After posting an official response yesterday to city warnings that camping in Jamison Square will not be tolerated—“The demonstration at Jamison Square in the Pearl District will not be canceled”—an Occupy Portland volunteer today sent out an email reaffirming the group’s commitment to exploring a Pearl District expansion.
The missive from Cameron Whitten is billed as Occupy press release, but Whitten isn’t one of the group’s usual volunteer press liaisons. Still, it does offer an appropriately provocative answer to the question: “Why the Pearl?”
We will be demonstrating in the Pearl District to bring awareness to the inequality of wealth within our very city and to be in solidarity with other occupations and people in Portland and nationally who have been the target of police brutality. In our current system, basic needs—including housing & safety—are only guaranteed to those with the economic privilege.
The Pearl District is an epicenter of wealth and disparity in Portland, with luxury condos just blocks away from the heart of Old Town. Beyond the massive inequality of wealth that these blocks represent, Occupy Portland is demanding that the city council revoke the anti-camping ordinance and all other city laws that unfairly target the houseless in our community. As Oakland, Atlanta and all other occupations are losing ground because of forcible removal by police, Occupy Portland is showing solidarity by expanding their occupation into new spaces.
First off, I might say there other, bigger epicenters of wealth in Portland. Same for disparity. But the Pearl is visible. And close to downtown. But the shift in messaging to explicitly include local issues like the camping ordinance is, let’s say, interesting. On one hand, it’s a way for Occupy to use its presence and power to push for changes in Portland—and by advocating for specific issues, the movement can also rack up tangible victories and keep sympathizers connected and enthusiastic.
But on the other hand, because there always are two, key public supporters like Mayor Sam Adams and Commissioner Randy Leonard have generally tied their backing to the group’s focus on national economic issues that also, of course, happen to be affecting Portland. Whitten’s release actually cites Adams’ words of support—and it can also be argued that Portland’s camping ordinance is just the local face of a national issue: the criminalization of homelessness.
Keep checking Blogtown for developments tonight. After the cut, read the whole email. And click here if you’re interested in helping Occupy Portland and want to know how.
Saturday, October 29th, 2011, Portlanders will be marching against police brutality, the growing wealth inequity between the rich and the poor, and anti-camping ordinances in the city. The march will start at 12:30 pm at the Waterfront Park and proceed to protest Bank of America’s publicity stunt at the Convention Center. The march will end at a proposed occupation expansion space in the Pearl District.
One of the march’s organizers, Cameron Whitten, says, “We will be demonstrating in the Pearl District to bring awareness to the inequality of wealth within our very city and to be in solidarity with other occupations and people in Portland and nationally who have been the target of police brutality. In our current system, basic needs—including housing & safety—are only guaranteed to those with the economic privilege.”
The Pearl District is an epicenter of wealth and disparity in Portland, with luxury condos just blocks away from the heart of Old Town. Beyond the massive inequality of wealth that these blocks represent, Occupy Portland is demanding that the city council revoke the anti-camping ordinance and all other city laws that unfairly target the houseless in our community. As Oakland, Atlanta and all other occupations are losing ground because of forcible removal by police, Occupy Portland is showing solidarity by expanding their occupation into new spaces.
We call on the mayor to continue to support the Occupation for the reasons that he has laid out in this own words on several occasions. Sam Adams said, “I support Portlanders in their right to protest and exercise free speech rights, and I encourage all who participate to do so peacefully and with respect to the rights of others. Most of the people that are going to participate in Occupy Portland—as with most of the participants in cities across the country—are there to voice their legitimate concerns about national issues,” (Oct 6, 2011).
Occupy Portland has made a commitment to demand that the city revoke all laws that discriminate or target the houseless community. This expansion is an effort to act on that commitment. An open letter from the General Assembly of Occupy Portland affirms its solidarity with the houseless people in our city: “We ask that City ordinances currently used to criminalize homeless people be suspended until new solutions are found.”
“The Pearl District is an epicenter of wealth and disparity in Portland”
Everybody who lives in the west hills tonight: “Sssh, don’t say anything!”
Aren’t there a lot of subsidized low-income apartments in The Pearl? I’m not a huge fan of the neighborhood but I don’t think it is the epitome of the problem. If they marched on City Hall they would quickly lose the support of the local government and I guess it takes too much energy to climb up the West Hills. Marching on a Bank of America building would be like screaming at the tentacle of an octopus. Go to DC folks. Limit the power that politicians can sell to corporations. If influence wasn’t for sale, they wouldn’t be able to buy it.
you could go to DC and beg for change, or you could stay right here and make it happen.
http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/tu…
This is not an official, General Assembly approved release, but I find it is largely inline with the views and desires of many GA participants.
Cameron Whitten is an Occupy Portland volunteer in contact with other media and communication volunteers. He has been organizing various actions for today, October 29—including Jamison Square.
@TheGolden yes, the Pearl District has a surprisingly large contingent of affordable housing units.
This is a really fascinating development for the Occupy movement. Denis is spot-on to note that the support from the publicly elected officials has been largely contingent on their grievances being focused on largely national issues. If the Occupy Portland movement channeled their anger towards issues like the sit-lie ordinance, use of urban renewal funds for condo developer-subsidies, the role big money plays in even the most local of elections, and TriMet’s impending service cuts and/or fare hikes, I think you’d see local governments shift their response from one of conciliatory appreciation to one of concern.
Of course, it’s surprisingly difficult to learn the nuances of local politics; it’s a lot easier for the protesters to place their grievances on a faraway, intangible “1%” that wears a monocle and drives a foreign car to a Manhattan office. I’m not trying to echo the conservative media that continues to parrot the “THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE PROTESTING” line, but it’d be really freakin’ awesome if instead of saying that all of the problems of malaise are directly based in Washington and New York, the OccupyPDX movement included an effort to reinstate the Clean Money campaign ordinances.
