Occupy the Commons!

First off, let me say that it seems as if my technological glitch with the blog is over and this blog is once again accessible by normal means.  Of course, if you’ve read it in the last few days you’ve found your own way around the problem or never realized there was a problem at all, and if you got a

In Brave Defense of Empty Space

blank screen  with a little notice box at the top saying Ha Ha!, then you have probably moved on to more legible pastures and I have lost you forever, so you’re not even reading this now.

I have no idea how the internet works.

In other news, hurray for the OWS protesters at UC Berkeley.  The cops came in (why do riot police always wear black?  Don’t they realize they look like the evil cyborgs  in a science fiction movie?) waving their batons around and being assholes but the crowd held their ground, shouted them down and the crowd did manage to establish their camp.

One thing a lot of communities seem to be trying to use against the protesters  is local ordinances against camping in the public parks.  Well, I say that’s one thing that’s got to change right there.  It says it right there in the name PUBLIC park, it belongs to the people, if people want to camp in it, they should be able to camp in it.  What, they’re going to interfere with families who wanted to have a picnic in the middle of the night, maybe?  They’re going to disturb the muggers hiding behind the trees?

Let the people camp!  In case it has escaped the notice of the local authorities across the land, there is a housing crisis going on.  Sure, allowing people to camp indefinitely in the public parks is not an ideal solution to that, but it would be a stopgap measure, a nice gesture, a first step.

But, basically, I’m just in favor of people being able to set up a tent anywhere, any time, as long as they’re not bothering anybody.