Real-world Building Blocks

I didn't make it to the camp today but spent some time with Sue and Eliana. Both went with me to pick up some building supplies needed at the camp; I'll deliver them tomorrow or Friday. Eliana had a great time climbing among the cement blocks. 

After we took Eliana home, I went to a meeting to discuss strategies and approaches. It's difficult for people to stay focused on the mission while living in close proximity to each other, under stress, with occasional intrusions of violent agents of the State, for weeks on end. Crevices open up between those who want to eradicate the State and those who want to reform it, those who smoke cigarettes and those who don't, those who help out in the kitchen and those who leave food lying around. Some say it's time to shut down the camp and some say leaving is giving up. 

Federal agents continue psychological warfare, "psyops" honed in Afghanistan, directed at protesters: agents set off car alarms at 2 and 4 in the morning. They attack protesters with "less lethal" guns: tasers, rubber bullets, pepper-spray pellets. They single out small-bodied people to slam against the pavement and arrest. They hold arrested people for a few hours and then cite them with minor misdemeanors. They shout and taunt protesters; protesters shout and taunt back. 

As the story unfolds and repeats itself, I feel a weariness in my bones, and I am one of the most privileged--I go home, I sleep in a bed, I take a bath or a shower every day, I use a flush toilet, I wash my hands. I take a day off. I have never been in the camp when the Agents attacked. I respect the resilience and commitment, the passion for justice. I will also respect the people in the camp if they decide to end this.