From Rusty Shackleford over on Modern Mythology who is now, by his own report, going homeless and disappearing for a while — this being, we believe, his final report for a little while:
[I am now offering a personal call to arms to anyone in the Portland area, homeless or not, to join us in our solidarity. If you yourself do not live in Portland, but know of those who do, spread this message and tell them to bring those who are down and out and disenfranchised to us. This is OUR public property. Our tax dollars support the agenda of city hall. Tell everyone you know who is homeless in the area of Portland to come to our relief camp, where we will have food, shelter, and companionship for those who truly need it. Tell your friends. Spread this around. Let us do our best to make these council men understand that thousands of people in Portland need homes, and that for every 20 empty houses there is one homeless individual. This problem could very easily be solved, and it is testament to human greed and stupidity that it has not been. TELL YOUR FRIENDS. THIS IS OUR PUBLIC PROPERTY, WE HAVE A VOICE.]
“Do not go gentle into that good night/Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”- Dylan Thomas.
Speaking with former candidate Cameron Whitten is a humbling experience. He is soft spoken, but lucid, and shows surprising insight for his age. Quick witted and fluent in answering all of my questions, his eyes are dark and piercing. He wears the look of a pugilist in his last few rounds with a formidable adversary. He is now on day 30 of a hunger strike to help raise support for lifting a ban on the use of tents for homeless in Portland to use in inhabiting the city.
“THIS STRIKE is to increase awareness towards the need for decent housing for the poor, the dispossessed, and the entire working class”, Cameron says. He has indicated to me that his strike is not exclusively a product of the Occupy Wall Street movement: he views it as its own thing, outside of Occupy, although many activists from Occupy Wall Street inluding himself are present for the vigil.
(Full article.)
