Occupy the Castro General Assembly

Next Saturday, December 17 marks the three-month of anniversary of Occupy Wall Street's launch and Occupy the Castro (OTC) organizers will honor the occasion with our first General Assembly.

We will gather on December 17 at noon at Harvey Milk Plaza under the iconic rainbow flag and invite all interested activists to come out and speak out. There will be a comment wall of paper where comments and artwork and political demands can be left.

The lack of respectful, civic democratic engagement by neighborhood institutions including the Merchants of Upper Market/Castro, the Castro Benefit District and Supervisor Scott Wiener, is just one motivating factor pushing the OTC organizing efforts. Those institutions need to understand they do not own our gayborhood and that we are tired of being left out of the decision making process regarding public spaces and policies.

Tommi Avicolli Mecca and I are spearheading bringing folks together for OTC's first General Assembly next Saturday, but we are not in charge of what will be on the agenda. That will be decided by everyone who shows up at noon to participate. Tommi's bringing the chalk to draw a soap box space on the plaza's sidewalk where speakers will stand, and I'm bringing the bull horn.

He and I will give brief reports on OTC's successful actions a week ago. Then it is open mike time and we invite all of you to attend. Bring your anger, creative ideas, political acumen, posters expressing your demands, a couple of friends and pitch in to make the Castro's initial General Assembly fabulous.