With the perception of escalating criminal activity at Occupy Boston, camp residents and activists struggle to maintain safety at Dewey Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Police work overtime to monitor the security of the area, and have made arrests of dealers selling heroin and cocaine at South Station and at Dewey Square. However, Occupy Boston residents and activists avoid cooperation and coordination of activities with law enforcement. Instead, they rely on their own volunteer groups to monitor those who use drugs in the tents and those who return to the camp high and intoxicated.
The Occupy Wall Street movement’s slogan “We are the 99%” makes the movement inclusive. Occupy Boston residents have a reached a consensus to exclude the most dangerous and disruptive. The camp welcomes drug addicts and alcoholics unless they disrupt the camp. Certain people are “threats to the safety and dignity of the whole camp,” says John Ford, who owns the Metacomet in Plymouth, MA, and organizes the Occupy Boston library. The safety group should have the “power to evict, at least for the night, to keep the camp safe.”
However, Occupy Boston residents express dissatisfaction at both the drug situation and how the safety group handles evictions. Barry Knight recently packed up his belongings and quit Occupy Boston to go to Occupy Wall Street. He left a note in bold capitalized letters saying, “my apologies but I am going to N.Y. It’s been nearly 3 weeks and the junkie safety issues have only gotten worse. I hope they have a more effective way of dealing with internal issues there.”
The logistics group monitors residents who engage in criminal activity. Johnny Rodriquez, a 22-year-old in the US Army, volunteers with logistics to keep track of spaces and tents for new residents. Rodriquez focuses on identifying thieves and drug addicts. “If a drug addict, I consult, identify, get together, and talk about removing them so it’s not violent,” says Rodriquez, declining to say whom he instructs to evict people. “I don’t move anybody. It’s not my job.”
Although Occupy activists emphasize the movement has no leaders, safety group members perceive David, a US veteran who declines to give his last name, as the primary decision-maker. David relies on his experience building tents at the floods in Mississippi and serving as a field medic in the US Army.
His nicknames “Safety Dave” and “David One Blanket” emphasize his commitment to the safety group and generosity. Each night he helps new arrivals to the camp find tents with extra space.
“This is what I do. They don’t call me David One Blanket for nothing. I’d rather give to someone else but me,” says David. “What’s the best nation in world? A donation. What’s the best city in the world? Generosity. It don’t take much to be human.”
The direct action group backs up the safety group during evictions. Chaser Oi Effigy, a 28-year-old security officer and bartender, appears to lead the direct action group. He takes charge of the direction of marches, and holds a giant black flag to stop traffic at intersections. “I try not to make decisions. I throw in my two cents,” says Effigy. “I don’t like decision-making people.”
Both the safety and direct action group members discourage each other from ever involving law enforcement and emergency medical services. David says he would be a “one per center” for calling ambulances paid for with taxpayer dollars. Most avoid attending the general assembly because Occupy participants do not necessarily sleep at Occupy Boston. Instead, these groups act during their late night patrols.
Buford Drake, a volunteer of the safety group during late night patrols, says that the drug and alcohol activity at the camp has only gotten worse. Drake says other members of the safety group threatened to take away his tent if he continued to speak out against alcohol. A Cherokee and a “full blood Razorback” from Arkansas, Drake says he already feels displaced from his land. He and his wife Patricia were recently evicted from their apartment in August 2011. Homeless, they would sleep in their tent along the Charles River. They prepare to move again in early November because of the deteriorating situation at Occupy Boston.
“I don’t like the crack dealers. I don’t like the heroin dealers. It’s not right,” says Drake. In addition to posing a health risk to residents who overdose, drug use in tents also creates a fire hazard. “Crack pipes do get hot, hot enough to burn you.”
Culture, a 22-year-old traveler from New Jersey, also volunteers on late night patrols with the safety group. His father kicked him out of his home six years ago because he used heroin as a 16-year-old. “Usually when somebody’s yelling, trying to start a fight, or using drugs like heroin, that’s when we try to evict somebody,” says Culture. “I’m not proud of it but I have helped evict people.” There could be other solutions. The safety group should not have “the power they have just to evict people at their own will,” says Culture. “Some of the safety people should be replaced because they don’t have the best interest at the camp.”
One night around 2 am David drinks vodka while relaxing in the suburbs section of the camp. John, a man David believes to be a Level 3 sex offender, considered the most dangerous and likely to reoffend according to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry, approaches the camp, and David immediately proceeds to shun the person.
