#OccupyLA Wins: LA City Council Offers Downtown Office, Homeless Housing, Farmland!
We don't hear a whole lot about #OccupyLA because the City Council has been socoolabout it. But now, after nearly two months of the City Hall lawn being used as a campground, the city leaders would like topolitelymove the protest off the grounds while also supporting its continued work.
The solution, which has yet to be accepted but which we think is genius for all involved, is to "rent" some downtown office space the city has (10,000 square feet) to #OccupyLA for a ceremonial $1 per year. (The huge commercial space is in something called the "Los Angeles Mall" literally next door to City Hall.) And all the homeless who have come to the camp recently? They will be provided with housing. Oh yeah, andfarmlandwill be provided to the group, so that it can be self-sufficient as far as growing food.
With an office space connected to public transit and near to City Hall, the protest movement can become a full-time revolutionary council. It can advocate for the homeless, for the people facing eviction, for those being pushed out by property speculators, for the unemployed and underemployed, for the whole 99%. Actions can be arranged against the corporations, against the military, against all the evildoers. (It is probably implied that the protesters will not aggressively targetCity Hall, which is maybe a bit of a sellout, but even revolutions make decisions about strategy that could be attacked ascompromise.Besides, if one part of the #OccupyLA movement accepts the deal, it doesn't mean other non-aligned protesters have to follow those rules.)
With farmland, people can start looking at this not as a temporary protest, but as away to get their lives back. And with housing provided for the homeless attracted to the Tent City, we showall of Americathat it is completely within the abilities of the local governments to house those on the streets. THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS FULL OF VACANT HOUSES, FOR GOD'S SAKE.
Anyway, whatever happens, it's a great development. The City of Los Angeles has just shown the rest of the nation how a city can be agoodplayer in the Revolution. [ #OccupyLA / LA Now / LAist ]