Should there be an “Occupy Ocean Beach” ? – Open thread on OB

by Staff on November 17, 2011 · 37 comments

If there was an Occupy Ocean Beach – what would it occupy? Here is an open thread for OB and OBcians and others to discuss an occupation in OB. Right there and right now – see the comment section.

{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }

Mike Chek November 17, 2011 at 2:29 pm

A prominent member of Occupy San Diego mentioned last night during GA that people in Ocean Beach have been asking him ‘when are we occupying OB?’

OB Joe November 17, 2011 at 2:30 pm

Okay, but what would we occupy? The lifeguard station? The old Bank of America? The Post Office? Other banks in OB? Or would just simply occupy all of Point Loma?

editordude November 17, 2011 at 2:31 pm

Readers – this was an experiment in posting an “open thread”. It appears that it is not that popular or even read (what’s to read!). We’ll keep it up for a few hours more.

BOBOB November 17, 2011 at 3:14 pm

its already occupied

BK-OB November 17, 2011 at 4:33 pm

Jack Hamlin November 17, 2011 at 4:47 pm

That would sort of be like the 99% occupying the 99%…..

Ken (@diegueno) November 17, 2011 at 8:52 pm

that can be arranged at http://occupyrcorner.com/

blaw0013 November 18, 2011 at 8:02 am

Agreed – utilize the occupy tactics of Occupy Your Corner. There should be a presence, up & down Neport. AND in Point Loma.

malcolm migacz November 18, 2011 at 11:28 am

yes we should occupy Ocean Beach .

RB November 18, 2011 at 11:44 am

Hopefully, someone could show them were to put their garbage and how to use the rest rooms.

Seth November 18, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Seawall looks like it has been occupied since 1965.

Frank Gormlie November 18, 2011 at 2:20 pm

Seth, very funny. I was actually around in 1965 and can verify that it’s been occupied since even earlier than that. Anybody else?

Danny Morales November 18, 2011 at 3:03 pm

Yeah, me Frank. No leaders, No organization, No strategy to be co-opted by oportunists. Just where two or more people are gathered in our (99%) name, there we are! Put out the call to get on OBoard two by two- Apre Moi, le Deluge 8-p

Seth November 18, 2011 at 3:28 pm

There’s graffiti outside Starbucks that says, “The wall IS occupied.”

Danny Morales November 18, 2011 at 3:51 pm: A good start! There still is a lot in OB that needs to be occupied, up to and including the planning board! 8-P

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bodysurferbob November 18, 2011 at 2:24 pm

let’s occupy the ob pier – it would be perfect – only one way to come onto it and leave. it’s already got food there – and if we can’t use the restaurant’s facilities, we can always fish for dinner (and lunch and breakfast for that matter). it’s got a restroom – two actually – already. and oh abel thomas, it’s got great views. you can see the cops when they approach, coast guard and harbor patrol too. and there’s no camera at the end of the pier like the city was going to install. see, lots of pluses.

Brenda McFarlane November 19, 2011 at 8:54 am: Oh I like it! Well until the winter storms come anyway!

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bodysurferbob November 18, 2011 at 2:24 pm

hey, techy, where’s my avatar?

Chuck Testa November 18, 2011 at 3:48 pm

Nope!

mr.rick November 18, 2011 at 4:07 pm

Start out occupying the grass areas at both ends of the beach. If we fill them up spread it out to the parking lots and beach.Maybe since it’s only OB the assholes won’t even bother trying to tear it down. This movement needs to go somewhere and it would be a boom for the local merchants.

malcolm migacz November 18, 2011 at 9:11 pm: Yesto Rick’s message. we can get the local merchants behind this. It is obvious they would greatly prosper from the occupation’s occupants generally excessive socio-economic advantages. Once the merchants are behind this , the whole occupy moment will become a movement.

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Santa November 18, 2011 at 8:09 pm

Occupy the upcoming OB Parade

Obbop November 19, 2011 at 11:24 am

“There’s class warfare, all right, Mr. (Warren) Buffett said, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

“There has been class warfare going on,” Buffett, 81, said in a Sept. 30 interview with Charlie Rose on PBS. It’s just that my class is winning. And my class isn’t just winning, I mean we’re killing them.”

