November 04, 2011
— Open Blogger My jury duty was Right Next Door to the Occupy LA site so..., why the hell not. Let's ask some questions.My goal was not to engage in a debate, just ask the same questions to typical looking occupiers and see what's up.No pictures. Verum Serum was All Over That yesterday so look at his stuff.
I walked past at noon and did my interviews after 4pm. There was a lot of occupation and damn little protesting. There's typically more protestors in that area when the Occupy LA guys aren't around. One guy with a bullhorn was yelling that this was more important that the Jackson Dr. trial. He was ignored. The very close entrance to the Superior Court house is prime protesting area as is City Hall (where the Occupy LA guys are). When you walk by Occupy LA you see rows and rows of tents and, occasionally, scruffy looking people in the area. I guess they don't like daylight?
Unlike OWS (NY) they have lots of porta-potties. And drum noise isn't an issue. No residential areas nearby. But I didn't notice any drums.Place seemed mellow. It's LA, not surprising.I asked these 4 questions.
1. Name a politician or statesman (living or dead) you respect. (tweeted from @siftyboones)2. If you have a problem with a student loan, why'd you get it? That is, what was your plan to pay it back?
3. Assume you get your way. How will the world be different?
4. If you saw a violent crime in the protest area, would you report it? (tweeted from @rdbrewer4)
First, I talked with Katie. She was a serious protestor - white clown-face makeup with green dollar signs.
1. "Nothing comes to mind."
2. Yes. Graduated 7 years ago and unable to find a job in her career (graphics design). Has 2 federal loans and a private loan.3. "There would be opportunities - maybe not for my generation but definitely for the one coming up... there would be more chances for jobs... for better paying jobs." (something sustainability and green energy)4. Definitely!Mel was standing next to her.1. Theodore Roosevelt and Alan Grayson (some crank congressman from Florida)2. Doesn't have a problem with a student loan. (sounds like he paid them off)3. "I would like to see more people have affordable health care. I would like for people not to have to work 3 jobs to meet minimum standards of living. I would like (for people not to have to postpone retirement because they still have to work). I would like less regulation on pharmaceuticals (prescription drugs) so they would be more affordable for the elderly. (mentioned importing drugs from Canada)4. Of course!
Deeper into the tent village I started and aborted an interview with a man who didn't seem to have opinions. Then I ran into Shyla. A man was in area listening.
1. "I love Obama!"2. Has paid off her student loans.3. (Her main concern was homeless children.)4. Yes (and in fact she already has. She reported Sunday's knife incident) At that point the other man (he wasn't following me, he was just in the area) told her that she should have reported it to the "soldiers" in the area. He said he would explain it to her after the interview.I tried to interview another man but he acted suspicious and kept asking me questions so I moved on.Noticed a sign lamenting that occupiers were stealing from occupiers. And I left.
It seems to me that Occupy LA presents such a low level of annoyance to the authorities that they'll be able to Occupy indefinitely. Nobody cares enough to bring out the tear gas.(written 10-31-2011)
Posted by: Open Blogger at
11:41 AM
| Comments (58)
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Posted by: weft cut-loop at November 04, 2011 11:45 AM (9Cgdq)
Why don't the police just dismantle the empty ones?
Posted by: Cherry pi at November 04, 2011 11:46 AM (OhYCU)
With a bulldozer. Ever see They Live? I'm thinking about that scene when the police demolish the Shantytown with a killdozer and some riot police.
Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at November 04, 2011 11:49 AM (9hSKh)
Posted by: Ian S. at November 04, 2011 11:49 AM (tqwMN)
Or nookie?
Dude, there are some things that are "free" that you still don't want. Especially if they come with a herpes risk.
Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at November 04, 2011 11:52 AM (9hSKh)
Are those Commie dregs camping on the site where the city Christmas tree usually goes? That would normally be going up soonish.
