The people squatting in an unfinished duplex at 23rd and Alder have a simple media statement, scrawled in pink highlighter at the bottom of a piece of notebook paper hanging on one of the few finished walls on the first floor:
There are homeless people. There are empty houses. That makes no sense.
And so the occupation continues, and the residents of 307 23rd Ave plan to stay indefinitely, working to fix the place up as a “Revolutionary household” run as a collective.
I stopped by and spoke with some of the collective members, who say they have not heard from the city, the police or the legal owners. When they first arrived at the house, occupiers expected confrontation. But that never happened, so they are there to stay as long as it lasts, they said.
Turritopsis Nutricula members cheer on Garfield students. Photo by jseattle
Attempts by CDN to contact the apparent property owner have so far been unsuccessful. County records list a Mr. Denmark West as the owner. Records also show that renovations to add a second story were started and promptly halted in 2008, when the building lost significant value during the housing crisis. It does not appear much if anything has been done to the building since.
From a posting to the Puget Sound Anarchists website:
We expected to meet resistance from the state, immediately, but the cops stayed at their cars and, before too long, left without saying anything to any of us. We expected them to come back. They didn’t. We expected pepper spray and hand cuffs and battering rams. It hasn’t come. That doesn’t mean it won’t. But we’re prepared. We’ve put a lot of work into our new home and we intend to keep it.
Since taking over the space November 19, the house occupiers have painted the outside of the building red, black and green. A banner hanging on the outside reads “Occupy Everything. No banks. No Landlords.” Anarchist symbols and flags are featured prominently.
The place also has a new name: Turritopsis Nutricula (see Wikipedia). That’s the name of a jellyfish that could, at least in theory, be an immortal being. The collective see this as something of a metaphor for the house. From the PSA post:
To perpetuate its life indefinitely, the turritopsis nutricula continually reverses its aging process once it matures and begins maturing again from the polyp state. To do this, the turritopsis nutricula transdifferentiates, meaning each of it’s cells are transformed into a new type of cell.. In essence, it becomes a whole new jellyfish each time. We taught that jellyfish everything it knows. Since taking this house, we’ve become a whole new jellyfish.
Of course, the takeover of the house has not been welcomed by everyone. Ted Howard, the principal of Garfield High School, sent an email alert to the school community warning of the group’s presence in such close proximity to the school:
Garfield Families – Garfield high school wanted to make you aware of a nationwide group – Occupy Seattle that is currently residing close to the school campus. They are living in an abandoned building that is on 23rd Avenue. The building is in the 300 block just south of 313 23rd Avenue. Occupy Seattle recently tried to hand out pamphlets and recruit members on the high school campus. Security and police asked the group to leave. Garfield high school is working with the Seattle Police Department to make sure that the group is not allowed to come on campus and promote their ideas. We wanted families to be aware of the group’s presence close to the school campus. Sincerely, Ted Howard – Principal at Garfield High School
A little over a week after this email went out, hundreds of Garfield students walked out of classes and marched to City Hall to hold a rally protesting budget cuts that hurt education. The march was entirely organized and led by Garfield students. But when the march began, members of Turritopsis Nutricula were outside the building cheering the students on.
There was also a lengthy debate about the philosophy and methods of the occupiers in the comments of our original post. Now past 250 comments, the story is by far the most-commented story in CDN history (the first couple days saw pretty engaged and interesting conversation, in this editor’s opinion). Community members expressed opinions all across the board. Some support the house, others support the ideas, but not the squatting. Others disagree entirely and urged neighbors to file complaints with the city through the Seattle Police Department and the Department of Planning and Development.
Originally claimed as an Occupy Seattle action (and promoted by the Occupy Seattle website), the house is now trying to distance itself a bit from the encampment at Seattle Central Community College. The PSA post says that while they are acting in solidarity with Occupy Seattle and the occupy movement in general, taking over the house was not an action sanctioned by the Occupy Seattle General Assembly. The house members also highlight that there are some disagreements between Turritopsis Nutricula and Occupy Seattle, and the house remains an autonomous space.
