This time the Carrboro police has been nice enough to clarify the rules ahead of time:
"Hutchison said Carrboro Commune is welcome to protest as long as everyone stays on the sidewalk and out of the street. Anyone crossing the fence onto CVS property at 201 N. Greensboro St. will be warned to leave before officers start charging people with first-degree trespass, she said. Anyone who damages the fence, the building or land will be charged with damage to real property, she added."
Somehow I doubt that the flyer's assertion that all private property is theft is shared by many Carrboro residents.
Comments
Can, Can't, Cant ... ??
I am a supporter of Occupy. But I do not support trespass on private property. I support protest and disobedience. But only disobedience that is civil and non-violent.Violence, in my opinion, is not just physical assault. It is anything that puts folks in fear, or which threatens them and their community. That includes verbal assault. And it includes trespass on property which people have worked hard to be able to buy, for their own safety and comfort, and that of their families.I might be more moved by those protesting private property rights if some of their number did not already own private property. And I might be more impressed by their argument that private property rights represent theft, if those same folks did not carry homeowner's insurance against theft.I am not convinced that this protest has anything to do with food, or community, or even a spot of leisurely gardening. Again, I might be convinced if I saw one iota of effort being channeled into real and meaningful action to help build community, to grow food or even create a community garden - on property that did not belong to someone else.I do have it on good authority that at least one of those involved with this protest has made a statement to the media that the protesters have been in communication with the Carrboro Police, to confirm to them that there will be no weapons and no attempt to climb over the fence.Some Occupy members locally (frankly, I have lost track of who or what now represents the various strands of institutionalized Occupy in our community), anyways, they quite rightly took umbrage when it was suggested that Occupy people could not be trusted to tell the truth. We will discover the righteous of their indignation tomorrow.Bottom line? There are some things we can do; some things we can't; and then there is just plain cant.
Community Gardening Opportunities
BTW, Anyone who wants to participate in an autonomous collective garden can join the Carrboro Community Garden at MLK Jr Park or the recently expanded Lloyd Street Community Garden at Baldwin Park. Email AMcNair@ci.carrboro.nc.us for details on how to get involved!