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at November 04, 2011 11:52 AM (oBrVT)
Posted by: Cherry pi at November 04, 2011 11:54 AM (OhYCU)
Posted by: DRAW A MOHAMMED EVERY DAY at November 04, 2011 11:54 AM (tuCVl)
Posted by: Eric Idle at November 04, 2011 11:55 AM (D9gB/)
There aren't a lot of businesses around OLA, nor many homes. It's mostly City Hall and it's a few blocks from Skid Row
Mayor Tony might be on to something here. Without the presence of LAPD around, the hippies lack the physical presence of a common enemy to rage at and naturally start fighting among each other, with no reigns on the crazy
Posted by: kbdabear at November 04, 2011 11:55 AM (Y+DPZ)
Only if Herman Cain was committing it.
Posted by: WalrusRex at November 04, 2011 11:57 AM (Hx5uv)
Posted by: Empire of Jeff at November 04, 2011 11:58 AM (0yt4x)
From Ringo's blog:
A bearded man with a long ponytail had become violently agitated by, among other things, the constant marijuana smoking around his tent. A girl in her mid twenties who was camped near him explained to me later that this guy didnÂ’t understand that marijuana is their "medicine". "Everybody around here has medical marijuana cards" she told me, "We need to smoke it". But apparently this guy was not sympathetic to their medicinal needs. He was in a complete rage as he waved his arms, cursing and calling other protesters "fakes". "IÂ’m about to fuckinÂ’ hurt somebody!" he shouted.
ringospictures.com
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at November 04, 2011 11:59 AM (oBrVT)
Nobody cares enough to bring out the tear gas.
F*ckin' Lost Angeles city administration killjoys. Always gotta piss in our Fruit Loops.
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at November 04, 2011 11:59 AM (G+B5p)
NON-TROVERSY!!!
Posted by: Forgotten blogger from El Segundo at November 04, 2011 12:04 PM (Y+DPZ)
Posted by: Fetid Air Escaping From Michael Moore's Fat Folds at November 04, 2011 12:06 PM (w41GQ)
16 Ringo goes inside the insane asylum at Occupy LA
A rather eccentric and quixotic bunch, aren't they.
Posted by: dananjcon at November 04, 2011 12:06 PM (8ieXv)
Violent 'Occupier' Demands Free Food at McDonald's, Goes Wild When Refused
Posted by: proud dum-dum, 99 percenter at November 04, 2011 12:07 PM (Y+DPZ)
Now if they could somehow finagle free beer with all this nonsense then I would say they have a cause worth fighting for.
Posted by: dananjcon at November 04, 2011 12:10 PM (8ieXv)
"A guy in a striped tank-top and flat cap came over to cool things down. He kept saying, "Listen to me, IÂ’m from San Francisco, I know how this works, IÂ’m from San Francisco, listen to me."Â….Nobody seemed to care that he was from San Francisco. The shouting and shoving continued."
"What I gathered from talking to a few people who were standing nearby is that libertarians, and others, including some of the anarchists and hippies and conspiracy theorists, were angry that the use of the main stage was being controlled by Communists and Left-wing radicals. They claimed that opposing viewpoints were not allowed. One guy with a black bandana tied around his neck told me that "organized groups" were trying to take over OLA. He said this movement should be leaderless. Another girl who looked to me like a hippie, countered that "somebody has to be in charge"
Posted by: kbdabear at November 04, 2011 12:10 PM (Y+DPZ)
An airplane had just flown overhead leaving a white trail across the blue sky. There were also similar trails in the distance - chemtrails! Within seconds a distraught young man ran up onto the stage, grabbed the microphone away from the woman who was chanting and tried to warn everyone of the danger. Before he could finish, the mic was quickly plucked from his hand. Some in the crowd yelled "Let him speak".
...the endless chanting, which was supposed to calm tension in the camp was actually driving everyone to the brink. Soon a man wearing a yellow hardhat and holding a megaphone came out onto the plaza and began to explain to the crowd how they could protect themselves from the chemtrails, while the other fellow became more and more hysterical by the minute.
Eventually he was sobbing, tears pouring down his face. Finally he fell to the ground pointing at the sky.
ringospictures.com
You know, that almost sounds like it would be worth a bus trip downtown.
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at November 04, 2011 12:10 PM (oBrVT)
What the hell am I paying my taxes for, anyway?