The Associated Press reports that squatting in vacant properties has become a tactic used by people aligned (at least to some extent) with the Occupy movements in Seattle, Portland and Oakland. However, things are going more smoothly for the Seattle squatters than in Portland, where several people were arrested while occupying a vacant home there.
For more from inside the house, Forrest from Hollow Earth Radio did some interviews with residents shortly after they took over the space. You can listen to a podcast of those interviews, posted to the Hollow Earth website.
Collective rules and Points of Unity:
HIS NAME WAS ROBERT PAULSON
hilarious! a fucking jellyfish.. their even losing my support.. what happened to doing something for the community/ community center/ things people need
I think painting the outside of the house red, green, and black is vandalism. The true owner is going to have to paint it over costing him money. This house is not owned by Chase Bank it’s owned by someone who got screwed by the housing bubble. Now he’s getting screwed again by Occupy as they trash his house potentially costing him thousands of dollars in damages.
What an eyesore! Way to add beauty to the neighborhood, pals. And you wonder why you “meet resistance?”
This is totally irresponsible! We cannot live in a world where people take things that do not belong to them. The Occupy movement has stolen this home because they believe it is owed to them. This is the same crappy mentality that the bank bailouts are based on. The big banks thought they were owed a bailout and they took it without paying back. It’s stealing. The way to end this madness is not to perpetuate it!
Someone needs to give these guys a lesson on how to paint properly. Seriously.
Maybe they’ll have all-night raves like they did at Autonomia under the guise of fundraisers for community programs. http://centraldistrictnews.com/2011/09/20/autonomia-closes-a
don’t be a jackass. we never once held an “all night rave”. we had a party for May Day, one, maybe two punk shows a month, and a badly attended alcohol free, cost free dj night ONCE A MONTH. when people started complaining, we stopped having shows. people kept complaining. haters always gonna be haters.. nothing new.
The neighborhood is McMansions, it was already an eyesore.
So a group of men take ownership over “unused” property owned by someone of another race and claim as their own without due process or payment. They stake their flag, make a proclamation that they do not recognize any previous ownership nor authority to which members of the society they have decided to occupy have established. And then of course, they proceed to “educate” the “natives” and make plans to expand their empire on the backs of the workers. I fart in your general direction.
Hey, I want a FREE HOUSE!!! I want a free place to live! You mean to tell me that I have been doing it all wrong? Working hard my whole life, paying a mortgage? I can just go to a house and call it mine? Man, I am a late bloomer.
only if you name it after an obscure deep ocean medusozoa.. got that? those are the rules.
I made this point in the earlier thread on the topic but am going to do so again here.
Our community has many problems (1) open air drug dealing, (2) the abandonment of commercial development at 23rd and Union, and elsewhere, (3) regular property crime, or (4) ongoing violence including armed robberies and shootings. This house may be a problem, but it is WAY down at the bottom of list of things that we need to be contacting city officials about.
I don’t agree with the all of the group’s aims and from what I can tell, they don’t have many concrete proposals to address the problems they identify. But, I find it strange that the community is up in arms about a bunch of kids painting a house green and red. There are dilapidated houses throughout our neighborhood and this one is really no worse. If you want to take political action (e.g., filing complaints, writing the mayor), I suggest you choose one of the above far more pressing problems…
Ashley, King St
Yes, this is what gets us riled up because it is a new spit in the face. We have dealt with many of the other problems you mention with any and all actions you have mentioned, and have made “so, so” progress because after a while the battles have taken it’s toll. So, yes – I hope that if we face the issue from it’s birth, then maybe, just maybe, our voice is not yet white noise as it will eventually become as the situation drags on.
