The story was told by a woman who served in the Army and went on to become a local schoolteacher. When the economy cratered, Jackie Rose said, her husband lost his job, the family lost its house, and then her husband was forced to move 3,000 miles away to find work.
"It's not the promise that was made to me," this military veteran told the Santa Rosa City Council last week.
Rose and dozens of others were speaking in support of Occupy Santa Rosa.
"These people are here because my story is their story," she said. "They don't know me, but they know my story."
As this is written, city officials and backers of a protest encampment at City Hall are trying to find a way to stand down without incident. No one (or at least not many people) wants a confrontation that could lead to arrests and violence. But the arrest of protesters at a nearby bank on Saturday testifies to the risks: When people are angry and distrustful, stuff happens.
The irony, at least in Santa Rosa, is that the City Council and protesters share the same view of the inequities that burden so many Americans today. Both sides agree the country has lost its way.
But they come to the table with different life experiences and different responsibilities.
City Council members are sworn to enforce laws that protect health and safety. If there is property damage or a person is harmed, who is to say someone won't pursue a claim — against a city already in financial distress?
Supporters of Occupy Santa Rosa, meanwhile, want to make a statement about the economic deprivations being visited on so many Americans. They think their cause is too important not to push the envelope — or at least to encourage others to push the envelope.
In this situation, it's not enough to have 18-hour-a-day demonstrations at City Hall. The protesters want to erect tents and sleep there as well.
And so here we are.
After more than two hours of public testimony — virtually all of it in support of Occupy Santa Rosa — the council rejected City Manager Kathy Millison's recommendation that the campers be told to leave by 6 a.m. Monday or face arrest.
Instead, Millison is scheduled to report back this Tuesday on negotiations that may or may not lead to the issuance of a temporary permit.
The sticking point remains the same: How long will the campers be permitted to stay?
The council decision last week came after a hearing that was, in turns, earnest and heartbreaking, angry and strange.
Some compare the Occupy Wall Street movement to Vietnam War protests, and the atmospherics are reminiscent of the '60s and '70s. There is the passion, the sloganeering, the counterculture vibe. It's not every day the council hears from witnesses who are barefoot.
But there are differences, too. The leadership of the anti-war movement was primarily young and college-educated. And the message was simple: Stop the war.
The Occupy Santa Rosa movement brings together a mix of people. In their ranks, there are young people anxious about their futures, middle-aged workers who have lost their jobs, the usual hometown activists and others who simply think it's time someone raised hell.
These groups arrive with a variety of grievances — multi-national corporations, banks, higher tuition, unemployment, foreclosures, unaffordable health care, environmental degradation, genetically modified food, government budget cuts.
Millions of Americans share the general outrage, but how does a movement build momentum when there is no clear objective or leadership? How do you even define success?
Near the end of last week's hearing, the student representative to the City Council, Allison Berk, offered her opinion. "I know how crucial and necessary change is," she said. "I know there are hard times ahead for so many people, myself included ... But I'm not sure that camping is the best way to handle it."
"This is the core of America. We have the responsibility to help you," Councilman Gary Wysocky told the protesters.
But, he added, "I don't think you need to camp out there all winter."
At week's end, the City Council seemed determined to be patient, even in the face of critics who want a crackdown. And the majority of protesters appeared to favor a compromise that would lead to a peaceful end to the encampment.
But no one knows if all of the protesters understand that being arrested for camping won't be confused with history's most celebrated acts of civil disobedience. With a group that resists the notion of designated leaders, it's not always clear who speaks for Occupy Santa Rosa.
In response to injustice, Gandhi and Martin Luther King confronted power. The city of Santa Rosa is not a multinational corporation, or a Wall Street bank, or Congress. It's just a city trying to do the best it can in tough times.
If the current standoff becomes a confrontation between protesters and police, everyone loses — except, of course, the guys who ran the country into the ditch in the first place. They will keep doing what they do, happy that the other 99 percent are busy fighting with one another.
Pete Golis is a columnist for The Press Democrat. Email him at golispd@gmail.com.
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