Roads were fine. Lots of people took the West Seattle Water Taxi (thanks Dow) or figured out an alternative method of getting to work. It looks like people, gasp, managed just fine. Although, it looks like the Walk the Viaduct event was a lot of fun.
Open Thread 10/24
– Today in false dichotomies: Urban America versus America.
– Congrats to Shaun for 9 8 years’ writing at Upper Left.
– Progressive Voter’s Guide. Pro-Choice Voter’s Guide.
– Sound Transit’s service revisions.
– Fauntleroy is safer and not noticeably slower after a road diet.
– Unless you’re living in a cardboard box, you have nothing to complain about.
Since I was There
Just a note, this post contains some racist language, and violence.
I go to Westlake more days than I don’t, even if I haven’t always reported everything up to the moment. If news isn’t breaking or something important happening, I’ll just write the same as if I’d been in my apartment. So when the incident in #3 happened, I was 10, 15 feet away, but I didn’t report on it because “crazy person is crazy” didn’t strike me as a story. But since it’s on Publicola, someone thinks it’s news, so here’s a quick summary:
It was at the General Assembly. That day it was under the trees. About 7:30, I guess; the GA had been going on for a while. There’s a core group that sits down, and there are people who stand at the edges and sometimes come in and out. Someone walks up to the Assembly and starts yelling. “Niggers. Fuck you niggers.” And a few people go to confront him. It looked from my angle like he just ran into one of the people who walked up to him, but someone said he threw a punch. Then he ran over to 4th. He was then tackled by several cops as he was running North down the sidewalk.
I honestly don’t think this says anything about either Occupy Seattle or the opposition to it. As far as I can tell, it was just a crazy person, and Publicola’s report doesn’t make me think anything different.
Open Thread 10/21
– As a liberal guy, I’ll say, this is fucked up (Also, wow) .
– The Abacus sign and a sign from Occupy Olympia.
– Handbills and posters for the weekend events at Occupy Seattle.
– During the 2008 Democratic primary, I was always quick to point out that it wasn’t particularly nasty as primary fights go. Certainly nobody was grabbing anybody.
– It won’t get anywhere for now, but the GOP effort to ban discussion of abortion over the Internet is brazen even for Jim DeMint.
– When the machines take over, they won’t kill us outright. They’ll just program our GPS’s to make us drive around in circles.
Step Down
Inevitably, when a bicyclist death by a car is in the news, asshole comments will try to figure out why the bicyclist is at fault. And maybe the bicyclist was acting stupidly. Maybe they were riding poorly, making themselves tough to see, etc. But the thing those comments miss is that drivers have a responsibility not to kill people.
And it’s not just cars and bikes. Anyone that’s a step up on size and safety has a special obligation not to hit something that’s a step down. I have friends who ride their motorcycles pretty dangerously. They ride ridiculously above the speed limit and ride between the lanes. They sometimes don’t wear helmets. Stupid, stupid; don’t do that. Still, if you’re a driver, have the wherewithal to not hit one, for Christ sake. Be aware of motorcycles long before they get to you, and check your fucking blind spots. Even if a motorcycle was driving poorly, if you want to be on the road, be a good enough driver that you don’t hit one.
Motorcycles and cars similarly have an obligation to be extra careful of bikes. Ideally, they’ll wear bright colors, have lights, and drive defensively. But even if they’re ninja riding the wrong way, you should be able to avoid them. Slow goddamn down, and chill the fuck out when you’re near one. If you hit one, after all, there’s a good chance they’ll die. And they aren’t even coming particularly fast.
And finally, cars, motorcycles, and bicycles have an obligation to avoid hitting pedestrians. While a car-pedestrian collision is more likely fatal than a bike-pedestrian one, in both cases, the driver and the bicyclist are moving faster than the pedestrian and will hit them with a hunk of metal. If you can’t avoid hitting a pedestrian, even one who’s jaywalking poorly. Even one obsessed with their phone, and not paying attention at all.
