I visited Occupy Santa Fe today

I’m in New Mexico visiting relatives for the weekend; I wanted to check out the Occupy movement here, offer solidarity from Oakland (one woman asked me, “what’s solidarity?”  But I don’t think she was one of the people camping out), and to show my relatives that the Occupy people are not anything scary.  How surprised was I to meet another Oaklander from Occupy Oakland down there?  Fun, hope I run into him when we’re back in Oakland for the rally and strike on Wednesday.  The Occupy Santa Fe site is certainly a contrast from Oakland.  Some things are maybe better to me, some worse.  Occupy Albuquerque is (was?) apparently located on the UNM campus, and Occupy Santa Fe is in a railyard.  I asked them why they don’t camp out in front of a bank or something and they told me they’ve done some marches to protest at banks.  They told me that the mayor of Santa Fe had given them 2 porta-potties; quite a contrast to the “support” Jean Quan has offered us.  They allow police to enter their camp — something that all the camps besides Oakland allow, and we might consider just to reassure people that nothing horrible is going on in the camp — they said a cop shows up a couple times a day, walks around and asks them if they’re doing OK, and then leaves.  Also one thing I like about Occupy Santa Fe — and again, reportedly all the other Occupy camps — is that they actively discourage smoking pot in the camp.  Although most of us enjoy a toke now and then, it certainly helps to create the image of a real protest as opposed to a homeless camp of people partying, which is honestly what Occupy Oakland would look like to a lot of people not familiar with our culture in Oakland.  Anyway, it was great to see all these people out there; they have about 20 – 30 regular campers, a very nice spot, and they are talking about donating some of their tents and gear that has been donated to them to Occupy Albuquerque.  So it’s great they have a similar relationship between the 2 cities as what we have between Occupy Oakland and Occupy San Francisco.