PRESS RELEASE: Occupy Charlottesville–– On November 1st, 2011, in the early afternoon, three arrests were made by Charlottesville police over charges of public intoxication, possession, and intoxicating minors at Lee Park. Two minors were taken to the hospital as a result of this too. It happened now within the third week of the occupation of Lee Park under the banner of "Occupy Charlottesville".
The police and the press have been quick to point out that those arrested are not officially affiliated with Occupy Charlottesville. While we appreciate the space given to not blame every single person in the park for the decisions of individuals within the space, people at the Lee Park occupation would still like to clear out some things about the dynamics at play here.
The Charlottesville occupation has been open to all, as this is a movement that is supposed to be open to all. This principle has allowed people to connect that have never connected before, namely homeless folks connecting with the rest of the population in Charlottesville in a space that is more welcoming than what the usual options are for those without a roof over them. With this blessing has come the stress from people of different backgrounds (whether homeless or not) bringing their habits to this public space, among them drinking and smoking. Because our General Assembly recognized early on that substance use can be detrimental to our practical functioning and our public image, we decided to have the space be a sober space.
Many participants have kept by that principle by not drinking or smoking at the park, but unfortunately, individuals have decided outside of that to drink and get intoxicated at the park. This is not something that the occupation is lending special permission to, but this is simply a result of people bringing the habits they’ve always had to a public space that is getting a lot of attention from the press and the authorities.
Critics will be quick to point out that our occupation is giving space for people to smoke, drink, or engage in violent behaviors, all thanks to our non-hierarchical structure. But our reply is that violent behaviors and destructive habits are an everyday reality of today’s capitalist society. When we challenge it through an action like the occupation, those habits that are usually kept in private will inevitably come up in public, as opposed to our homes, dark alleys, jail cells, and other enclosed spaces. It is unfortunate that this fact has gotten people arrested or gotten people into fights, but we feel that it is better to deal with it collectively in the open than let our habits rot in private, as our present society has taught us to do.
And so we use this chance to reassert our collective goal to work among ourselves to face the problems we’ve grown up with all our lives, through all the pains and all the pleasures. We will continue to foster a sober space and continue to learn how to keep checks on each other without policing each other and alienating ourselves back into our private spaces. We will continue to occupy because that is the only choice many of us have, as the 99%, to live a just life.
With love and solidarity, the occupiers at Lee Park.