THE MEAT IS ON THE GROUND, SAID THE PO'LICE: THE (2011) JULY 4TH HOMES NOT JAILS PROTEST

p img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/u26/MEAT.jpg" style="width: 236px; height: 214px;" //p p nbsp;/p p During July 4th celebrations this poverty span data-scayt_word="skolah" data-scaytid="3"skolah/span watched The San Francisco Mime Troupe perform in Dolores Park.nbsp; The fun began at span data-scayt_word="4p.m" data-scaytid="1"4p.m/span.nbsp; We went to the squat site, led by the Brass Liberation Orchestra (span data-scayt_word="BLO" data-scaytid="4"BLO/span), me, and Tiny aka Lisa Gray-Robles (with span data-scayt_word="Tibu...not" data-scaytid="2"Tibu...not/span dancing...) performing a great Samba dance./p p This poverty span data-scayt_word="skola" data-scaytid="5"skola/span quickly found a place to relax in the squat, an abandoned 40-unit SRO (Single Room Occupancy) hotel at 21st and Mission.nbsp; Three span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="7"Po#39;Lice/span arrived, as I was touring the site (hanging out on the roof), ostensibly concerned about a bottle of flavored water spilled on the ground.nbsp; The span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="45"Po#39;Lice/span officer with authority over the other officers, aka The Sergeant, thought I was in charge, being the oldest fart in sight./p p I said I wasn#39;t the leader.nbsp; He asked someone else.nbsp; Someone else said, This is a collective, we have no leaders.nbsp; Unknown to me at that moment a young span data-scayt_word="Raza" data-scaytid="14"Raza/span man was getting introduced to the sidewalk the hard way, betting shoved face-first into it.nbsp; One of the span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="8"Po#39;Lice/span announced over the radio:nbsp; The meat is on the ground./p p I looked down to see what was happening.nbsp; There was a span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="9"Po#39;Lice/span knee in his back.nbsp; I later found out he got a broken tooth and a split lip--for trying to get himself into shelter.nbsp; Only cannibals think humans are a piece of meat.nbsp; The Sergeant replied, We#39;ve got a powder keg in here and you#39;re throwing gasoline on it?nbsp; Cool it down there!/p p They rushed the young man down the street to a span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="10"Po#39;Lice/span cruiser to get him out of sight out of mind.nbsp; Three Plain-Clothes span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="11"Po#39;Lice/span in an unmarked black sedan (resembling linebackers for the San Francisco span data-scayt_word="49ers" data-scaytid="16"49ers/span...), and Twelve span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="12"Po#39;Lice/span cars suddenly appeared, as if a new episode of The Streets of San Francisco was being filmed.nbsp; One of my POOR Magazine family, span data-scayt_word="Muteado" data-scaytid="17"Muteado/span span data-scayt_word="Silencio" data-scaytid="18"Silencio/span, tried to ask some questions about what they were going to do and got shoved away like a skunk at a Prom dance--thankfully, no damage was done to anything but his pride./p p The Sergeant, apparently, didn#39;t mind the gasoline that much.nbsp; Almost everyone, including members of the media present for the event, was nervous.nbsp; I and the Homes Not Jails folks weren#39;t, but I didn#39;t blame anyone for feeling that way.nbsp; Activists and the Poor are used to seeing span data-scayt_word="Po'Lice" data-scaytid="13"Po#39;Lice/span act like the San Francisco Giants#39; closer about to beat up a Gatorade cooler, but most civilians aren#39;t.nbsp;/p p This poverty span data-scayt_word="skola" data-scaytid="6"skola/span reporter will be interviewing the young span data-scayt_word="Raza" data-scaytid="15"Raza/span man who was beaten and hustled away from the squat site for a later article.nbsp; More stories from this event are also coming.nbsp; Stay tuned to this Bruce Channel./p p nbsp;/p p nbsp;/p