Emergency Assistance: Thank You Mary

Liquid Tide laundry detergent splatters into the puddle as the rain splashes down around the prancing homeless man, Jack, - his soggy shoes and clothing full of suds in scrubbing his hair and singing to the Occupiers under the awning of the Union Square subway. This is normal. But he is happy, if not a little warped in spirit. Sunday's New York Times had led with a story and photo of the blind Chinese dissident, Chen Guangcheng, arriving in Greenwich Village whilst coverage of the thousands of American dissidents who had descended on Chicago to protest the NATO summit went unnoticed by the mainstream media in a New York weekend that revealed sunshine, a 30 million dollar NYPD overtime expenditure for Occupy Wall Street, and the introduction of Robert Lederman, the artist/activist who was arrested over 40 times in NYC for display and sale of his art - living to not only beat all 40 charges, but to free city artists from needing permits or licenses to exercise their first amendment rights on public property in the city. This too is normal as the dichotomies of American civil liberties scale further to illuminate that the United States is a gargantuan quagmire of constitutional promise, police harassment and personal physical defense of our own rights in our own country on a daily basis.

And Mary sends me $250. Thank you Mary, because at the rate the government and financial concerns are taking Americans to the cleaners, we'll all need $250 every time an illegal summons is issued to citizens exercising their rights - like myself. Just two weeks after being arrested and having all my art and supplies confiscated by the NYPD, I lost the first round of my summons case for 'unlawful' vending claiming I was a protester and not a vendor, but unaware that the law had been made so specific so as to classify anyone who took money of any kind to be a vendor. I will appeal, but for now, the summons fine of $250 stands - so I went absolutely nowhere in now counting 3 weeks of police harassment. For the time being, Goliath wins.

Thank you America for continuing to encourage me to acquire meaningful work and contribute to society. What I have learned so far is that it would be much safer to work in a bank than to protest their slovenly business practices, because the way the law works currently, Occupy activists go to jail whilst thieving bankers get to stay out and have their businesses bailed out. So much for doing the right thing. 

Mary and I have not seen each other for maybe 10 years. She and I had worked in Korea in the advertising business, although never directly together. What we shared most professionally was the organization of a quarterly business diner call "Edmen" ('Admen' mistakenly spelled by a Korean hotel employee) that regularly brought together the far fewer than 20 senior professionals who worked together in Seoul at the turn of the millennium. It was fun. It was professional. It was hosted in a country where the police don't carry guns. We were allowed to smoke indoors. I miss that.

Meanwhile, the class war continues in America, even inside the Occupy movement. I had heard someone over the weekend describe the reason our media groups wanted the office in Brooklyn instead of Manhattan was that they "didn't want the homeless people showing up at the office". The homeless people. The people with which the Occupy movement was able to maintain a 24/7 standing army in a city park - thus bringing in nearly a million dollars in the fall of 2011- the people, or should we say soldiers, that gave the movement meaning, physical mass and millions upon millions of dollars of TV coverage so that the word Occupy could enter the global lexicon as a modern day battle cry against the greedy, the criminal and the immoral who seem to be driving way too much of the bus these days. The people, as in 'We the people' - but for many meaning, 'We the homeless people', as the number of Americans who do not make enough money to pay rent continues to increase. The people even Occupy doesn't want anymore. Sadly.

Today I've spent hours reading city law in regard to artists displaying their work in city public spaces. Sometimes it's amazing to bury oneself in good ole' American law to see how few real rights and liberties we really do have. But in Robert Lederman, at least artists have found a champion. Through his sixteen years of artistic activism he has not only made it possible for artists to display and sell their works in the city without permit or license, but even gone so far as to make it possible for you, yes you, to protest on the steps of the capital building in Washington D. C. without a permit. "Hmm. It's a protest against us", the government used to be able to say, "Permit denied!" But no longer. At the close of this post I'll return mail to Robert Lederman on my 3 open cases regarding police harassment and blatant disregard for our first amendment rights - to see how I can beat these things. It is indeed good to know I'm not going into these battles alone. Thank you Mary, and Robert and all who follow and support me. I've been complimented recently for being of extraordinarily good mood and character considering the real severity of many of my circumstances and I am lucky - I chalk a lot of that up to proper prioritization. So long as I can put my creatives muscles to work everyday, that goes a long way to keeping me happy - only after that can I work on making sure I make a proper living out of it. Living art.

