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Indybay Feature

Treading on the Occupation

by Sylvia Caras
Santa Cruz County has chosen to interpret gathering in a long empty building as a felony, so as to ensure the sanctity of corporate possessions. The current charges consider dialog as conspiracy and support as aiding and abetting. Occupy is regenerating in New York. And in Santa Cruz?
Treading on the Occupation

Santa Cruz County has chosen to interpret gathering in a long empty building as a felony, so as to ensure the sanctity of corporate possessions. The current charges consider dialog as conspiracy and support as aiding and abetting.

The District Attorney has posted online video and photos, asking residents to identify those not so far charged. I'm reminded of the Salem Witchcarft trials, informers during World War II, McCarthyism. Since when do we encourage friends to betray friends? To ask friends to tell on each other?

Speech and assembly are sacred principles in the United States, and respect for law undergirds our social cooperation. But believing that assembly is conspiracy and possessions of corporations are entitled to the same courtesy as human beings is an unbalanced use of the authority of elected office. Law is based on common sense and subject to change as society changes. And society is changing very fast.

Those involved in social protest are not slackers. Quite the opposite. They are working hard to educate, to make sure even those who are very very busy are aware of how badly governance is functioning. Common law adjusts for the common good; governance needs a major adjustment.

Law enforcement nationally was disrespectful to Occupy, tread on encampments, bullied earnest speakers. Locally Santa Cruz imposed a curfew on assembly.

Domineering constraint is apt to trigger the desire to do more of the thing suppressed. So far this intimidating strategy has frightened many, reduced the size of the Occupy Santa Cruz General Assemblies, and lead to loss of licenses and credentials.

Occupy is regenerating in New York. And in Santa Cruz?
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Comments (Hide Comments)
by G
Fire Bob Lee.
by Robert Norse
I'm hoping to use this as part of a flier to be distributed hither and yon.

I encourage folks to help table tomorrow at the Project Connect event at the Civic Auditorium 10 AM to 4 PM.

And at other community events--like the Judge's Forum at the Community Room at the Police Station tomorrow night 4-17 7 PM.
by Not a Wells Fargo Fan
Are you then proposing two sets of property rights...one for corporations and one for individuals? Why stop there? How about one set of property rights for those with whom you agree...and another set for those with whom you disagree? That sounds an awful lot like what Norse et al. are campaigning AGAINST with regard to the less fortunate in our community. For example, I can (and have) sat on a bench downtown for hours without being approached by law enforcement...but if a homeless person were to try the same...he/she would be rousted almost immediately.

If we can have separate sets of property rights between corporations and individuals, we can have separate sets of behavior laws between different socio-economic classes of individuals, right? Or are you advocating for the abolition of property rights for all? Are you saying that double standards are okay in some instances...but not for others? Who gets to decide?
Hi, Slippery slope. The people involved in public corporations are the shareholders. I'm saying corporations are not people and yes, there could be a different code for institutions, corporations, business. Am I reading that you are comfortable with equal treatment of corporations as people, that they have speech rights too, as the Court ruled in Citizens United? As for who gets to decide, ultimately we get to decide, through democratic processes, representation, laws and challenges.
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