Occupy Santa Cruz takes over vacant building on Water Street; police move in to remove them

[Newsjock]

Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel

Santa Cruz police, clad in riot gear, moved to clear Occupy Santa Cruz members from a vacant building demonstrators took over Wednesday afternoon.

Just after 6 p.m. about 30 officers attempted to gain entry into the building at 75 Water St. to remove the unknown number of people inside. The doors to the former Coast Commercial Bank building were barricaded from the inside with office furniture. The attempt caused a brief scuffle with the more than 150 protesters outside causing the police to pull back.

Officers have regrouped in the parking lot about 50 feet away. It's unclear what their next move is. An unknown number of people remain inside as well as a couple of people on the roof.

... Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark said the property owner, Wells Fargo Bank, told police he wanted the protesters removed for trespassing.

Read more: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_19442674

[Speck Tater]

1. How is "Occupy vacant building" become a protest rather than just squatting?

It seems to me that this makes the movement just look like a skid row camping trip rather than a protest movement. I don't get the point of camping out in empty buildings. What does that accomplish? At some point it ceases to be a political statement and turns into just another homeless lifestyle.

[MADem]

2. I agree--why not just RENT some commercial space?

OWS NYC had a half million bucks--surely the other OWS sites could pass the hat for the rent on a space where they could meet, strategize, do YOUTUBE and LIVESTREAM news reports in a studio-like setting, set up a phone/computer bank to solicit donations and support, and organize.

Time to take a step up the ladder. The camping shit is o-v-e-r. It's no longer novel; it's just lazy.

[Name removed]

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[bloomington-lib]

8. So true

[alittlelark]

7. That's exactly what they want you to think...

Corpopropagandamedia hes you HOOKED.

Take the red pill.

[Magoo48]

10. What is a "homeless lifestyle"?

[Speck Tater]

11. What I'm saying is that the movement would have a lot more impact if...

instead of just camping out the protestors went home in the evening, ate dinner, got a good nights sleep and came back in the morning to march.

The effect would be that "real people" (not hobos and hippies) left their homes (not their squatter's tents) each and every morning, day after day, week after week, to come downtown and march and protest. That shows dedication and commitment.

I think the average American would find it a lot easier to identify with and sympathize with others who share not only their predicament, but their own lifestyle and culture. It's too easy to label "strange-looking squatters and hobos" than it is to label ordinary, typical Americans who show the resolve and tenacity to come downtown day after day to keep the protest going.

There's no point in occupying Wall Street when Wall Street is asleep and the people you're trying to reach are home in bed. That just invites pointless legal confrontations. Occupy Wall Street all the BUSINESS day, every BUSINESS day. That approach eliminates all the confrontations between the police and illegal campers, yet still gets the message across.

Turning the movement into a hippie camping trip allows the mainstream media to characterize it as a hippie camping trip and ignores the real meaning. To get media focus on the real meaning requires "real" people, relatable people that average Americans can identify with, showing consistent dedication to the cause; people who can't be dismissed as squatters, hippies and gypsies. For that to happen they need to stop acting AS IF they were squatters, hippies and gypsies. No matter what truth they try to tell their fellow Americans, they will always have a credibility problem with average people if they keep acting in ways that alienate average Americans.

[Devil_Fish]

5. It would be hilarious if the police finally gain access and find no one there. NT

[AtheistCrusader]

6. This is self defeating and stupid.

Shouldn't be hard to cut a deal with one of these property owners, wherein you heat the building, and leave it as clean or cleaner than you found it, in exchange for staying there. Helps them, and you get a central shelter to stage out of for the protests. Win-win.

Some are, but many of these property owners are miles and miles from being part of the 1%. The housing market crash was bad, but the commercial real estate market actually crashed HARDER. Just, nobody really cares/talks about it.

[xiamiam]

9. just to put it in perspective..we had and are still having unbelievable wind storms

here in santa cruz county since yesterday am..it is very cold and the wind is unsettling..it is the middle of the night and i just woke up from hearing the wind rattling eveything...