Emergency Assistance: Thank You Alex

Arrest me before I 
can speak freely. 

On 27 April I was arrested for being a participant in Occupy Wall Street. You can read that story here. As I was in police custody and working to secure my release, the NYPD raided the Occupy camp at Union Square and confiscated my personal rolling luggage as 'unattended' amongst other group property. That story is here. Inside that luggage was all the paint, brushes and supplies I use to make protest signs for the movement, and to collect donations that support my and the work of the movement. In one day, in a completely illegal arrest of an individual and theft of his personal belongings, a person was not only accused of crimes not committed, but denied the ability to support himself in his attempts to exercise his (and your) first amendment rights. And what's left of middle class America tucks in the kids and settles down to a hot cup of Nestle's cocoa, secure in the fact that the American dream is alive and well and the grass will still need cutting on Saturday. Or maybe not.

On Monday, 2 May, the New York Times reports NYPD Arrest Units, using old bench warrants for misdemeanor crimes, entered the homes of Occupy participants and woke them up in an attempt to disrupt May Day activities and provide surveillance on the Occupy movement. Was that part of the dream?

And the beat goes on. Thank you Alex for helping me rebuild after my attack by the NYPD. Never did I suspect, in my return to America from an expat life, that the banks would now be able to rob people and that the people would now need to defend themselves from the law enforcement officials who are supposed to be protecting them from the other people who used to rob the banks. A bad dream at best.

Alex sent me $100 and reports: "I know this will go to a good cause". 

NYPD: "Duh"

In my quest to retrieve my stolen personal property, I have now logged 4 days at 4 different police locations but have yet to see a single item. I am told that it does indeed exist and have even seen some items on a computer printout but absolutely nothing has been returned to its rightful owner, yet. Here's the routine so far:

Friday, 27 April, 10pm:

-  Arrested 7am - taken into custody

-  1 black rolling luggage cart removed from Union Square

Saturday, 28 April, 9am:

-  Visit Precinct 13 to pick up personal items from arrest - inquire about luggage cart/contents

-  No luggage cart found - told to inquire with Officer who took items

Sunday, 29 April, 3pm:

-  Interview Officer Lombardo - in charge of property impound at Union Square

-  Told property would be at the 7th Precinct and to check there

Monday, 30 April, 4pm

-  Arrive Precinct 7 - ask about property

-  Told no record existed. Need officer's badge # and precinct. Say, "Lombardo". They say they don't know Lombardo - send me away. "Try 1 Police Plaza", downtown. Extremely unhelpful.

Tuesday, 1 May

-  May Day march from Bryant Park to Union Square to Wall Street to Bull - Big success - not a good day to visit police stations

Wednesday, 2 May

-  Heavy rain, no travel

Thursday, 3 May

-  Heavy rain, no travel

Friday, 4 May, 2pm

-  Arrive at 1 Police Plaza - helpful friendly admittance, two very helpful officers at computer let me view the screen as we search first for Lombardo - found, search for lost property report - found, search for individual items: Interesting. At this point the officers determine that once found, my large black rolling luggage cart was emptied and the individual contents each logged with a catalogue number. My luggage cart has been sent to a warehouse in Long Island City, whilst the individual items have been mixed in with all items from the day and are at Precinct 7 - will need to visit both.

-  The officers print out 4 sheets listing some of my belongings and direct me to Precinct 7. They advise me to be very nice with people there and I will get my things.

-  5pm - Arrive at Precinct 7. Another Occupier is just receiving his belongings after 2 1/2 hours because the staff cannot figure out how to get a working printer on the network for property. A very nice civilian lady is just leaving for the day, but she checks my sheet, checks the property room, and then tells me that indeed, my items are there. I am advised to come very early in the morning, and retrieve the items, before they are sent to Police Plaza 1, back downtown.

Saturday, 5 May, 8am

-  Arrive at Precinct 7. Am almost immediately told that nothing would happen and that property could only be retrieved on Monday - Friday, from 8 - 5. Officer looks at my paper and asks where I got it. When I say Police Plaza 1, he looks surprised, as if they weren't supposed to give me that.

-  On the paper are listed POM, Craig Goodwin from the 105th Precinct as Invoicing officer, SGTs Jay Garcia and Quentin Fox from the 7th as Approval officers - yet the staff on this day wants nothing to do with any of this. Best to die and come back another day.

