Who Shut Down the Skyscraper? We Shut Down the Skyscraper!

Who shut down the skyscraper? We shut down the skyscraper! (Our compadres also shut down the port.)

How did we shut down a 52-story skyscraper, home to some of the biggest banking offices and law firms in San Francisco? Well, it turns out that all it takes is about 15 people, a few protest signs, and a little bit of advance press notice.

Jodie and a companion went early, but Morgan Stanley and the building guards would not let them past the security cordon. So, an ailing grandmother with genuine business, and one well-dressed companion, is too much of a threat to the capitalist giant ($561 million in profit last quarter). So maybe it's not surprising that adding another twelve or so of us to the mix was worth shutting down the entire office tower, plus the Bank of America branch on the ground floor.

Special added bonus: the San Francisco cop who came up to us when we were mobilizing at the BART station and asked us if we planned to be violent. Honestly, if you planned to be violent (or if you didn't), what would you tell a cop?

So Jodie read her letter outside the barricades. She's demanding the right to speak to someone who can make decisions: obviously an unreasonable and frightening request. We flyered the neighborhood, and went home. We had a good day. Morgan Stanley had a bad one. And they could have just let Jodie in and taken her letter.

We are standing with Jodie and will not let the bank take her home and her possessions. If you are in the area and want to participate in the eviction defense, please email foreclosure@occupyoakland.org, and subscribe to our text message alerts at 69302.