Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Occupy San Diego in a Police State

Photo rights: Christopher Rios

It has been five days since the raid on occupy San Diego. The civic center where we twice occupied is deserted. The main entrance is barricaded by police during the day. Police motorcycles are parked in front of the barricades which is an extreme fire hazard, especially for anyone in a wheelchair or disabled. There are two police officers to everyone one occupy San Diego participant. You cannot make signs on the ground. Lay or sit on your sleeping bag or a piece of cardboard. Police march right through an area you are having an educated teach-in. What on earth is going on?

We are being babysat by high paid officials with guns and batons watching us like hawks. This past weekend in the gas lamp area women were walking around in the skimpiest costumes baring all and drunk like skunks, but the police were not concerned about them. DUI arrests are down, because the San Diego police force, the mayor and city council feel they need to babysit a group of individuals who want to change the world for the better. People who truly want to help the hungry and homeless and stop the corrupt bankers, politicians and wall street criminals from destroying this country and our lives. It is not us that needs police babysitters, it is the corrupt bankers, politicians and wall street criminals that do.

What will it take to wake the mayor, city council and police department in San Diego? Yesterday we were told that we would be placed on the city council agenda. We were NOT! We arrived to a city council meeting that was honoring the same police officers that raided our occupation five days ago, like domestic terrorist. Over 200 officers in raid gear that consisted of dark masks, large batons, guns and machine guns that did not perform the proper procedures to arrest people on the streets. Those are to ask if you have contacted a local shelter and were denied a bed. No that did not happen on Friday October 28, 2011 at 2 am. What a contradiction honoring police officers that cost the San Diego citizens an enormous amount of money to raid a group of individuals wanting to make a better San Diego.

I attended the city council meeting and listened to a lady who owns a hot dog cart located in the civic center plaza bash us, trash us and told the city council what a bunch of low life losers we are. I had a confrontation with this lady, her husband and a channel five news reporter a week ago. They were bashing and trashing us and I confronted them. They got irritate and defensive and physically wanted to harm me. At the city council when the hot dog lady was leaving the room, I walked by her and whispered "nice handicapped sticker you have". She shouted back at me "go to hell". A police officer in the city council meeting waved me over and pulled me outside a door and detained me and not the lady with the vulgar words. I had nothing to say to him, because I did nothing wrong. A woman from our group opened the door where we were and I went back to the meeting.

I have been with occupy San Diego for a month. I have witnessed nothing that would call for a police raid of 200 officers to show up at 2am in the morning and act like domestic terrorist. Everyday I would sweep and clean our camp in the am and pm. Never did I witness human feces or urine. I had absolute respect for the police officers before the raid and would get mad when people would trash them. But that view changed after the raid. I lost all respect for the officers. It is police state in San Diego and it is not acceptable behavior. We are peacefully assembling talking about how to make this a better San Diego, country and world. What in the hell is wrong with that?