OccupySFVid_James

watch the video here

Part 1: James

Part 2: James, Lucas and Dani on their families and friends.

James: I am a member of the Occupy Movement, since October 9^th. What brought me down to the Occupy movement is the fact that I am a HIV positive person who is currently unemployed, I don't have insurance and it costs $3000 out-of-pocket expenses to get my medication every month. I don't know that many people who carry around that kind of money witht them on a regular basis and a lot of people don't have credit cards.

I also came to the movement because eof affordable housing issues. You know there are places like the Art Academy here in San Fransisco that as soon as a building becomes available that could be used for affordable housing, snatches it up and converts it into a classroom or a dorm. If we had less corporations in this city that are buying up places that could be affordable housing, it'd bring the homeless number down in this city 10-fold.

I've faced police aggression, I've been arrested three times in this movement, most recently when they raided our encampment at 101 Market St. They arrested me for crossing at a cross-walk with 14 seconds to spare on the clock. I wasn't even a part of the people being arrested … for not evcen jay-walking.

(Is jay-walking terrorism now?)

Apparently.

This movement has changed my life, in many ways, a lot of wonderful people, I've met so many people, prior to this movement I'd never … that there are so many loving people that want to see a change, want to see a movement that works in this country and this world... and it just means so much to me.

(Do you have friends and family who support you in the movement?)

James: I do. I've met a lot of friends here in the Occupation. A lot of my friends and colleagues that I've known for years are very much in support of this movement. My 14-yr old daughter in Texas, until recently she was with Occupy Houston. My friends, family is very much supportive.

Lucas: My mother is very proud of me for being here. She was I the protests in the 60s, protested the Vietnam war. She found out I was in Zucotti Park on October 15th and she was proud of me, glad that I was safe and at the same time happy that I was able to find a good place to sleep at Zucotti Park on a bench. My father is also proud of me, he agrees with what the movement is doing, wants me to stay safe, at the same time he is more concerned than my mother is, she knows I can take care of myself. My dad always tells me, don't get arrested, don't get hurt, whenever I tell him I am at one of these protests.

I was at the Oakland blockade a few days ago, stayed there overnight till 3AM continuation of the blockade which was a stipulation of Occupy Oakland's general Assembly statement. It said that if there was any police violence against the protesters at the blockade itself, on the 12^th, then the blockade would be continued, and we did. As a punishment to the 1 percent for enacting police violence against other Americans.

Dani: Mi familia no es parte del movimiento, viven en una ciudad de Illinois que no tiene un Occupy, pero mi hermano, chico, de 16 agnos, es verdad, pienso que es chino, piensa que tiene que ser parte del movimiento igual que yo.

My family is not part of the movement, they live in a city in Illinois which doesn't have an Occupy, but my brother, younger, 16 years old, you know, I thnk it is cool, he thinks he has to be a part of the movement, like I am.