Again. Thank you all for your help. I had a thought this week that I should start a Kickstarter project called "Help Me Beat The NYPD". With it I would make a blog and documentary film that follow my arrest trial along with my efforts to retrieve my artwork stolen by the NYPD. Let me know what you think of that project, and what amount you think would be sufficient for funding.

  

Emergency Assistance: Thank You Melissa

On Wednesday, just hours after my post for emergency assistance, I received a PayPal notice of deposit for $50 from a woman I had not heard from in years. It was the first help I've seen since my illegal arrest and the confiscation of my property by the NYPD last Friday. The next day, I received the following note: 

"I've been keeping up with your journeys via your blog and various updates that you do such a great job of putting out across the social media spectrum. Bravo! Your journalism is both candid and captivating. I'm terribly sorry to hear of the arrest and loss of your of supplies. I hope that I was able to help in some way. What you're doing takes some real balls and I absolutely admire that."

Demand #4623

And Melissa and I have never met. A few years ago, while I was living in Vietnam, Melissa had been referred to me by a colleague for some assistance in helping her secure an internship at my alma mater, Leo Burnett - so my job was to be a virtual mentor of sorts. Melissa never got that job and I never became the President of America but we've both gone on to Occupations that suit our talents and places in life. Melissa occupies a 9-5 insurance job in Las Vegas and I occupy New York City in hopes of bringing positive social change to a world that greatly needs it. Yet our missions are the same. Contrary to many people's beliefs, the Occupy movement is not anti-capitalism,  but it is anti-irresponsible capitalism. And contrary as well to conventional wisdom, occupiers may not have conventional jobs, but they definitely have a collective Occupation. With well over 12 hours a day invested in Occupy over the last 8 months, my being arrested by the NYPD has signaled that I am so constant an Occupier and so resilient an artist that I have now become a threat. And generally, this is a good thing. That means that I am doing very, very well at my job. Rarely a day goes by at Union Square that I am not approached by the 9-5 class and given thanks for doing a job that they are not able to do. And that job is to raise awareness about the issues that affect humankind the most - Economic justice - The right to a job and home - and non-profit healthcare for all.

Without the 9-5 Melissas and others out there, Occupy could never survive - but together we can continue to reshape and control the destiny that is our lives and the lives and futures of our children, grandchildren and beyond. Long live this Occupation. And thank you again Melissa.

Emergency: Donations Needed - After Arrest, NYPD Steals My Business, Belongings and Portable Home

Scene of no crime

As per my previous story on being arrested on the morning of April 27th, that day, while I was in police custody, officer Lombardo and crew raided the OWS (legal) encampment on 15th Street and confiscated not only our OWS donations box, but my personal belongings in the form of a rolling suitcase containing all my artwork, supplies, paints, brushes, clothing and a Lumix camera I had been given as a gift. When confronted by OWS supporters objecting to the removal of the luggage, the officer responded, "That guy was arrested this morning - so his stuff is 'unattended'. Haul it." So in the space of one day, the NYPD not only arrested me illegally, but confiscated both my business and my home in one rolling cart. Somehow, I'm sure America is safer for this:)

To restart my sign-painting business, replace my camera and regain my rolling home, I am again soliciting donations (many of you helped me with a phone earlier this year). Yes, I find it deplorable that our law enforcement officials are being actively aggressive towards the homeless and in my case, even taking the small supplies that I use to make my income. Denying a man a home is one thing. Denying him the right to work is quite another - that denies him the right to better his life.

Please help fight this injustice and contribute liberally to this cause. A recent comment to my post, "Arresting Developments" stated, "You make us all proud, David. We can't all be there, but you're a terrific surrogate." With that sentiment, please understand two things:

1) I have been homeless since September 11, 2011.

2) I am on the front line fighting against economic injustice every day with Occupy Wall Street in New York since September 18th, 2011.

Please use the PayPal donation button in the left sidebar and help me survive to fight again another day.

Arresting Developments

Street Graffiti 

On Friday, April 27th, I was arrested by the NYPD for essentially, being an Occupier. When asked why I was being arrested, officer Kevin Wahlig said, "I don't know, a couple of things. We'll discuss it on the way to the station." Not until much later in the day before my arraignment in court was I aware of the actual charges and I was never read my rights. Stated as (1) Disorderly Conduct and (2) Resisting Arrest, I found the charges interesting in that my conduct was one of sleeping on the sidewalk and my resistance to arrest was premeditated in the officer's mind, well before I was actually arrested. It seemed immediately that preparations for disrupting Occupy's May Day plans were underway.