From a humble shanty atop the Ozark Plateau over yonder ‘cross the ridge and holler a Disgruntled Old Coot shakes a stick and shouts “Good luck with thine efforts,” at those facing up the the elite-class vermin, corporate USA, wealthy/powerful special-interest groups and the entrenched HUGE bureaucrats, scum figurehead politicians and a huge horde of assorted minions, underlings etc. filling the ranks within those bureaucracies designed to isolate our ruling masters from We, the People and to enforce our masters will against We, the People and to ensure the majority of citizen-sheep are immersed within life-long propaganda that leads to the bleating of thrill for their thralldom and gladly wearing their mental slave chains that are far stronger than any actual chains.

http://www.facebook.com/OccupySpringfieldMO

jim grant November 19, 2011 at 7:17 pm

I think Occupy OB is a great idea…..The SDPD does nothing now about people squatting on the sidewalks and grassy areas….bring it on….
Better yet Go Occupy a house om the Cliffs or in OB that has been foreclosed on….or maybe over in Point Loma ….There are lots of Bank Owned homes those are the ones The Occupiers are pissed of at occupy those homes ….
Pick out a few homes and move in …live for free for a few weeks …when SDPD gets wind of you move on to the next place you could do this for weeks or months !!! Beats the heck out of living out doors …..If your going to break the law at least do it in style in a million dollar home….

Citizen Cane November 20, 2011 at 11:51 am

Dusty Rhodes Park is a better place to be seen. It has a bathroom. A gazebo and some big trees to give cover from the rain. Plus I don’t think the police would take a chance on stampeding a crowd that close to two busy streets.

Citizen Cane November 20, 2011 at 12:17 pm

On second thought…the police could close off both of the streets for a late night raid.

Personally I’m more in favor of a flash mob general assembly. The occupy (camping) tactic is stone age daddio. We live in a highly mobile wireless world. Ditch the tents and sleeping bags…form a wireless wolf pack.

Larissa November 23, 2011 at 12:07 pm: In this day and age, internet is the best way to go. I’m all for Occupy OB, but obviously, something more needs to be done to bring attention to the 99%. We ARE the 99%, after all. Where is everybody? Home on their couch addicted to the tube? What if the 99% started blasting emails, petitions, tweets, FB…anything, really. The internet is a thing of beauty. I’ve also been informed by a friend of the California Public Records Act…or known as CPRA. Very interesting. We, the 99%, have access to basically ANY record we want (as long as it doesn’t give personal information). The city MUST respond within 10 days. I was told that Vernon, California, basically shut the city down in demands for requests. If the 99% started writing letters and petitions, blasting information everywhere on the net, we wont lose. Bad publicity gets attention. I’m pasting a sample letter below…all you have to do is send it certified mail (to ensure they HAVE to answer) to the department that would keep the files pertaining to your request. The Civil Rights movement was won by Civil Disobedience. I don’t think sleeping in the cold demonstrates how intelligent and what a force we really can be. While the government debates for months, trying to figure out how to save money and save us from this deficit, they allow the 99% law-abiding citizens to be run over with over- zealous criminals who carry badges and guns, while racking the debt up even more. I think we need to change with the times. You can sit in the comfort of your home and do more damage blasting facts and information around the world, requesting public records to back your information up (thus temporarily shutting down the city), and make sure our voices are heard EVERYWHERE. I fear for my children and the life they will be living when they are my age.
Sample CPRA Letter (of course you will have to change the name, address and questions to specify your issue. Google is amazing!)

Tom Hatch C.E.O.
City of Costa Mesa
PO Box 1200,
Costa Mesa, CA 92628-1200

RE: PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUEST

Dear Mr. Hatch,
Pursuant to my rights under the California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6250 et seq.), I ask to obtain a copy of the following, which I understand to be held by your agency:

Please provide: A comprehensive list of any and all code enforcement citations written to Medical Cannabis Dispensaries/Collectives/Patients Associations or related businesses over the last 18 months.
Please include the name of business, address of business, dates, times, amount of fines and any other official or unofficial communications relevant to Medical Cannabis Citations.
In addition to this comprehensive list, please include: A list of which of these citations have been paid, which citations remain unpaid, which citations have been won/lost in arbitration and the legal fees incurred by the city related to these citations.