Yes, you have been doing it all wrong. But you’re in luck – you have options. Claim a home in the name of a political movement (or obscure deep ocean jellyfish – if that appeases your conscience), or become a “business”. If you are starting out and on a small budget with a low risk tolerance, I recommend religion. You are tax exempt so you can really get off free and there are no rules governing your personal income. If you have a higher risk tolerance, and start up $, then go Corporation. None of your personal assets are affected and you avoid all those pesky rules and personal taxes C-corps encounter. But the downside is that you must get HUGELY PROFITABLE before you get to see enough perks to offset the risk, projected and realized losses and initial work. But of course, the best road to take if you really want to get something for nothing – is networking yourself to a CEO position of a company that you did not start and have no intention of staying with. Talk about a ride! No actual talent,expertise, profit results, or accountability to speak of. You can catch phrase and buzz word yourself around any negative situation to the press and employees – which let’s face it – the only ones you are even remotely aware of are the board members and politicians who you golf with. Oh, you say the board members and politicians are not actually YOUR employees/reports? Yes, you are right. I get that confused sometimes. But I guess I am not the only one (wink, wink). The best part of it is that once you have achieved great financial rewards for doing very little other than knowing the right people, is that you can move into politics and secure that regulation is either manipulated to meet your and your “peeps” need or you just don’t prosecute (some rules are REALLY hard to change so just best to ignore and hope no one notices). I hope I have helped because I love to help people and tell them what they need to be happy.
This is the most intelligent comment on this thread.
There statement says it all! ‘there are homeless people. there are empty homes. this makes no sense’. kudos my comrades!
you think too much. save it for a real crisis.
not really. its in complete disregard of the existence of structural inequality. occupations happen all over the world. the reason they are less common in the northwest is that the dot com boom introduced a relatively high standard of living for the general population. our median income is much higher than most other places in the states.
what the fuck are you smoking.
they got anarchy symbols and rules posted – LOL. Kids!
McMansions? Where, exactly? I think you have the wrong neighborhood…
Ha! That’s the best post I’ve read on CD news this year.
as a homeowner, a socialistleaning quasicapitalist repupublican, CD resident…..i say bravo! bravo!
this is the least of the problems in the area, and it is harmless.
its of small concern that their message is not always ‘perfectly’ expressed – betterbthannsome slick marketing message that most political machines spew out.
as long as they are non violent, i say keep it up!
Ashley, many of us are – and have for decades been – working to address the listed problems and more. All are a long, long haul fix and how they are addressed changes over the decades. Many of us have been wrestling out some sort of working relationship with the police for several decades, starting way back before the old Capt P. at SPD, to both treat us with civility and simultaneously do what they’re paid for and address the fact that our neighborhood is the containment zone, things like open air drug dealing would never be tolerated in say, Madison Park, and gunshots there wouldn’t take 1 hour for police response (and, in the 80’s and 90’s, a call back from 911 saying ‘is there still a problem?’ an hour after the shots). When I was a child my parents worked with groups like the Black Panthers (back when they did a version of after school care, neighborhood feeds, etc) and in Madrona they were very effective in stopping a rash of robberies outside the IGA (including that of my mom and 3 kids, knocked down for her groceries, and the whole panther headquarters empited out to chase down the sorry soul who did it). In the 80’s and 90’s we worked with the community police team, graffiti busters, block watch, comunity councils, Judkins rejected, etc. etc. Plenty of residents have been working for generations on the problems you point out and as the problems change over time so do the myriad of ways residents try to address them. That doesn’t mean we can’t ALSO bristle at new problems, including people not from the area coming in and telling us all how we should hate our neighbors (God, that’s so old and tired) and be tools of their movement du jour. Autonomia taught us what these supposed collectives’ idea of community is, and that new house is suffering for it.
Thieves stealing from the poor and giving to the poor? Go occupy a house in Mercer Island, Sandpoint, Madrona/whereevertheF rich people live.
All those problems you mentioned haven’t been addressed in many years. How is Parnells allowed to be a gathering of dealers on a daily basis for instance? The fact that these occupiers have said they have not been confronted by police, even when they expected it, shows the police etc. dont care about this area as much as say Sandpoint etc. Just another slap in the face to the hardworking lower class folk in this neighborhood.