Lazy lazy lazy, Cameron. The Yards, The Sitka, Lovejoy Station, Station Place Tower, Pearl Court & The Ramona are all affordable / subsidized. The latter was completed in the last year, and caters specifically to families. It’s a weird problem to have: because these buildings don’t look like people’s preconceived notions of low income housing, the Pearl doesn’t get credit for having them.
And let’s be real here. Even though most of the rent charged in the Pearl is beyond what I or most of my friends could currently afford, it’s not even at a level that would make people from San Francisco or New York blink. I don’t doubt that the average resident has a higher income than the median for the Portland metro area, but it’s hardly like every single person in the area is Mr Monopoly.
Ambrown – yes.
This is the we-don’t-understand-irony (or hypocrisy) crowd.
Sam and Randy have their support – yet are the ones cutting the deals with developers for the fake New York/Bumtown that hasn’t helped most of us.
I would also prefer that people take direct action in their communities instead of appealing to Washington for help. People in Portland cooperate more or less spontaneously all the time. We’re blessed to have a large group of young, educated, motivated people here, with more arriving every day. People may joke about Portland being a place where young people go to retire but I also see many of these people starting small businesses, volunteering their time, working for non-profits, etc.
I like the idea of forming alternative institutions to circumvent Wall St. and Pennsylvania Ave. That is difficult when so much of the money, time, energy, and other resources are artificially directed to corporations and governments through taxation and essentially fraudulent investment schemes, the latter of which are contingent upon the cooperation of governments. I suppose one might apply the old adage to think globally and act locally. The Occupy movement has definitely shown some ability to demonstrate an alternative to the status quo, I just think they are focusing too much on a symptoms (unemployment, wages, income disparity, tax inequities, etc.) than the disease. I also happen to disagree with what the disease is and what the prescription would be. I want accountability, but I don’t see more government as the way to achieve that, as the government, in my view, actually created the circumstances leading to this problem. There could be arguments forever about that, so for now I’m content with trying to find some common ground. Punish those responsible for fraud. Start looking for fraud and you will trace it back to the source: The Man.
It should also be noted that the Tea Party are inconsistent as well. They also have a right to be angry about many things, and have many things in common with the Occupy movement, but they are inconsistent as well. The underlying problem is that people believe that the ends justify the means, when the means happen to someone else. We need to stop resorting to force and fraud to get what we want. If the Right stops taxing people to support the military industrial complex, perhaps there will be enough money left over that the Left won’t feel the need to tax more for healthcare, education, etc. We’ve been fighting over who is going to blink first, basically. The politicians and corporate interests are the only winners. Well, and the churches.
Let’s get those richers, take their money!
Since it’s Halloween, we should all dress up like ghosts. Really put a scare in those richers!
“Epicenter” does not mean the same thing as “center.” This mistake, for some reason, always drives me crazy. Just say “center” if that’s what you mean, because using a bigger word just makes you look dumber if you use it wrong. At least to me.
Pretty sure it was intentional that they didn’t simply say “the center of wealth and disparity.” Epicenter can be used metaphorically to describe a geographical location of this or that.
the pearl is lame, but not worthy of a serious march. i am sorry that the Movement would spend 20 minutes on B of A and as much or more on a Portland shopping district. And maccoinnich is right- Pearl inhabitants are almost certainly not primarily the financials executives who are the true rich-rich-rich. How misguided.
i did not really mean to write “almost certainly not primarily”. Jesus. you know what i mean.
It’s stupid. I’m part of the 99% and I bought into the Pearl at a time when it was still mostly rail yards. Most of the people that I know that live here, aren’t 1% at all…that’s why there have been so many people who lost their condos during the downturn, my adjacent neighbor, the person across from me and the other person two doors down, included.
You’re intruding into a space that is well used by families of the 99%…you’re stealing peace and space from the other 99% for your own selfish means of expressing displeasure with a completely irrelevant issue (sit-lie ordinance).
Those tax breaks have long come and gone…if you want to know who benefited the most from those tax breaks, look at the developers, not the buyers. The developers priced the tax breaks into higher buy-in price points than the rest of the city.
And anyway, there is no greater concentration of homeless shelters, transitional housing and low-income housing in all of Portland than the Pearl and its peripheral blocks.
And so what if there are a handful of 1% folks in the Pearl…there are most certainly far more of them in Lake Oswego and West Linn, you tools.
Their guide display is toast. No casualties, he added. God damn, he thought, people Bradlees can shoot.
ugg boots sale obtained out, sir, the ELIN-r trooper subsequent to Eddington re- ported,
finding an ideal offer more now. He is calling for artillery fire, a Saudi intelligence officer mentioned quickly. HOOT,
you could anticipate some fire shortly, ugg boots on sale Eddington warned.
Roger, understand. HOOT is transferring forward. IT W A S A F E R than staying in area or dropping back.
On command, the Bradlees and Hummers darted two kick toward north, attempting to locate your enemy supplementary reconnaissance screen-there experienced for
getting some-which would proceed up now, possibly cautiously, on path of their brigade or divisional commanders.
I recognize my companion and I this particular is really a great expenditure, as swiftly as I obtained some ugg boots sale .
Your unit remains to be getting inside the cost benefit. Although you’ll be capable to anticipate Youthful which you couple,
may also allow a dude or females bucks worth, and possess the ability for the choice of kilometers. Thus,
in the celebration you should be capable to go by means of from our web log for just about any good offer an ideal offer more news,
and possess the ability to hold a look at ugg boots 5815 — Just like just one inside the internet standard store Site,
sells just about all sorts concerning ugg boot styles, like ugg straightforward Cardy, ugg bailey option, best ugg boots and so forth.