I ask for a determination on this request within 10 days of your receipt of it, and an even prompter reply if you can make that determination without having to review the record[s] in question.
If you determine that any or all or the information qualifies for an exemption from disclosure, I ask you to note whether, as is normally the case under the Act, the exemption is discretionary, and if so whether it is necessary in this case to exercise your discretion to withhold the information.
If you determine that some but not all of the information is exempt from disclosure and that you intend to withhold it, I ask that you redact it for the time being and make the rest available as requested.
In any event, please provide a signed notification citing the legal authorities on whom you rely if you determine that any or all of the information is exempt and will not be disclosed.
I ask that you notify me of any duplication costs exceeding before you duplicate the records so that I may decide which records I want copied.
Thank you for your time and immediate attention to this matter.

Very truly yours,

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imominous November 28, 2011 at 10:44 am: Yeah, let’s bump this into the 21st century! Occupy Mission Bay is forming to provide local participation and logistic support for downtown. I doubt there will be camping.

New forum covering all Occupations in the county and other stuff:
http://occupysandiego.freeforums.org/index.php

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imominous March 22, 2012 at 7:06 am: I’ve been saying that since the Wall Street people lost their liberry and soup kitchen. I’m wondering why they gotta be tied down to “stuff.”

I agree with you; we have the technology to be fast, light and mobile. And the hippies baww, “but…but…the library…” We should talk. Occupy 2.0 will probably be a bit more advanced and effective. Leave the Flintstones at the square and hit the ground moving fast.

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OB Chuck November 21, 2011 at 1:39 pm

I have lived in OB for 15 years and consider my local for many more. Its time for an Occupy OB! It might sound a bit ironic as OB is already occupied by freedom loving, greed hating people. As an avid cyclist, perhaps a new idea would be a “rolling occupation”! Perhaps a group of cyclists, with signs, shirts, posters, Jerseys could spend a day occupying a few locations locally. Start at Starbucks, then Bank of America, then maybe roll over to Point Loma and protest the Military. Just an idea, to protest, and promote a healthy lifestyle through cycling!

Danny Morales November 21, 2011 at 3:01 pm: OB Chuck- Good idea! Since this appears to be a do-it yourself movement I suggest that you contact others within your community interest (cyclists) and make it happen. b/t/w the appearance of critical mass at the civic center the other day displayed the coalition style of work in concrete fashion. Thats what I’m (and G. ‘United Front’ Demitrov) am talking about.

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Danny Morales November 21, 2011 at 2:49 pm

That’s what I’m talking about! I find it absurd for many sectors of the movement to be fighting the last fight. Using the immediate material conditions and the technology at hand has gained victories throughout history. I’m beggining to wonder if the 99% really wants to win the class war. Like the Ocean Beach Planning Board the 99% (and our occupiers) may be so rife w/class collaborationists as to render the larger ‘movement’ ineffective.

Ima Baker November 21, 2011 at 5:34 pm

Since this is OB, a beach community which has a sense of humor, we should have a big organizational picnic at Dusty Rhodes Park. A potluck. And at least ONE person needs to bring an OC-(tap)-U-(pus)-PIE !!

Danny Morales November 22, 2011 at 3:48 pm

Please don’t SHOULD on the movement! 8>P

imominous November 28, 2011 at 10:46 am: Please don’t tell us what we should or shouldn’t do on the movement.

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LadyMartin November 24, 2011 at 12:27 am

Who’s to argue with him??
?’How does it become a man to behave toward this American government to-day? I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it. I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave’s government also.’
…and (when) oppression and robbery are organized, I say, let us not have such a machine any longer. In other words, when a sixth of the population of a nation which has undertaken to be the refuge of liberty are slaves, and a whole country is unjustly overrun and conquered by a foreign army, and subjected to military law, I think that it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize. What makes this duty the more urgent is the fact that the country so overrun is not our own, but ours is the invading army. Civil Disobedience, Thoreau

ORGANIZED protests or civil disobedience that last a few hours. More spreading the stories out there between ourselves and not waiting for the media…we don’t know who signs their paycheck. Somehow we have to make the 99% come awake.

jim grant November 28, 2011 at 5:08 pm