Lol yea, when I was a kid I used to think anarchy was cool, until I realized we all cant go back to living in caves and I had to work to put a roof over my head.
I am fairly new to the area and I deeply respect those that have actually tried, and succeeded, in making the CD a better place to live for the non-criminals among us. I think what people get mad about is when people make an effort to make the CD a worse place to live and don’t get stopped immediately like they would in a richer neighborhood, where the politicians, police chiefs, CEOs live.
I continue to read that there have been no complaints to the police about these people trespassing and I find that hard to believe. If that is true, and you don’t agree with what they are doing, I think it’s time to start complaining to police to have them removed.
if you clowns think you could have pulled this off on mercer island or someplace where they would care you guys are truly kidding yourselves. The cops left you alone because you’re in the CD – where nobody will see you, where nobody will care.
I am not suggesting that people in the ‘hood have not worked hard to improve the community. However, the sheer volume of comments on this issue as compared to the many other threads addressing other criminal activities suggests the neighborhood has it’s priorities mixed up. I’d venture to guess that several of those who have complained to city officials have not done so with respect to some of the other issues I mentioned above.
The ideals these kids espouse are ones that many in this community share. We may not agree with their actions but the moral implications are not black and white, as has been suggested in this discussion. Depicting these kids as pure “criminals” is to ignore the long history of civil disobedience in this country driven largely by illegal activities.
I think people have complained to the police and the police are trying to get in contact with the property owner to get the “OK” to kick them out.
This is rich coming from any American. Question: all this land that we ‘legally’ trade back and forth… how did America acquire it?
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nicolebrodeur/20169105
Hello neighbors.
I am very confused about why this is such a big issue.
I actually like this statement:
“There are homeless people.
There are empty homes.
This makes no sense.”
As far as I understand (and PLEASE correct me if I am wrong), this house:
1. has sat partially built, unprotected/exposed to the elements and empty (or occupied by other squatters) for years (since 2008)
2. is on 23rd, which is not exactly a quiet/peaceful bit of the city
3. may at this point actually be abandoned (also I have heard reports that it is actually bank owned? though this does not match the county records – not sure how up to date those are, someone else may have more info)
The occupants seem friendly enough to me.
Why is this home better off sitting and decaying? What is so offensive about this that warrants a complaint campaign?
And for the few of you complaining about the paint (it is damn ugly) and saying they need lessons — why not offer some help? If your true issue is with aesthetics…
Chris
No, xactly, thats why they didn’t do it there because it wouldn’t last long enough to get coverage, or would it? I think it would get more coverage if there were more arrests in the 1%’s neighborhood than here. Not only would it get more coverage but also wouldn’t piss off the “99%” in this neighborhood and those 99% might actually join the cause.
To Lucas and Occupiers: My comment does not address any inequities or any other characteristic of the occupied society other than being of a different race, because it is irrelevant. Plus every society has inequalities so it is a given. My previous comment was intended to speak to the actions and outcome, not the intent of the occupiers of this home. But I will address intent now as I am still confused. If there are any members of the occupiers reading this, I welcome any respectful clarification. From what I have gathered there is a loose guise of occupying this home in protest of homelessness and in bringing down capitalism but I feel the choice of where to start the battle is an extremely poor one. If they made a mistake as they thought this home was owned by a bank and that is who they are in reality trying to overthrow, then I get that. But now they know that the owner is a black family. They should make reparations and move on. Or is the fact that one black family has so much in a neighborhood where a disproportionate number of black families are living in poverty their actual protest? If so, I don’t support this type of protest coming from a group of white men when there is so much housecleaning that needs to be done within their own race first. Personally I would like to see them protest the fact that they haven’t been arrested. They know that if they had indeed taken over a property owned by a bank or in an affluent neighborhood City Hall would not be treating this so delicately. Then they would at least be bringing to light yet another example of the disparate application of justice between the 99% and 1% and how once again, the black neighborhoods in particular get hosed.
This ‘occupation’ is in direct contradiction to the Seattle City Council’s resolution supporting the Occupy Seattle movement.
