Remember last week's strange little episode about some rogue Occupy Portland finance committee members who allegedly had their own ideas about how the camp should handle its cash, and then promptly tried to take charge of the till themselves—until, that is, hackers from Anonymous stepped in?
Yeah, well, it flared up again last night.
A man named Julio Granda—whom some occupiers say is friendly with the occupiers involved in Finance-gate—sent out a weirdly dramatic email last night on behalf of a group called "The Real Occupy Portland." It's an open letter to Mayor Sam Adams and the city apologizing for the bad vibes after Wednesday's march and for all the damage to Chapman and Lownsdale squares.
It's dated November 2, but didn't show up in my inbox until last night. Even weirder, it was addressed to the Mercury, the Oregonian's letters editor, and—okaaaay—the Lake Oswego Review. (Am I dating myself if I say the whole "real" thing reminds me of a certain popular 1980s cartoon?)
The current situation in the two city parks downtown is true to arithmetic form: 99% of the people who marched on October 6 went home. 1% stayed.The Citizens of Portland are due an apology for the damage that has been done to the parks and we, "The Real Occupy Portland", are committed to raising funds to help with reparation costs. Also, we will work with the City of Portland to help find the homeless and mentally ill acceptable resources and solutions to improve their living conditions as they are part of the 99% too.
Media volunteer Jordan LeDoux didn't have much to say other than that Granda "hasn't been at the camp for the past week and a half." Occupiers have previously said the finance and domain name spat has otherwise been resolved.
After the cut, a couple of other Occupy-related news bits—including a TV "news actress" Twitter war and an endorsement from another city union—and the whole text of the letter from "The Real Occupy Portland."
• The 700-worker strong City of Portland Professional Employees Association (COPPEA) voted Tuesday to issue a statement in support of Occupy Portland, joining other major unions (Laborer's Local 483, AFSCME, SEIU, the Oregon AFL-CIO) in marching alongside, endorsing, or donating rented portable toilets to, Occupy Portland. (No, the Portland Police Association is not one of them.)
COPPEA members are among the 99% of Americans who have been deeply hurt by the financial crisis and ensuing recession, and we affirm the argument of the Occupy Movement that the burden of the economic downturn should not rest solely on the backs of working families. COPPEA agrees with the aims of the Occupy Portland movement to hold Wall Street accountable.
• Sources say two of the tents most nefariously associated with drug use at Occupy Portland have vanished—timing that seems to match up with what's happening with the weather, but also could be attributed, some say, to more aggressive police patrols in the camp. It will be interesting to see, as occupiers stick it out, what role weather plays and whether (pun! snort!), now that winter shelters are opening (as Mayor Sam Adams has pointed out), it thins the ranks of needy-but-troubled campers who have come more for the promise of shelter and hot food than for the politicking and the protesting.
• And, because competition brings out the best in media, I'm going to celebrate another addition to Portland's choked news scene: The Portland Occupier, the unofficial but still pretty official Occupy Portland online newspaper. The PR folks and media folks have been talking about this for days, angry at how "mainstream media" have been covering the camp. So they decided to try it themselves. It's a repository for Occupy videos, and might one day host some camp propaganda. (I kid! I kid! Although the PR folks there really are getting more and more sophisticated as they scrap with reporters.)
(Need proof they've been angry? Check out the insanely hilarious Twitter war some of the more savvy occupiers have been waging against KOIN's self-described "news actress," Kacey Montoya. IT'S PRECIOUS. PRECIOUS.)
Oh, and before I forget, here's the "Real" Occupy's letter:
PRESS RELEASE
An Apology to Mayor Adams and The City of Portland
November 2, 2011Mayor Adams and the City of Portland:
We are concerned citizens and some of the original organizers of Occupy Portland in synergy with the Occupy Wall Street Movement.
Our intent was never to damage Lownsdale and Chapman Parks or to agitate and insult the police and city officials who have been so cooperative.
The "Movements" stated objective has always been to protest the misdeeds of the financial industry and the failure of Washington politicians to rein them in, resulting in the dire situation this country now finds itself. In short, 99% of us have been wronged by the other 1%.
The current situation in the two city parks downtown is true to arithmetic form: 99% of the people who marched on October 6 went home. 1% stayed.
The Citizens of Portland are due an apology for the damage that has been done to the parks and we, "The Real Occupy Portland", are committed to raising funds to help with reparation costs.
Also, we will work with the City of Portland to help find the homeless and mentally ill acceptable resources and solutions to improve their living conditions as they are part of the 99% too.
We remain committed to addressing the unacceptable practices of the financial industries; The Real Occupy Portland will take direct action in support of bringing these people to justice. Also, will continue to support the "Occupation Movement" using peaceful modalities. We also invite others to join us in solidarity.
Please accept our gratitude for your diplomatic courtesies and patience.
Sincerely,
The Real Occupy Portland and the 99%
