Bunny's Shoes Protest of July 18th 2009

Pearls of wisdom at 16:38, the rest just more of Robert's trite rhetoric and confused sense that he gets to dictate the laws of the entire community.

Keep up the good work.

It is a good video, but to pick out "Go to Hell, Robert" as the best line as suggested by 16:38 is not giving Officer Winston enough credit.

I think it's a tie between Officer Winston's six masterpieces:
(1) threatening to cite Bernard Klitzner for "disturbing the peace" for giving out leaflets and loudly saying "don't shop at Bunny's";
(2) threatening to cite Bernard for "blocking the sidewalk" because he was standing giving out flyers;
(3) telling Bernard he was "blocking the sidewalk even more" by walking back and forth;
(4) saying on tape that he was "not taking pictures" of my car covered with political signs, when the video tape shows him doing just that;
(5) denying what he had previously said--that Bunny's was filing the complaints and attacking the political protest;
(6) accusing me of littering when a flyer blew off the table.

If NIMBYs and their police sympathizers spent half as much time working on a safe and legal place to sleep as they did denouncing activists, we'd have solved this problem three decades ago. Downtown business wouldn't have half as many poor and homeless people downtown (nor sleeping around "menacing" closed shops). And the rest of us could sleep better at night knowing that Santa Cruz was doing right by its houseless population.

Khyber Pass restaurant has posted the pledge (819 Pacific Ave.).

An interview with activist Bernard Klitzner about Officer Winston's conduct can be found at http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb090719.mp3 towards the end of the audio file. Download and fast forward to catch it.

A man named Corey came to the HUFF meeting today to report he was slammed against the sidewalk by Winston, in an incident observed by Sgt. Harms a week or two ago. Several witnesses testified they were taken aback by what they described as Winston's violence. Harms insisted, in another on-air interview, that Corey "was fine with it". That was not the substance of his report to the HUFF meeting today.

For those who want copies of the pledge to post at their businesses on in their cars or to pass on to their favorite businesses, contact me at 423-4833 or rnorse3 [at] hotmail.com .

I ask Huff and Robert again (and again and again and again)...where would you put the camps for the homeless?


"If NIMBYs and their police sympathizers spent half as much time working on a safe and legal place to sleep as they did denouncing activists, we'd have solved this problem three decades ago."

Solve it already. Tell me where you propose to put them. I've seen two attempts in my life here, and both have been, imo, failures. Where?

Is it true that Vallarta took down the pledge?

The pledge was up yesterday (with the words on the back of it in Spanish "do not remove"), compliments of Carlos, the day manager. Perhaps some of the homeless-hostile posters are engaging in "direct action"?

Some past Sleeping Ban-related stories of interest:

http://www.thestreetspirit.org/August2005/labor.htm
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/01/22/18350755.php?show_comments=1#18352048
http://palmspringsbum.blogspot.com/2005/04/homeless-in-santa-cruz.html
http://www.scsextra.com/story.php?sid=34849
http://hpn.asu.edu/archives/2001-June/004047.html
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.society.civil-liberties/browse_thread/thread/07c863a52098fbdf
http://www.thomasleavitt.org/cc/platform.html
http://the-alarm.com/pdf/6-28-02.pdf (pp. 1,2)


Want to post a pledge or encourage pledge-posting? Give a call to 423-4833 or come to a HUFF meeting Wednesdays 9:30-11:30 AM at the Sub Rosa Cafe 703 Pacific.

By "direct action", I was just wondering if one of the "no right to sleep" zealots is tearing down the sign?

A new an interesting report nationwide on the criminalization of the homeless: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/crimreport/Crim2002.pdf

Where is it that you propose this campground be situated?

It's really easy to point out problems. It's a lot harder to suggest feasible solutions to those problems. You appear to be in the former category; happy to point em out.

So for the 260th time: where do you suggest this campground or campgrounds be located?

See http://www.indybay.org/comment.php?top_id=18612318

I find three officers using the one hour move along law to be a HUGE waste of tax money to essentially accomplish nothing. I think they can find better things to do. The attitudes of the police officer only made their presence seem more unreasonable. Yes, Robert provoked a conversation that the officer was annoyed by. I would hope that officers have the training , maturity and wherewithal to know when its best to just leave things be and abide by the constitution , even if it goes against a local ordinance.

This law is never used on tourists, its selectively enforced. That alone makes it unconstitutional. I for one do not want my first amendment rights tramped on more than they already have. From the video, it seems there was no scene, until the officer made one. I also noticed the officer seemed to be blocking the sidewalk more than the man he threatened to arrest or cite for that same reason. Where is the real crime? Certainly no violence or forced signatures. There was no threat to anyone but the officers ego. Were in a financial meltdown. The police have far better things to do than harass a small political table.

If they dislike the political action, the best stance would be to ignore the table altogether, but they NEVER learn that lesson.

LOL. And if "activists" spent one quarter the time they spend vilifying everyone who dares to disagree with them on explaining to us exactly where they want this sleeping place to be, and how it can be made to work and paid for, then we wouldn't have had to deal with their incessant "protests" dotting the Indybay calendar like so many flies on fresh cow dung.

Who knew you guys were having trouble sleeping at night?

Also, "concerned", this law appears to be almost exclusively aimed at tourists, contrary to your claim. Almost every one of the street element on Pacific is from out of town, remember? That includes Robert, who is of course the classic day-tourist, returning home to the mountains each night to doss in his bed, while we clean up his mess downtown.

I hope you actually pay taxes, since you are so concerned about how those dollars are being spent.

To satisfy the insatiable Sum Dim, go to http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/08/06/18614270.php?show_comments=1#18617492 "In Response"