NOW THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING:
Section 1. By adoption of this Resolution, the City of Seattle recognizes the peaceful and lawful exercise of First Amendment Rights by “Occupy Seattle” and others. The City does not condone actions that infringe upon the lawful rights of others, obstruct or interfere with the efforts of law enforcement officers to protect such rights, or cause personal injury or property destruction.
Occupy,
I bet that house is really leaking energy. I encourage you all to take advantage of the Community Power Works program! http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2011/04/20/community-powe
So, how? I assume you mean this:
“The City does not condone actions that infringe upon the lawful rights of others, obstruct or interfere with the efforts of law enforcement officers to protect such rights, or cause personal injury or property destruction.”
1. “The City does not condone actions that infringe upon the lawful rights of others.”
I guess you could argue that the property owners rights are being infringed upon; however, there is no complaint of trespassing at this time (I am not suggesting there will not be).
2. “obstruct or interfere with the efforts of law enforcement officers to protect such rights”
Things seem fine here
3. “Cause personal injury”
Man I hope nothing comes to this. From any side of the situation, including/especially from the police
4. “property destruction”
I guess this is debatable. How much destruction is really being caused by the group? This house has been empty and exposed since 2008. It is a shell inside. It has been squatted in before.
I guess I am curious what point you are actually saying the occupation is in violation of.
keep it up! there are some more dumps in the CD that need occupying…
http://www.wikihow.com/Squat-in-Abandoned-Property
In Washington State, the elements that must be met to have a claim of adverse possession are as followed:
The possession must be……….
1. Exclusive. Only you, or people authorized by you, can have possession of the land in question for the required period of possession (which is 10 years). Courts have ruled that the possession does not have to be absolutely exclusive, so you will want to discuss your particular situation with an attorney (see below).
2. Actual and uninterrupted. That means that you actually have possession and control over the land in question, and that possession is not interrupted by an adversary.
3. Open and notorious. An adversary must be aware that his land is being taken. But you don’t have to write the landowner, or anything like that. Your possession must be in a manner that is overt, not covert.
4. Hostile. That means that you treat the land in question as your own, and defend it against the world. Adverse possession is not created when you have the permission of the landowner to use his land (so a long-term tenant cannot claim adverse possession).
(Chaplin v. Sanders , 100 Wn.2d 853 , 857, 676 P.2d 431 (1984))
You must meet all four of these elements to qualify for adverse possession. You have the burden of proving you met each element. You must have met these elements for a minimum of 10 years.
Alternatively, if you have held a property for seven years under a “good faith color of title” and have continuously paid all taxes on that property for seven years, you need only prove actual, open and notorious possession to establish adverse possession. See RCW 7.28.070 .
If you believe that you have a claim of adverse possession, or are facing an adverse possession lawsuit, you should see a real estate attorney immediately! Adverse possession is a complicated subject, and you don’t want to take it on without the guidance of a qualified attorney at law. To find an attorney in your area, you can follow the link below, which is to the Washington State Bar Association’s Lawyer Search. The type of lawyer you want is a Real Property or Real Property/Land Use attorney. Or use your phonebook to look for an attorney near you who offers free consultations.
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_law_governing_adverse_
understood. i agree with you A.S.M.M.T.G.B.
nope thats complete bullshit. the cops don’t pay attention to the CD? the fucking gang unit spends half their time right there by parnells. the cops are very present in the CD. And although I recognize some of the people are drug dealers who hang at parnells, alot of times they are just kids. there has to be a better solution than letting the cops pick on these kids.
and once again, those “occupiers” chose the CD because some them live in the CD. maybe thats a poor strategical choice if your trying to fight the 1%, but if your trying to bring something back to your community, it does make sense. unfortunately, im not sure that house is going to bring anything back to the community..
our intent with Autonomia was not to drive people away. It was our first time running a social center, and for lack of budget, forced us to rely on funding sources that caused conflict with the neighborhood. Considering what was being run out of there (seasol, fnb, free clothes, free food, a lending library, fundraisers, ect.ect.) i think we did alright, but if we were to do it again I definitely think we would have worked more in concert with the neighborhood. I hope Autonomia doesn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth for too long..