None of this is to say that motorcycles, bikes, and pedestrians shouldn’t look out for their safety, of course. Only that we’re sharing the space, and the larger modes have an obligation to the safety of the rest of the road.
Open Thread 10/19
– Mitt Romney is a terrible person.
– The Stranger’s endorsements.
– You guys, the anti car tabs people are totally grassroots.
– a dangerous, hypersexual, unhealthy, emotional, and enraged mass of unmarried drama.
Legalize Camping at Westlake
I was reading this piece on the laws that are being used against the Occupy movement, and it occurred to me that there is a process to change any law that isn’t working. So while there’s a case to be made (one that I don’t agree with) that McGinn and other mayors across the country are just enforcing the law, there’s no case that the law needs to stay the way it is.
So, while I understand that the legislative process is necessarily slow and as such tough to deal with in reaction to fast moving events, the City Council could take up a law legalizing camping in Westlake. They could make it temporary (say 3 months) if they were worried about what happens afterwards. They could at the very least extend the park’s hours to keep it open all day. They could just do that in the South part of the park if they’re worried about what’s going to happen with the Christmas Carousel. The same for preparing hot food or any other complaint that they’re breaking the law. I assume the Parks & Seattle Center Committee could at least start the process, even if I wouldn’t expect it to go that far.
Open Thread 10/17
– Every military operation we take on has legitimate criticism. Rush Limbaugh is clearly not the one to provide it though.
Westlake
When I first moved to Seattle from the suburbs, Will, who used to write here, and I took the bus somewhere. We caught the bus in Westlake Park. This was pre-ORCA Card and he took some cash out of his wallet and counted it out to make sure it was right before the bus came while we continued to talk. Someone must have saw him with his money out, because they came up to us and asked, “You buying?”
Up until a few weeks ago, that’s more or less the feel of Westlake Park whenever I go through it after dark. Now, it’s my city, and I’ve never avoided the park because of the people selling drugs there. It’s certainly safe enough for me as an able bodied fairly young man to walk through. But, it’s not exactly the best part of town. But now, every night it’s glorious, and vibrant. And the drug dealing has left.
So whatever the value of City Hall Park versus Westlake versus other potential occupy sites going forward, Westlake Park is better for the occupation.
Open Thread 10/14
– Sometimes you read a story about a new policy and you have a tough time with the fact that it’s actually a new policy because it’s so blindingly obvious that it should have been happening for years. Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion is one of those for me.
– I support these rule changes, Liquor Control Board.
– Another sure sign that Occupy Wall Street is on the right track.
– If I’ve been a bit Occupy Seattle heavy recently, well, here’s some info on Occupy Olympia.
– I FOUND A PUNCHLINE FOR YOUR COMIC STRIP
– Michael Schur is one of the best writers there is, but I sure do like any Red Sox fan suffering.
– I’m still going to get bumblebees and honey bees mixed up some times.
A Structure in Westlake
Right now the protesters are building a canvas structure in the middle of the plaza at Westlake park. The rumor is that the police were taking it down, but other than a few bike cops under the awning, I don’t see any police. I was going to head home after the GA, but I guess I’ll be staying here a bit longer. Updates if anything happens.
… So it’s about a 5 foot cube with polls on each corner. 3 sides are canvas and the other side is open as an entrance. There isn’t a roof, but they’ve put some bamboo and some Christmas lights. There are half a dozen people sitting cozy inside.
While I was writing the paragraph above a bike cop rode by, slowed down, took a look and then went back to join the others.
… I apologize that this update is super boring, but most of the cops rode off a few minutes ago. There are only 2 left. I tried to see if the ones who left were massing somewhere, but I went a couple blocks up Pine where they went, but they weren’t there. No police cars, so I doubt the city will do anything until 10:00 if they do anything at all.
… Still nothing, so I’m going to grab some warmer clothing. Will be back before 10:00. There have been a few people who said they think tonight is the night. But rumors fly around like you wouldn’t believe.
