| ColdNoMore |
06-13-2020 09:48 PM |
A post on Facebook, by someone who was there...with their baby.
Bill Hankes - My wife and I have been getting a lot of... | Facebook
Quote:
My wife and I have been getting a lot of questions from friends and relatives about what is happening here in Seattle given the shocking headlines and imagery of Seattle under siege. So I thought I’d take a moment to share what’s going on and what’s not, including some photos I took this morning. As you’ll soon read, it was a harrowing experience, but never fear, I’m now back in the safety of my bunker.
Last night someone posted an article about Seattle being taken by force. Naturally, I was alarmed by this. But the “news” site was one I’d never heard of before. There was literally no local coverage, and if you know anything about Seattle media that should tell you everything you need to know. The only “credible news” source I found was Fox, and they showed burnt out cars and utter mayhem. Fox further claimed that there were armed guards and businesses were being shaken down by some “war lord” and his antifa minions.
I also read reports that the protesters ran out of vegan food. This part might actually be true.
Here’s what has been happening:
- A couple nights ago, a very left-leaning member of our City Council unlocked the doors to City Hall to allow protesters in. They chanted for the Mayor’s removal, presumably over the City’s poor response to early Floyd protests (but that’s another story). A couple hours later, these protesters left City Hall and there was no damage, except maybe to Mayor Durkin’s nerves. But you’ll see images of people “occupying” City Hall.
- While there have been protests near City Hall, the bulk have been in Seattle’s quirky Capitol Hill neighborhood, in particular around the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct. Like other places around the country, these protests have been ongoing so at some point the City decided to board up the East Precinct and cordon off three blocks of Pine Street and the adjacent side streets. Time will tell about whether this was a smart decision or not. I don’t know why they made this decision, but I suspect it had something to do w/ that car a few days ago that rammed protesters nearby and where the driver pulled a gun and shot a peaceful demonstrator.
- So now with this area cordoned off with City barricades, the neighborhood has taken on a bit of a new life. There’s an open microphone. Someone put up and outdoor move screen, and there have been reports of free food and water. Last night there was a poetry reading, and the airing of the documentary “13th.” There was no violence, but there has been no shortage of spray paint apparently. Most of it deployed poorly.
- Also, there are a couple of signs proclaiming the area to be the Free Cap Hill Zone or the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone. I have odds on the latter name because the acronym CHAZ has a nice ring to it. Though some may think it sounds too fratty and that’ll be that. We’ll stay tuned on this branding decision and alert you to any updates.
- This morning, my wife had a doctor’s appointment in the area so while she was in there, I drove over to witness the carnage first-hand. To call it underwhelming is an understatement. I saw a guy walking his dog through the barricades into the “zone.” I steeled myself and crossed the chasm. But when I did, there wasn’t anyone around except some guy in a lawn chair who wished me a good morning. I did, however, see a couple eating bagels and drinking coffee outside a boarded up café. I was tempted to join them, but now the adrenalin from my newfound status as wartime correspondent was flowing. Soon I was directly in front of the East Precinct which was boarded up and “redecorated” with spray paint. As I stood on the corner and looked around, the scene was really more of a ghost town than anything. I passed a guy carrying his baby. I saw one of those open-air tents we used to sit in during soccer games to avoid the weather. Under it were free supplies. There might have been flyers too.
- Around the corner was a moving memorial to George Floyd, which stood in sharp contrast to the side show all around me.
Here’s what’s NOT happening:
- There are no armed guards. I saw a picture of one on Fox, but as we’ve seen during these protests, people show up pretending to be one thing but there’re actually something else. Think about it: Seattle is not exactly your 2nd Amendment crowd. People don’t open carry here. And I can tell you that these documentary and poetry guys sure as hell are not packing heat. Packing weed maybe, but certainly nothing that shoots bullets.
- There is no rioting or burning of cars. A couple weeks ago some (white) woman from Tacoma burned four police cruisers. She was arrested and charged this week.
- I’ve read reports of “occupiers” shaking down businesses. I have no way of dis-crediting these claims. But again, this is your poetry and documentary crowd, not the Sopranos.
- The area is not “occupied.” Or if it is, they appear to value a good night’s sleep because they sure weren’t there at 10:00 in the morning when I was.
- There is no “warlord” as Fox as vilified. In true Anarchist form, no one is in charge.
- The police have not been run out. The police chief was on camera in front of the East Precinct yesterday afternoon having a peaceful conversation w/ protesters. Apparently she walked up there again this morning right after I was there. Also, there was footage of the police going back into the East Precinct for an “inspection.” I don’t know when they plan to move back in, but they certainly aren’t being shy about coming and going.
- The City is not under siege. Immediately adjacent to the zone is a Whole Foods, aka, Whole Paycheck. It was doing a brisk business. So was Starbucks. In fact, this was the closest thing to normalcy I’ve seen in Seattle since March 1st when most people began self-isolation.
So, I hope we survive another night under our new overlords. If you have any Vegan food, though, we're running short.
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