According to a 2000 court order from the New York State Supreme Court, sleeping is protected as a form of "public expression", so I couldn't possibly being arrested for that, could I? Well, not legally, but if my sleeping was disorderly I suppose I could be cited (funny just thinking about that - "You hogged all the  covers so now you're under arrest!").

My Occupation

The police had come at 6:30am to wake up a host of Occupiers sleeping across the street from HSBC and helping Max in his vigil to highlight the plight of the homeless. I had awaken but fallen back to sleep due to a succession of rainy days and need of sleep. Waking me a second time no less than four officers were in charge of me with Wahlig taking the lead. As I prepared to collect my things and began putting on my shoes I was asked for my ID which I produced and continued packing up. Asking for my ID back was when I was told I was being arrested, so I immediately reached for a cigarette (knowing I wouldn't have one all day) and began to light it - but that set the four officers off in a flurry of trying to grab my hands to handcuff. Arms pulled behind me, entirely too much force was used to detain a 143lb man and the cuffs wrenched so tightly my left wrist was bruised and cut - my body pushed around and manhandled as if they needed to create a scuffle to make it look like something was happening. But nothing was happening except another routine illegal arrest of a member of Occupy Wall Street.

Sign of the times

Since the beginning of Occupy on September 17th, 2011 over 17 million dollars have been spent in NYPD overtime, policing a non-violent movement and over 2200 arrests have been made according to the National Lawyers Guild. I wonder how much it costs to arrest a homeless man for sleeping? Whatever the cost, it's too much taxpayer money that could be going to creating jobs and alleviating the homeless problem in the US, but in NYC it seems no amount is too much when it comes to funding the police department. Earlier in the week I overheard an officer say, "I hate Occupy but I love the overtime". Great. That's your tax dollars at work, harassing citizens, suppressing free speech and taking us yet one step closer to a police state - with officers just making up the laws as they go. At Occupy though, we see the NYPD overreaction as a measure of our success. Only if we are truly a threat to the status quo would they react with the brute force and numbers that they have.

My day proceeded with being handcuffed and thrown into a van, not able to take my rolling cart with all my artwork and clothing in it. So I left it with my fellow Occupiers, sure that they would keep an eye on things and I could pick it up later - but that would not be the case either. Once at the station I was relieved of my personal belongings, finger-printed, retnal-scanned and pitched into an empty cell. With no other customers that morning I was doing all I could to keep Precinct 13 alive and buzzing with the smell of a fresh kill. This crime fighting stuff is indeed a serious business.

An hour at the precinct and I was transferred downtown in a van to what is referred to as Central Booking. It's basically a city jail and as opposed to the rules at the precinct where I was required to remove my belt so I didn't hang myself from the shame of my charges, I kept my belt, wallet and ID and was put in a large cell with 10 or so other prisoners - and if one had to judge the state of criminal activity by this lot, it might be assumed that we were all living on Sesame Street. One guy was in for "moving cardboard" in an attempt to arrange a warm sleeping spot for himself. Another for DWI, of which he seemed totally capable, and yet another for short paying a cabbie claiming the guy ripped him off by driving a longer route. No axe murderers, armed robbers or drug dealers. Unless prisoners are arranged by the severity of their crimes it seemed this early morning crew of primarily black and hispanic customers were doing nothing but giving the cops a way to keep their operations budget and make the monthly arrest quota with just days to spare.

Hours passed and we were served dry bread with a piece of cheese on it for lunch at noon. Hours more passed and we were served another two pieces of dry bread with cheese on it for dinner at six - and by this time, very few people had been processed through to arraignment. So we were basically sitting around with our thumbs up our butts comparing charges - all misdemeanors. Finally, a number of us were moved to another cell to be able to speak with our respective attorneys. We were transferred by chain gang, all handcuffed together and began, one by one, to have short meetings with our public defenders. Outside we could hear both the police statements of events and the accused accounts. During the DWI guy's meeting we could hear the attorney speaking on the phone with the guy's wife who was downstairs posting bail for her husband. "She wants to know if there's a bar in the building", the attorney said, "While she waits for you to get out". Funny, this 'he and she' separated by phone and crossbars, seemed the perfect couple for the times.

