comrade pet on Nostr: The last 2 nights in so-called portland oregon there have been community-led events ...
The last 2 nights in so-called portland oregon there have been community-led events held in front of city hall in support of homeless people's liberation and in opposition to the city's plan to imprison homeless people simply for being homeless. Their plan involves jailing homeless people who "refuse shelter", but without getting into the state of Urban Alchemy owned and operated homeless interment camps, there are literally zero shelter beds available in the city and the waitlist even for *temporary* shelter is a few weeks. Semi-permanent or permanent shelter has a waitlist of nearly 100 days. Actual permanent housing for homeless people is a distant mirage on the horizon.
We occupied the plaza in front of city hall and distributed water, food, blankets, tents, and other survival supplies freely to any who asked. We held this space so our homeless neighbors and friends could relax knowing they were safe and cared for. In the opinion of this homeless person, it has been a great success so far and we will continue until city hall (led by mayor Ted Wheeler and under the influence of fascist city commissioner Rene Gonzalez) decides to rescind their genocidal policy of imprisoning people who lack adequate support and housing. We will continue these actions until city hall reinstates policies like providing tents and blankets freely to any who need them and offering cooling/warming centers on extreme weather days. In fact at the time of writing, city hall has yet to decide whether they will open any cooling center this weekend when temperatures will be in the triple digits.
The night of 6/30 we stayed until 6am when police arrived with at least 6 cop cars and about 30 officers and forced us to vacate under threats of violence and arrest. While not in full riot gear, they did arrive with "less lethal" weapons drawn and ready. Their leader claimed to be a member of the "dialogue team" but there was no dialogue, just orders given and violence threatened.
Tonight we had more of a neighborhood block party atmosphere with drag performers, poetry reading, and words of encouragement and rage from community members and those affected by this new genocidal policy. We didn't stay overnight tonight because we knew the police would come and sweep us again, and unpredictability can be an asset in the struggle for liberation.
We will continue to do our best to disrupt the machinations of city hall. We will continue to spread joy to our homeless neighbors and friends. And above all we will continue to fight for an end to the genocide of homeless people in amerikkka and for the liberation of everyone.
We occupied the plaza in front of city hall and distributed water, food, blankets, tents, and other survival supplies freely to any who asked. We held this space so our homeless neighbors and friends could relax knowing they were safe and cared for. In the opinion of this homeless person, it has been a great success so far and we will continue until city hall (led by mayor Ted Wheeler and under the influence of fascist city commissioner Rene Gonzalez) decides to rescind their genocidal policy of imprisoning people who lack adequate support and housing. We will continue these actions until city hall reinstates policies like providing tents and blankets freely to any who need them and offering cooling/warming centers on extreme weather days. In fact at the time of writing, city hall has yet to decide whether they will open any cooling center this weekend when temperatures will be in the triple digits.
The night of 6/30 we stayed until 6am when police arrived with at least 6 cop cars and about 30 officers and forced us to vacate under threats of violence and arrest. While not in full riot gear, they did arrive with "less lethal" weapons drawn and ready. Their leader claimed to be a member of the "dialogue team" but there was no dialogue, just orders given and violence threatened.
Tonight we had more of a neighborhood block party atmosphere with drag performers, poetry reading, and words of encouragement and rage from community members and those affected by this new genocidal policy. We didn't stay overnight tonight because we knew the police would come and sweep us again, and unpredictability can be an asset in the struggle for liberation.
We will continue to do our best to disrupt the machinations of city hall. We will continue to spread joy to our homeless neighbors and friends. And above all we will continue to fight for an end to the genocide of homeless people in amerikkka and for the liberation of everyone.