn't wearing a skirt. And it wasn't just because I saw Jimi Hendrix (pictured in the third-from-the-top photo. As Community Village is, the Occupy Portland encampment was full of caring, awesome and organized people. They weren't an elite group that had survived camp and now only identify with other campers. They were people doing outreach and just talking to one another and whoever came through the park. In fact, they were having sanitation issues so they were encouraging people to not camp if they didn't have to but to come, learn, talk, hang out and then participate in support activities like the marches and rallies going on tomorrow.

This really put my mind at ease and blew it away at the same time. They had committees organized, they had an information booth, a safety booth, a library with rotating speakers (and anyone could sign up), a food booth with free food and people designated to help if you experienced conflict with anyone, sexual assault or just needed medical attention. And this is ALL in this one little park. It was beautiful. I am soooo damn proud of this city!

Also, the occupy movement has won me over as well. Almost every state has at least one Occupied city (c'mon Wyoming and South Dakota, North Dakota is making you look bad!). Oregon has a few Occupied cities. One of them is Seaside. This surprised me but Ashes filled me in on what is happening in Seaside. It's a very sought after vacation spot where people own beach houses. Therefore, the rent is high and the land is expensive. So expensive in fact that people who work in Seaside can't afford to live there. There have been reports of people having to camp in the woods outside of Seaside and then hike into work each morning. Part of their Occupation revolves around finding a solution to this problem. That's inspiring and so awesome. On a side note, maybe I should have done some remote reporting for Indymedia and headed to Seaside to do report from there for the weekend.

What else?
It was a clear and sunny day for the most part today and I spent it chilling with Dean. I also cooked breakfast today using potatoes that Tim had planted in our front yard when he lived here. He comes over and digs them up on occasion. They were really good and it's awesome that they grow under my bedroom window