… I’m back and so are the police. There are about a dozen at the mall. There are 3 cars and a wagon as well as the ones bike. There were a few riding through the park. I don’t know if that’s been going on. Still, it’s quite festive at the park.
[9:40] About 4 cops just walked up to the people in the structure. Now there’s a crowd. I can’t get close, but it looks like the police have left.
[9:51] They’re kind of milling about but I counted 30 officers at the mall. Still, only one wagon, so I imagine there will be arrests but not in large numbers.
[9:59] The police have moved into walked through the park. No announcement to leave yet.
[10:06] The police are by the Bank of America (and the medical tent). Still no announcement to leave. The chanting by the other structures have quieted down a bit.
[10:25] The police came up to the structure. Some are there and some are under a nearby awning.. The structure in the park has 4 or 5 layers of people.
[10:29] Looks like the first person has been taken out. I still haven’t heard an order to leave the park.
[10:33] A second person taken out.
[10:37] “You are the 99%” directed to the cops
[10:51] The structure is down. About 10 people were arrested so far and there are a few more where the structure was still getting arrested.
[11:17] Those last few people are still in a tight circle. Still no announcement to leave the park.
[11:30] The police have cleared out without arresting the last 5 who were together. There’s pandemonium here.
[11:54] I’m out for the night, but there are still quite a few people around.
Arrest at Westlake
The police arrested 1 (I think) person in a tent and then all left. About 2 dozen cops mostly bike cops but a few in cars made the announcement that the park was closed at about 10:15. They took down the tent only and arrested the person.
There was another group of people willing to get arrested, who locked hands, but it appears they were left alone. No riot gear or attempts to clear the entire park. As far as I could tell nobody was pepper sprayed. While, once again, I think the arrests were a serious mistake, I applaud the police for their professionalism.
Open Thread 10/12
– it’s wrong-headed to think that voting down a fee will somehow make driving affordable.
– Maybe now we can raise taxes on the richest members of society.
– The freeloaders who don’t pay federal income taxes.
– This sort of vigilante justice will probably become more common in the Internet age, so let’s at least try to get the right people.
Glossary of Terms for Occupy Seattle
At Occupy Seattle (and I assume at the other Occupy locations) the decision making is decided in a group manner, mostly with consensus. It’s chaotic and while there are good things and bad things about it, this post is just my attempt to collect some terms for quick reference. At this point it’s pretty inadequate, but I’ll update it with other people’s suggestions and corrections.
- Facilitator – In the general assembly and in the work groups, the person who leads the group. Since they are striving to remain leaderless, the facilitator tries to remain neutral and to give everyone a voice.
- General Assembly – The way the entire group makes decisions. Everyone has a say in them. So people can speak for a determined amount of time people make proposals and vote on them and then there are announcements. General Assembly is at 6:30 PM in Seattle.
- Mic Check/People’s Mic – Since there isn’t a proper microphone (permitting issues, I think), the crowd will repeat back whatever was said. So it’ll be mostly short phrases and then everyone will repeat it. It’s still often tough to hear if you’re not in the front, but more people can hear it than otherwise would. People often begin saying “Mic Check” to keep focus.
- Work Groups – The smaller groups where specific issues are dealt with. Most work groups at Occupy Seattle start at 4:00. You can tell members of the various work groups by the colored tape on their arms. At Occupy Seattle some of the work groups are the:
- Tactical Work Group
- Internet Communications Work Group
- Media Work Group
- Peace & Safety Work Group
- Facilitation & Process Work Group
If you have more, please email me, Carl.Ballard01@gmail.com or add a comment. This thread is going to be pretty heavily moderated.
Open Thread 10/10
– The Occupy Seattle Calendar of events (H/T Howie on Facebook)
– I don’t know if this says much about the Republicans as it does about the difficulty of comparing polls against each other. Candidates will have a higher name recognition right after a person on the other end of the phone mentions them.
– I’ve never seen an episode of Glee in my life, so I didn’t understand about 90% of the words in this Lindy West recap, but it was quite funny.
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