With a Whimper, I'm Afraid

Ah.  This will be how it ends.

For the first time since the Occupation kicked off here in Eugene, I contacted a local grizzled activist attorney. He's pretty much a dead-ringer for Jack Herer, and identically aligned.  We first met a decade ago in a face-off when he represented the organizer of the local Hemp Fest in a suit against various governments. Yesterday when I caught up with him he was on his way to hearings where, after the arguments against some hapless government lawyer, law enforcement personnel would be ordered by a judge to return the pot they'd illegally seized. 

Indeed--and I'm just remembering this now--being on the cop side of that Hemp Fest lawsuit is what finally pushed me over the edge in 2002.  The stark contrast between my heart and the way my head was ethically obligated to think was too much. And we'll return to that story in a minute.

The immediate point is that I occasionally call for his opinion because I've learned to trust it.  Representing The Rainbow Gathering in its various freedom-of-assembly disputes around the country, including Eugene, he was well-versed on the Eugene Sign Ordinance.

It's unconstitutional, both state and federal, he said without hesitation.  He detailed why with rapid-fire bullet points. Then--

But listen, Gurn, why are you even worried about the signs?  If you ask me, you are being set up to fail.

For the Dec 15th hearing?

Yeah.  I mean, c'mon, they won't grant an extension for the Occupy camp, not because of any hassles with signs--even if those are legit--but because of sanitation and safety issues.

Yeah, I've pointed that out several times, but as a legal committee day-tripper, it tends to fall on deaf ears.

Well, the sign issue won't matter when the camp is taken down.  Sanitation.  Safety.  It's the "national security" excuse for the new millennium.

So the inside word about building a permanent camp with a full-on kitchen, power, showers, restrooms and the rest is bullshit?

Yes, he said.  It's complete bullshit.  It has to be.

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Well.

That certainly took the wind out.  I'll still write the letter, in the event it's needed, but I feel like I have to sound the alarm, yet again, on the real issue. I will, when the other people working on this wake up...in about an hour.

Next--the Suit-and-Tied-to-Occupy narrative continues.