I dream of the days where I will be writing about all the good news that is yet to come. When the headlines are “Poverty has ended!” “Racism is no More!” But here I am writing about another policy passed to oppress the poor even more. This new policy is called “Encampment Management Policy.” The policy bans tents from being within 150 feet of schools and 50 feet from homes, businesses, playgrounds, parks and other recreation areas.
City Councilman Noel Gallo said that he is frustrated by the camps, tents and trash. His solution to it is to move it all out of sight. This doesn't really solve anything; it just allows more sweeps and restrictions to homelessness Dale from the United Front Against Displacement said this about the new policy “It doesn't actually do anything to address the needs people have Because that's not what it's intended to do.”
Deecolonize Academy went to visit an encampment at Wood Street in Oakland. This lot has been receiving lots of harassment, officially and unofficially. They've gotten eviction notices and also secret police raids. The lot is owned by wealth hoarder Fred B. Craves who got lotsa of his money by finding new ways to produce fish oil. He had said that he wants to turn the lot into a safe rv lot but after watching the construction workers mark the floor and some research, it turns out he wants to turn it into a research facility. The marks the construction workers had done were marks that implied a whole building was gonna be built instead of just providing resources for a rv lot.
RV lots aren't a solution anyway, there is a RV lot close to this encampment at 34th and wood st and it's not any better. People there get served spoiled food, porta potties are not maintained, they have restrictions in what they can bring and they have a curfew. The gate is locked between 4pm-10am making the rv lot a cage.
This new policy is another attack on people in struggle. Laws won't be on our side as long as colonizers, wealth hoarders, politricksters and Klan members rule this system. We aren't represented in this system and it's something that has to change. Policies and Laws clearly aren't made to help they just solidify the power that the colonizers already have. One has to create their own solutions, not wait for others to give them to you.