Occupy Oakland: Cops back off at 18th and Linden after campers set up on a vacant lot

This video clip is not very clear but I thought I'd put it up anyway as it gives some idea of what was occurring in Oakland tonight.  I got a text to come down and support a home defense at 18th and Linden. I was interested in going down there as this is a tactic myself and others have been suggesting the movement take up, helping tenants threatened with eviction or homeowners under threat of being thrown out of their homes by sheriffs due to foreclosures.

When I got there I couldn't see which home and its residents we were defending.  It turned out that the defense was of a new camp being set up on a plot of land next to a home. I was told by a number of people that the landlord that owned both the home and the adjacent empty lot had agreed verbally to let the campers camp there.  Then the police turned up and threatened to act of tents weren't taken down and also said the landlord had changed her mind.  Some occupiers I spoke to said that the landlord was still supportive of them being there but it would seem to me she would have turned up to make that clear under such circumstances if it were true.  I have no idea how the residents living around the empty lot felt.

What was very evident was that there was no organization or structure to any of it. Anyone that wanted to talk simply said "mic check" and began talking.  The tents came down and people began to leave the plot and there were many arguments about what to do.  Should they simply stand in the empty lot or not.  The situation got a bit heated with one guy becoming very impatient asking people if they were "with the movement or not".

The whole scene was pretty chaotic but the cops eventually left I assume because the tents came down.  I left after a while and don't know what happened since although I haven't received a text so things might be quiet. There was no real organization it seems to me and everyone was just doing their own thing leading to a state of extreme confusion. I spoke to one young woman who said that she was there as an individual and didn't appear to me to support the idea of having any sort of organized leadership.  "Our enemies are very well organized" I told her but she seemed to be opposed to such organization as it would mean we were "emulating" them.   But we can learn from our enemies and if they are more successful in this class war being organized why would we draw the conclusion that being disorganized is better although I'm sure my young friend didn't mean it that way.

Anyway, sorry for the poor quality but hopefully the clip does give an idea of the complete confusion that existed, a confusion due to the refusal of some elements in this movement to discuss politics, make demands of any sort that might draw workers in to the battle, formalize leadership while setting its boundaries and recognize that these weaknesses will make it easier for the state forces to isolate the movement and set it back.  It wasn't a pretty sight and wasn't really a home defense at all.