Today was the first bitter day of the season. It was cold out this morning: the clouds didn't roll in until the temperature had already dropped in the clear air - tonight, the weather man tells me, will be "the first hard freeze."
It's not exactly going to be the first hard night for #OccupySLC - nationally, #Occupy has been having some hard nights lately. Tonight, in fact, #OccupySLC will be holding a vigil starting at 6 PM in solidarity with #OccupyOakland.
At #OSLC Base Camp, the clothing tent (which is now an organized, autonomous operation like the Circle-A Cafe or the Free School) is looking for donations of the following:
"Big Women's and Men's Clothing"
Sweat pants/shirts
New men's and women's underwear (warm)
Winter socks
Gloves, hats, coats
Blankets / sleeping bags
Shoes / boots
Winter items for dogs
Tents and tarps
Speaking of the Circle-A Cafe...
The kitchen is now a fully staffed, fully functioning operation, with level, cement surfaces to support the propane tanks and a sanitary kitchen to process the reusable, non-disposable cups, plates, silverware, etc. The kitchen at #OccupySLC's Base Camp has so far outgrown and exceeded even my wildest predictions as to its output and professionalism that I don't really know what to say, except that anyone who talks smack about "anarchy not working in practice" from now on has been proven splendidly (if counter-intuitively) wrong.
The tents are set up in a more orderly fashion this week than last - they have a subcommittee helping with the planning of rows and spaces now. Again, for a supposedly leaderless mob of bongo-playing scumbags, the #Occupants in SLC have been very neat and orderly in their infrastructure - and completely leaderless, weird, and, I'll admit it, after three weeks, exciting to watch in how they get things done.
People are even neatly collecting pallets and large spools to integrate into their little tent blocks when weather hits:
The Free School and People's Library are still standing, with the addition of some colorful flags and drapes:
One thing I've loved watching is the evolution of the reading selection at #Occupy protests. Here in Utah, we are proud of the history of this great nation:
The Fifth Estate's new anarchist fiction and poetry issue was in, and a smattering of pamphlets running the gamut from Jack Chick to an informative little fellow that told me that the APA and other credible psychiatric institutions and publications did not think "pray the gay away" therapy is such a good idea. I already know this, but I was glad that such handy information was available.
Here was some awesome news:
Jesse Fruhwirth is hosting a media training tomorrow at high noon. The schedule says "Learn To Rep #Occupy," and I can not possibly imagine a better use of my time on a Thursday, so I will be attending.
National #Occupy hub is here . #OccupySLC hub here . Twitter feeds are down to one temporarily, here .
Tomorrow marks three weeks that the #Occupation has been going on in Pioneer Park. While some high-water marks like the first Friday Forum have passed, the sticking power of #OccupySLC is undeniable at this point - 60-70 tents are now semi-permanently erected right near the heart of downtown. The itinerant community and the original #Occupant community now coexist and hep each other with an astonishing degree of ease, considering how hard it actually is to live outside for an extended period of time when you try it (or watch other people try it).
Happy three-week anniversary one day early, #OccupySLC Base Camp. Keep up the hard work.
Keep up the hard work, #OSLC, and keep your oddball charm, too. As your anniversary present to everyone else in Salt City, I'll share your eloquent sign with its caption illustration of Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' being menaced by a robo-clawed can of Campbell's Soup:
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