From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Halloween mass hotel tour gridlock
Like always, there were many riders at the Halloween critical mass. It wasn't daylight savings time yet, but it was still dark by seven, so it was more difficult to take pictures.
For the first two hours, we stayed in the downtown, Nob Hill, shopping district area, going to all the hotels where workers are locked out.
For the first two hours, we stayed in the downtown, Nob Hill, shopping district area, going to all the hotels where workers are locked out.
This created for a fun ride with minimal athleticism, maximal gridlock, and time to look at people's costumes and listen to music.
Everyone made lots of noise by the hotels. I hope it helps. Many of these downtown hotels charge $200+ per night, and their costs for paying workers can't be that much higher than ordinary Motel 6 in a rural area. It isn't so plausible to believe that San Francisco hotels are right at the financial edge. Hotels in Gallup New Mexico charge about $25/night. When I was on strike, it got boring after a couple of days, or even hours, so it is great to see them keeping up the energy for so long. The economy does not require slaves to stay afloat. In fact, with mechanization of many tasks, the average workweek should be going down and material standard of living should be rising, rather than the opposite.
Most of the focus was on halloween and fun, but the election with its ensuing chaos left people in a sort of political mood. There were a few political costumes- fascists, Woody Guthrie, Gavin Newsom. I was a Burger King worker. Sorry that I have no pictures of that. It was dark.
At the Hyatt, a police officer blocked more people from getting close, but there seemed to be a 'left them go' type of chant. At Nob hill, we slowly circled the square and stood around forever, and people got into diversions like getting naked. We went down the hill, and slowly, the 2000 (guessing) riders went through gaps between stuck cars. Who drives around Union Square at that time anyway. We cheered on hotels in this area, and one on the south side of Market.
Police have been very well behaved, for the most part, to the central part of the group. While in New York this month, the police department tried to ban an injunction banning critical mass rides, the police here directed traffic and let people do dancing and rapping in the intersection by Dolores park.
Everyone made lots of noise by the hotels. I hope it helps. Many of these downtown hotels charge $200+ per night, and their costs for paying workers can't be that much higher than ordinary Motel 6 in a rural area. It isn't so plausible to believe that San Francisco hotels are right at the financial edge. Hotels in Gallup New Mexico charge about $25/night. When I was on strike, it got boring after a couple of days, or even hours, so it is great to see them keeping up the energy for so long. The economy does not require slaves to stay afloat. In fact, with mechanization of many tasks, the average workweek should be going down and material standard of living should be rising, rather than the opposite.
Most of the focus was on halloween and fun, but the election with its ensuing chaos left people in a sort of political mood. There were a few political costumes- fascists, Woody Guthrie, Gavin Newsom. I was a Burger King worker. Sorry that I have no pictures of that. It was dark.
At the Hyatt, a police officer blocked more people from getting close, but there seemed to be a 'left them go' type of chant. At Nob hill, we slowly circled the square and stood around forever, and people got into diversions like getting naked. We went down the hill, and slowly, the 2000 (guessing) riders went through gaps between stuck cars. Who drives around Union Square at that time anyway. We cheered on hotels in this area, and one on the south side of Market.
Police have been very well behaved, for the most part, to the central part of the group. While in New York this month, the police department tried to ban an injunction banning critical mass rides, the police here directed traffic and let people do dancing and rapping in the intersection by Dolores park.
Add Your Comments
Latest Comments
Listed below are the latest comments about this post.
These comments are submitted anonymously by website visitors.
TITLE
AUTHOR
DATE
tunnel pic
Sat, Oct 30, 2004 10:12AM
Thirsty Rider
Sat, Oct 30, 2004 8:31AM
Nob Hill Picketer
Sat, Oct 30, 2004 12:07AM
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network