Posted by: Keith Arnold at November 04, 2011 12:13 PM (Jdtsu)
Eventually he was sobbing, tears pouring down his face. Finally he fell to the ground pointing at the sky.
ringospictures.com
You know, that almost sounds like it would be worth a bus trip downtown.
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at November 04, 2011 04:10 PM (oBrVT)
Don't eat the brown acid!!
Posted by: dananjcon at November 04, 2011 12:14 PM (8ieXv)
Since respect for authority isn't big with them, I expect that the communists expecting to take control will bring in armed "enforcers" before long. It's the natural way of commies
Posted by: kbdabear at November 04, 2011 12:14 PM (Y+DPZ)
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at November 04, 2011 04:10 PM
Have you ever done jury duty at the Downtown Criminal Courts Complex?
Just on the walk from the Juror Parking up N Hill St you'll see a shitload of crazy from the hobos on any given day
Posted by: kbdabear at November 04, 2011 12:18 PM (Y+DPZ)
Stick a fork in this one.
Posted by: mrmmosh at November 04, 2011 12:26 PM (K332w)
@37
Yep. But I really don't like driving downtown, and I've got a direct bus line from my home that drops me off right at the front door of the courthouse. No walk up hill to the parking structure.
Step over the homeless guy at the curb and stroll on in.
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at November 04, 2011 12:30 PM (oBrVT)
This reminds me of graduation at Corcoran College of Art in DC back in 2007. One of the student speakers, a graphics arts major, took great pains to point out that there were as many people graduating that year in his major as there were people graduating with degrees in chemical engineering. His spoken point? "It's OUR time, now!" Which I took as meaning that "We've arrived; there's as many of us as there are of them and we should be as readily employable and as highly compensated as said engineers." To which I thought, "Fat chance, dimwit."
Posted by: No Whining at November 04, 2011 12:32 PM (Wqfrr)
Posted by: Neil McCauley at November 04, 2011 12:41 PM (Y+DPZ)
Posted by: steevy at November 04, 2011 12:54 PM (fyOgS)
Posted by: Sam at November 04, 2011 01:25 PM (Q8yIU)
Posted by: Comrade Arthur at November 04, 2011 01:33 PM (mGnwL)
Posted by: Comrade Arthur at November 04, 2011 01:39 PM (mGnwL)
Posted by: Comrade Arthur at November 04, 2011 01:41 PM (mGnwL)
Posted by: Comrade Arthur at November 04, 2011 01:52 PM (mGnwL)
Posted by: mike at November 04, 2011 02:09 PM (l163a)
Regarding the comment about people having to postpone retirement:
I go to Guatemala once a year on a medical mission. We work in poor, agricultural areas where the residents get little or no health care. I will never forget treating elderly farmers who were begging for steroid shots for their arthritis... so they could go back to work tilling the fields. Their reality is if you don't work, you starve to death.
That was when I realized retirement isn't a given. It is a privilege and we are lucky to have it. I do hope to retire someday and I am working toward that goal, but I don't take it for granted any more.
Posted by: Dr Alice at November 04, 2011 02:39 PM (OJKg3)
I enjoy watching jet contrails. It's a seasonal thing in LA,
Posted by: Comrade Arthur
If there's a night launch from Vandenberg, they're going to go completely wiggy.
Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at November 04, 2011 04:10 PM (oBrVT)
Posted by: Comrade Arthur at November 04, 2011 05:07 PM (mGnwL)
Posted by: Jade Sea at November 04, 2011 06:03 PM (n7zO9)
Seen without the styro hat, he looked like a typical middle aged, mid-level civil servant: white shirt and tie, sport coat, pressed slacks, cammo combat boots.
I hope he is alive to see his prediction come true.
Posted by: Retired Hippy at November 04, 2011 08:05 PM (Onw8c)
Yessiree, Bob. They made a better class of bums in those days.
Posted by: Retired Hippy at November 04, 2011 08:15 PM (Onw8c)
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Posted by: doumaduo at November 04, 2011 10:27 PM (g+2lY)
Posted by: Tea Party BAby at November 05, 2011 07:12 AM (DQHjw)
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Holy cow.
Posted by: Meiczyslaw at November 04, 2011 11:45 AM (bjRNS)