We all know that we stole the land from the Native Americans. There is no longer any point to feel guilty about this. It’s done and there is no way back. Further more – they were doomed. Somebody was coming to take their land and there was no way for them to defend.
Indeed it was terrible. And the egregeous abuse that continued(s) is disgusting (Jesuit Schools, BLM, etc.) These abusers should be punished. However, there is no way for modern Americans to give back the continent.
Things are the way they are. America is a good place to live for anyone who boldly engauges the system. There are times of trouble and hardship. But most people make it. Unless they give up.
So we’re done worrying about who this place belongs to. It belongs to me.
Yes. This is crime. It is ignored by SPD just as is the constant crime activity at Parnell’s. Some believe that SPD Vice and Gang squads have some long range plan. But they don’t. Their plan is to waste endless time and resources developing metrics to show how important it is for SPD to have special emphasis.
What we need is patrol officers cracking down on crime every day. Patroling our streets. Contacting people. Having a chat. And in so doint – driving the criminals out. The Parnell’s situationg is disgusting and a shame on the SPD and CD residents for allowing the prostitution and heroin dealing to continue unabated year after year. Truly disgusting.
@Cascadia Girl
I personally have no problems with people having an occasional party. Even (especially?) a crazy all night one, assuming people clean up after and take care of themselves.
But AFAIK, that sort of party has not happened at the immortaljellyfish house on 23rd.
1. Those who are occupying this house are only there to raise awareness about abandoned and foreclosed home to be of use for public services.
2. Those who are occupying this house are there to refurbish it and make it a safe and presentable living space.
3. The house was already an eyesore, if you saw what it looked like before- completely unfinished, damaged, rodent feces, broken windows.
Seriously? You think that people there are just there to ‘vandalize’ it? Shame on you for judging!
The goal of occupying this house is to give it back to the people. Amongst the ideas were homeless shelter and community center. I don’t think a homeless shelter, per say, is wise- especially being right across the street from a school, but I do like the idea of a community center- maybe for youth!
Yes, they should NOT have been on school property to promote to the public, but they are trying to get the public involved in decision-making, as well as taking appropriate actions of contacting the owner, contractors, the property associations, etc. to be able to go through any legal processes they need to.
Look into it. That’s what disgusts me about some people’s perceptions. They just assume things. I was there when we occupied the house. I’m involved with OS and know, for the most part, what is going on.
McMansions!!!??? Have you even visited the neighborhood?
Ashley – I can guarantee you there is no abandoned commercial property at 23rd and Union.
Really, Lucas? These occupiers “live” in the CD? Other than in the house they currently occupy? If they have a place to live in the CD, why don’t they give up their spot in the occupied house to homeless person who needs a place to stay?
I’m sorry, but the folk pictured in front of the house don’t look like a representative sample of the CD I know.
Really? You know what’s going on? Do you know that the house was not in foreclosure and was not bank owned? And that the owner is up to date on his taxes? Who are you, a bunch of white supposed anarchists or occupiers or whatever this week you’re claiming to be, to steal a black man’s home then pain race-baiting graffiti on the side of it and pretend you’re helping our neighborhood? Go occupy a foreclosed upon home, where the owners were victims of predatory lending, and get your heads and your message out of your arses!
You painted on the glass of the 3 year old (which is nearly new by house standards) windows. How is that not vandalism? Are you going to replace those windows?
