The Hypocrite Hancock Doesn't Honor Homeless

I can understand the problem some had with protesters aligning themselves with Occupy Denver interrupting and cat-calling Mayor Hancock at the vigil for the homeless who died the last year. But, were I homeless and this clown of a mayor stepped on a stage to "honor" the homeless I'd be pretty damn angry. Keep in mind while Hancock and Gov. Hick like to do the photo-op things at shelters and vigils they are working to further criminalize homelessness. Hancock, along with ex-cop and now councilman, Charlie Brown, are plotting to make sleeping in LoDo, downtown area illegal. How can Hancock have the audacity to call himself an advocate of the homeless? Were I one of the homeless that has repeatedly been harassed and brutalized by DPD at several sites on several occasions I would be angry about an appearance of such a damn hypocrite as Hancock.


The reality is homeless folks are on the frontlines of the disparity of wealth in this nation. The rich and powerful either want to herd them into their version of shelters or in cheap motels unfit for children to thrive. They want to sanitize the tourist areas and the financial sectors of the city. Homeless not welcome.

I was once homeless for six months in this city immediately after my return from Vietnam. There was no way I would have gone to the miserable excuses they had for shelters back then. And I totally understand those who don't want to go to what they offer today.

I also respectfully disagree shouting down the mayor at the vigil is an act of a provocateur or shouldn't be done simply because it offends some and the mainstream press will jump on the negative remarks. I have been part of many groups who constantly worried about the mainstream press coverage. They planned rallies and marches for times congruent with the evening news or newspaper deadlines. And, what have they gotten the great majority of the time? Ten right wingers show up to counter protest the 500-1000 or even 100,000 protesters of the left and they get as much coverage as the larger group trying to get their message out to the mainstream public. One idiot of a large group of people can act out and the mainstream press will use that as their lead in the story about a rally or march.

I'm very much of the opinion the mainstream press can go fuck themselves. They are simply the media cheerleaders of the establisment of the rich....or as the Occupy movement says, the 1%. When Martin Luther King or the freedom riders carried out their acts of civil disobedience did the mainstream media agree with them or report objectively about their actions? When Malcolm X went to the streets with his message did the mainstream media give white Americans some understanding about the message Malcolm was giving?

And yet we continue to suck up to the bought and paid for media in anything we attempt to do in the resistance against the oligarchs? I am more an advocate of Malcolm's message of "by any means necessary" than Dr. King's message. I came to this conclusion with regret. But when a large group of people congregate to seek redress and to exercise their right to free speech, and do so peacefully, and riot police with lethal weapons appear I find it outrageous.

I don't agree with remaining passive if I'm peacefully standing in a public park expressing my protest against a system of government and corporate oppression. I'm not going to sit down to be brutalized. I'm not holding hands and not defending my skull against a robotic cop who is wired with the thrill of finally getting to use the riot training in real time. I won't try to quiet another person voicing anger at provocative riot team with the only weapons on site.

I won't talk to the mainstream press. Too many times the editing of the press creates a totally errant context of a person's thoughts. Their agenda is to create fear and negative impressions when they report on those who dissent against the oppressors in government and the corporate world.

I refuse solidarity with groups such as the Tea Party. A group funded primarily by Karl Rove and the Koch brothers is by definition a polar opposite of the type of world I struggle for. For me groups such as this are a huge part of the problem. So, seeing a member of OD call for solidarity with them is startling and I will not accept it.

For some of us older activists the outspoken and in your face reactions of the young is disturbing. We can't remember our own time of outrage as young people in the streets during the 60s and 70s or some never took part. I admit the style of some anarchists and young radicals isn't the style I'm used to at my age.

But I also remember being the rageful Vietnam combat vet organizing VVAW here in Denver. I remember a friend who was a member of VVAW and the Black Panthers. He was constantly harassed by DPD to the point they would raid his home and tear apart it apart based on a false report he was holding guns. He was running the Panther breakfast program. He refused to stop his personal resistance.

So, I don't object when an oppressed group confronts a mayor so disingenuous as Hancock. And I'd ask those who were offended at the events to try to understand the reasons the confrontation occurred. Hancock had been dodging members of the Occupy movement for weeks. His appearance at a rally for the homeless was offensive.

And I'd ask those who throw out the charge of infiltrator and provocateur against those who don't match your idea of political action to be aware how offensive these words are to activists who simply do things differently than you. The current rift of Occupy Denver and groups such as the Street Medics and Cop Watch is based on slander such as this directed toward those who didn't "stay on message" the hierarchy of OD had in mind.

Solidarity is an ideal but isn't necessarily a reality. I respect those who desire things to always be peaceful and want to cooperate with the authorities. I disagree with coordinating things with the police or the authorities, however. I respect those who want to include cops in the 99%. Hell, my wife comes from a family of cops but they wouldn't be in riot gear quite willing to bash your head or pepper spray you. I can't include the police in the 99% group when they are the hammer of the oppressors.

So, I've taken a long route to simply say it's easy to dismiss or denigrate the actions or ideals of other activists but I believe we have to keep in mind there are diverse circumstances that have brought people to the path they are on. I'm not willing to exclude those who may want to try something different than what I'm comfortable with.