“We got women. We got people here. Get up. Get out of my camp,” says David firmly. “Go back to your apartment and beat it.”
“I’m leaving,” replied John. “I stand in solidarity.”
A driver passing Dewey Square honks the horn.
“That’s solidarity right there,” says David.
The Occupy Wall Street movement’s slogan “We are the 99%” makes the movement inclusive. Occupy Boston residents have a reached a consensus to exclude the most dangerous and disruptive. The camp welcomes drug addicts and alcoholics unless they disrupt the camp. Certain people are “threats to the safety and dignity of the whole camp,” says John Ford, who owns the Metacomet in Plymouth, MA, and organizes the Occupy Boston library. The safety group should have the “power to evict, at least for the night, to keep the camp safe.”
However, Occupy Boston residents express dissatisfaction at both the drug situation and how the safety group handles evictions. Barry Knight recently packed up his belongings and quit Occupy Boston to go to Occupy Wall Street. He left a note in bold capitalized letters saying, “my apologies but I am going to N.Y. It’s been nearly 3 weeks and the junkie safety issues have only gotten worse. I hope they have a more effective way of dealing with internal issues there.”
The logistics group monitors residents who engage in criminal activity. Johnny Rodriquez, a 22-year-old in the US Army, volunteers with logistics to keep track of spaces and tents for new residents. Rodriquez focuses on identifying thieves and drug addicts. “If a drug addict, I consult, identify, get together, and talk about removing them so it’s not violent,” says Rodriquez, declining to say whom he instructs to evict people. “I don’t move anybody. It’s not my job.”
Although Occupy activists emphasize the movement has no leaders, safety group members perceive David, a US veteran who declines to give his last name, as the primary decision-maker. David relies on his experience building tents at the floods in Mississippi and serving as a field medic in the US Army.
His nicknames “Safety Dave” and “David One Blanket” emphasize his commitment to the safety group and generosity. Each night he helps new arrivals to the camp find tents with extra space.
“This is what I do. They don’t call me David One Blanket for nothing. I’d rather give to someone else but me,” says David. “What’s the best nation in world? A donation. What’s the best city in the world? Generosity. It don’t take much to be human.”
The direct action group backs up the safety group during evictions. Chaser Oi Effigy, a 28-year-old security officer and bartender, appears to lead the direct action group. He takes charge of the direction of marches, and holds a giant black flag to stop traffic at intersections. “I try not to make decisions. I throw in my two cents,” says Effigy. “I don’t like decision-making people.”
Both the safety and direct action group members discourage each other from ever involving law enforcement and emergency medical services. David says he would be a “one per center” for calling ambulances paid for with taxpayer dollars. Most avoid attending the general assembly because Occupy participants do not necessarily sleep at Occupy Boston. Instead, these groups act during their late night patrols.
Buford Drake, a volunteer of the safety group during late night patrols, says that the drug and alcohol activity at the camp has only gotten worse. Drake says other members of the safety group threatened to take away his tent if he continued to speak out against alcohol. A Cherokee and a “full blood Razorback” from Arkansas, Drake says he already feels displaced from his land. He and his wife Patricia were recently evicted from their apartment in August 2011. Homeless, they would sleep in their tent along the Charles River. They prepare to move again in early November because of the deteriorating situation at Occupy Boston.
“I don’t like the crack dealers. I don’t like the heroin dealers. It’s not right,” says Drake. In addition to posing a health risk to residents who overdose, drug use in tents also creates a fire hazard. “Crack pipes do get hot, hot enough to burn you.”
Culture, a 22-year-old traveler from New Jersey, also volunteers on late night patrols with the safety group. His father kicked him out of his home six years ago because he used heroin as a 16-year-old. “Usually when somebody’s yelling, trying to start a fight, or using drugs like heroin, that’s when we try to evict somebody,” says Culture. “I’m not proud of it but I have helped evict people.” There could be other solutions. The safety group should not have “the power they have just to evict people at their own will,” says Culture. “Some of the safety people should be replaced because they don’t have the best interest at the camp.”
One night around 2 am David drinks vodka while relaxing in the suburbs section of the camp. John, a man David believes to be a Level 3 sex offender, considered the most dangerous and likely to reoffend according to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry, approaches the camp, and David immediately proceeds to shun the person.
“We got women. We got people here. Get up. Get out of my camp,” says David firmly. “Go back to your apartment and beat it.”
“I’m leaving,” replied John. “I stand in solidarity.”
A driver passing Dewey Square honks the horn.
“That’s solidarity right there,” says David.