Dude, next time you want to give a community something, how about asking if they want it and if they want it from you. If you don’t care about what we want and just want to impose your views and values and use us as a tool to get what you want just say so, but please be an adult about the consequences and realistic to how some people are going to perceive and react to your actions. I don’t support Seattle’s Anarchists but I respect the conviction and honesty behind Turritopsis’s statements:”we have no intention of giving away our autonomy to a new government, or to anyone, for that matter” and “… we as Revolutionaries have no intention of demanding anything from any “authority”, we simply intend to overthrow them.” Most people don’t want to be overthrown or occupied especially if they feel the new regime doesn’t represent them or has a plan afterwards. So expect and be pro-actively prepared for the Resistance.
hey 22nd ave neighbor. little hint about construction/remodel. paint comes off glass. real easy in fact- with acetone, alcohol, or a flat edge scraper. shut the fuck up if you don’t know what your talking about.
side note: they are double pane windows with inert gas inside. great for insulation. they will keep the heat in.
The City does not condone actions that infringe upon the lawful rights of others, obstruct or interfere with the efforts of law enforcement officers to protect such rights, or cause personal injury or property destruction.
Painting the house is damage. The reason it’s been in empty shell is the guy ran out of money half way through building. Now he’s even more screwed with the extra cost of getting rid of the paint and whatever else gets damaged inside. Just because other squatters have been there before does not make it right for Occupy to do it too.
The owner has a right to private property. Occupy moving in there is a violation of that right whether he’s made a trespassing request or not. There’s a good chance that he has not because the police want to deal with the issue more delicately.
If Occupy resists moving out I hope the SPD bombs the place with pepper spray.
It’s great to know that the jellyfish support black liberation.
Maybe that will help their case with their landlord.
As far as doing things for the community, we’re housing people without another place to stay and sharing skills required to squat other buildings with anyone interested. As far as a community center, we’re interested in creating one if we’re able to keep the place, but it’s still pretty early to talk about that.
No, we just need supplies. We used what we had on hand.
how do you know the owner isn’t black?
A community center! You’ve got to be kidding. Right?
Thing is, I’m all for the occupy movement, and even squatting, which is a time honored tradition in parts of Europe among youth movements. But there they do it with gusto and class, and often do create flourishing art and community centers.
But I’m sorry, this house looks like shit, even worse than before imo. Nice job of making it look like a fucked up party house. There’s something to be said for first impressions and not bringing too much attention to yourself when doing something illegal (but potentially useful). If you had gone about it with less “anarchy” and more “community” then people probably would be more supportive and donate supplies for truly fixing it up and being “occupied.” But as it is I think the message was co-opted and they really have no one to blame except themselves. Next time think before you leap (and before you rattle that spray can).
Thank you, CDHuman and A.S.M.M.T.G.B., for your great comments—for taking the time to spell out some objections so thoughtfully. The condescension of these young people (or “kids” as they like to call themselves, I assume to scrub themselves with innocence) is as astonishing as their intellectual and political dishonesty (they just want to “help?” Build a community center?? Educate the ignorant masses currently living in the CD?). I personally remain committed to complaining until it becomes crystal clear that the city intends to do nothing, and then, in my opinion, the irate among us should think about next steps. And, Ashley, before you tut-tut that I and others should find other things to do, know that I complain to the city about a lot of things. I’m tired of the official neglect and the sporadic policing. But also, even if I and others didn’t: we each do get to choose what we act on and what we let slide, whether or not those choices and tipping points make sense to you or not.
Nina Shapiro had a smart piece in her blog for the Seattle Weekly today:
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/12/a_tale_of
Someone on the Madrona Moms had the idea of setting up a schedule for folks to call the city every hour to complain. I would be game for doing that if the city has not acted by late this week. Anyone else?
In the meantime, here are numbers and emails again:
Diane C. Davis
Code Compliance Manager
Dept of Planning & Development
206-233-7873 (direct line)
[email protected]
Clay Thompson, DPD
[email protected]
Capt James Dermody, Captain, East Precinct, SPD
206-684-4333
Sargent Grenon, SPD
206-684-4318
Casey Sundin, community police team, East Precinct
(206) 684-4370
[email protected]
Mayor Mike McGinn
[email protected]
Wrong use of their… and the idea is to occupy everything. Power to the Power of the people. Support the community. Occupy foreclosed homes! There is so much space out there to be used, but banks and capitalism destroy basic human rights!