HOMELESS PEOPLE HOLD VIGIL AGAINST PROP N
The vigil began Monday January 13th, 2003 ar 8 a.m. It started with four people, and swelled to as many as 50 at one time. The overwhelming response was positive, with only a few passersby disagreeing with us, one saying “Get a job!” Apparently, he hasn’t seen the statistics for unemployment recently.
Two people told us they voted for Prop N. Many, many more had opposed it.
The Sheriff’s Deputies insisted we get a permit. I refuse to get permits on principle since we have the right to peaceably assemble. But most of the others at the vigil wanted to get one, so I stood aside on the issue saying we didn’t need one.
The City issued a permit for the City Hall steps from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The deputies said we had to go to the park across the street from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., since they claimed the public sidewalk was their jurisdiction.
But when I asked a Northern Station officer, he agreed with me that the sidewalk was public, and we didn’t need a permit to “vigil” on the sidewalk. Two SFPD officers and a deputy had already spoken to us and decided we were peaceful and within our rights. The deputy wished us good luck.
Supervisor Chris Daly also wished us good luck. Supervisor Tony Hall told us to look into the implementation costs for Prop N, apparently in the $40-50 million range. Food Not Bombs served dinner, and individuals brought sandwiches, soda and pastries. A SFPD officer came around 8 p.m., and said we were no problem vigil-ing all night. The SFPD said we had to be up and vigil-ing by 6 a.m. Three people were there all night.
TUESDAY
Supervisor Tom Ammiano thanked us for doing the vigil. A passerby asked me, “What about Care AND Cash?” Supervisor Daly said he was glad to see we were still there. A man offered to post the vigil on Indymedia. Again, supportive comments were the overwhelming majority.
A number of people visited the throughout the day and night. The deputies attempted to force us to move, but we refused. The SFPD woke us early Monday night — Tuesday morning. Three people kept it going all night. SFPD came and said we were to be up and vigilant at 5 a.m. Nine people were there all night.
WEDNESDAY
Supervisors Daly and Amminino reiterated their support. I went with Diamond Dave Whittaker to “Nuisance’s” office. One of his office staff had told us Tuesday that 1,000 rooms were available. I had asked for literature showing me how many rooms, the location of the rooms, the owners, etc. It never came. We went to his office to get it.
They couldn’t even find the info on their web page.
The deputies then tried to make us move across the street. They claimed it was an unlawful demonstration.
I said it wasn’t. He claimed we weren’t permitted. I replied we didn’t have a permit. They said we were loitering. I asked “How could we be loitering at our demonstration?” Then they claimed we were camping, but that is a Park Code, so we denied that also. The deputies said they were calling SFPD. Members of the Coalition on Homelessness witnessed it and brought a video camera, but the cops never came. The cops came around 4:30 and told us we had to be up and vigil-ing at 5 a.m. Three people were there all night.
THURSDAY
We received lots of supportive comments. Supervisor Ammiano brought us a box of candy. FNB served dinner.
SFPD Sgt. Pollitt came around 3:45 a.m., acting very belligerent. He wanted to know what we were doing. When we told him, he said we had to leave. We explained we had been there since Monday at 8 a.m. He said we were blocking the sidewalk. When I advised him there wasn’t another person in sight, he said that blocking pedestrians was a different charge.
I told him that we had spoken to other officers, and they knew what we were doing, and one SFPD officer had told us they were “bending the rules” for us. He replied that they had no authority to do so. He claimed we needed a permit from the Department of Public Works. I said it was a public sidewalk, and we had no permit. He then asked us for our names and birth dates. He said he would leave a note for the day officer.
Nothing further occurred.
Three people were there all night.
FRIDAY
Lots of positive response. The officer putting up the no parking signs for the protest against the war Saturday said they might block access to the sidewalk and try to make us move Saturday morning. FNB served dinner.
SFPD officers came at 4:30 a.m. and told us we had to move because they were going to fence off the sidewalk at 6 a.m. We replied we would deal with it at 6 a.m. He then said we had to move or he would arret us. I told him we had been there since 8 a.m. Monday, and SFPD and Sheriff’s deputies knew that. He said we had to move due to the protest. We said the organizers would not mind us remaining. He again asked us to move, saying he didn’t want to arrest us. I said we were here legally.
Then he asked us if we could pretend to pack up. Thinking his superiors may have ordered him to harass us, we agreed and he left. We then relaxed again. Three people were there all night.
SATURDAY
The vigil was behind the stage for the anti war rally. We spoke to many people who supported us. A couple asked if we were the vigil. When we said yes, the man said a friend of his worked at GAAP, and e-mailed him about it. They had made peanut butter, jelly and lettuce sandwiches for us.
They delivered 12-16 of these hero sandwiches.
FNB also brought food. The police left us alone.
One of us flashed the peace sign. Three people were there all night.
SUNDAY
Very quiet. FNB brought food. Police left us alone. Three people were there all night.
MONDAY
We were there for MLK day. Very few people came by. We took turns going to the MLK Freedom train at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
Folks at one of the booths there wished us good luck in opposing Prop N, and provided us with large plates of delicious food.
Three SFPD officers came just as FNB was ending their food serving and cleaning up. When they asked what was going on, they were told we were cleaning. They said “ok” and left. We remained at the vigil until it rained around 9:30 p.m., at which time we sought dry shelter.
And so the vigil essentially ended — for now.
Two of the people who spent in excess of 16 hours a day at the vigil would like to see it get started anew. I am heading to Las Vegas to help organize a Mothers’ Day action at the Nevada test site, where they have exploded over 900 nuclear bombs.
We would like to thank those who did support the vigil, the Coalition on Homelessness for their all around support, including legal support, media assistance, use of their copier for making fliers, use of their telephones, sign materials, literature explaining the intricacies of Prop N and much more. Also thanks to the people from the Coalition who came down and participated with us for varying lengths of time.
And thank you to Food Not Bombs for feeding us and telling people about our vigil. Thanks to “Diamond Dave” Whittaker for having us on his radio show on KPOO.
And thanks to all the individuals who spent time with us, brought us food, thanked us, and just generally kept our spirits up.
I hope people will restart the vigil, with more bodies to give people breaks, and chances to get away and just spend some time relaxing. Keeping the pressure on Supervisor Gruesome is very important, to expose his lies, his lack of compassion for the poor and needy, and to keep him from the mayors’ office next term.
Peace and good luck.
Guin