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Indybay Feature

Smash the police state and pass the popcorn

by Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In
Flim Flam Film Fest reportback. Plus one of the best Sentinel headlines in recent memory.
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What an astounding success in a lot of ways. Big points for all of us for such a surreal evening. It was a lot of work from a bunch of people who made it happen. Big kudos to everyone in the GDI collective. Thanks to Robert, Sherry, Brent, Rev Johnny, and Danialsan for videos. Thanks to Blaize for the story and historical perspective.

We hadn't gone through 2/3 of our program before the agents of state repression politely asked us to turn off all amplified sound and we had to resort to the absurd fallback of having actors wearing headphones reciting the dialogue, music, and sound effects of our short films.

However, we hope we gave Santa Cruz a bit of the historical and hysterical context of repressive local laws.

Not yet run up against the restrictive rules in our cozy little laid-back liberal town? I guess you weren't caught sitting, sleeping, blanket-having, loitering, smoking, panhandling, camping, street performing, food-serving, parking lot lingering, chalking, bubble-blowing, hacky-sacking, or juggling downtown, because all these activities face Draconian restrictions by local ordinance. Almost every inch of public space in town has been restricted and regulated, closed after dark, privatized, or fenced in.

The latest laws being considered are intended to roust the skaters, the downtrodden, the loiters, and the n'er-do-wells from the city's public parking lots. Just part of a 10-year Santa Cruz effort to privatize public space, to sanitize street life, to sweep the undesirables, the homeless, the unbalanced, the difficult challenges of society away. If you aren't spending money downtown, get the hell out. These very business-friendly policies, are certainly not people friendly.
§The Flim Flam Film Fest: a celebration of repressive laws
by Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In
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(and resistance to them)
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Sun, Apr 16, 2006 2:36PM
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