My attorney had been arranged by the National Lawyer's Guild and came prepared to hear the trumped up charges. Representing the Legal Aid Society who had been retained by NLG to handle an overflow of cases (Of the over 2200 arrests made of Occupiers, nearly 700 from the Brooklyn bridge march back in October are now finally going to trial) currently going through the system, he recommends that we fight the charges instead of taking a plea bargain that would drop them after six months if I remained out of trouble. Now knowing the police can just make up charges whenever they want, I didn't feel confident that I could keep out of jail until then, and with any other arrests, even bullshit ones, I would be looking possibly guilty on the standing charge - and so I agree with my council and decide to fight. It's a no-brainer since we're now seven months into  the battle anyway. Methinks it's time to start winning.

Up In The Air

Arraigned and out before 9pm, I make my way back to Union Square only to find that the police had harassed and raided the Occupy tables there and confiscated my rolling cart with the rest of my clothing and all of my street art business (Signs illustrated in photos here). Eye witness reports of Officer Lombardo from the 7th precinct rolling away my cart are plentiful and I have photography and video of the heist. Now I was not only homeless, but jobless by nature of harassment and theft by the NYPD. It seems once one is down, the procedure is to keep them there and I can assure you, the police are doing their best to oppress the less well-armed. Today I was asked if I ever thought I would get the bag back. "I don't know", I responded. But I can guarantee you, once I get back in the business of making those clever protest signs, I have a whole new target to aim fun at. It's generally a bad idea to piss off those who can write and draw:)

It's time the NYPD is outed and rightfully disrespected for the childish and boorish organization they have become - arresting the developments of a society that has had quite enough of the rich getting richer while the poor become continually poorer. I have not yet begun to fight.

iPhone Phund Now Phulfilled. Thanks Rich!

And boy, am I glad that's over - and I'm sure you are too. Throughout it all (muggings, etc.) I had people with iPhones complaining that I didn't need one for work - but somehow they did. Funny how some people think their jobs are more important than mine. And people who didn't have iPhones, but should have, complaining too - some even in the advertising and design business who didn't know what QR codes were or how to read them with a smartphone. In any case, too many people complaining that I was asking for a seemingly high-end product. But in the end, the greater number of friends and supporters who sent positive messages, financial help and general good vibes won out. Thank you Freya, Pete, Sylvia, Kim, John, Mary and Rich for all your care and spirit. Mission accomplished.

Occupy Wall Street Returns to Union Square

Photo: Julia Reinhart

Welcome drummers and clowns and street performers of all varieties - and yes, real activists and protesters too. And with the six month anniversary for OWS on March 17th at Zuccotti park, Occupy was back in business - until the cops kicked them out again on that Saturday night. The Raw Story covers things here with police violence marking the otherwise peaceful protests and bringing back to mind the government oppression of the last days at Zuccotti Park. And so after a full day on the 17th I left at midnight, only to see the protesters physically removed later on TimCast's livestream and an OWS move to Union Square. 

Capt. Ray Lewis

Monday I arrived at Union Square to a more than festive atmosphere. It was like the police had given OWS a gift - a new park to haunt. Befuddled park rangers and police tried their best to deal with a morning crowd, much more spirited than they might have been used to, but somehow in their eyes, you could see they were just waiting for word from above to drop the hammer yet one more time on the Occupy movement. Captain Ray Lewis, a retired Philadelphia police officer was there, just as he had been at Zuccotti, and a whole new generation of New Yorkers seemed to delight in the idea that the fun had finally reached their neighborhood. Occupy was back. At least in spirit.

Throughout the week, police presence had increased and on Tuesday night, the ritual of barricading the place, a Zuccotti staple of American freedom, had returned. But this time, it was the police barricading themselves into a small portion of the park and forcing the protesters onto the sidewalk, a legal sleeping area in NYC, to look back on the cops and taunt them from the outside. A video of protesters "Cop fishing" with a donut shows the Occupy movement has still not lost its sense of humour. Later in the week, I designed the logo above, based on the idea that people were trying to Trademark the Occupy Wall Street concept but didn't have a logo. I thought this solved the problem nicely - to sort of occupy the legal concept of owning intellectual property. It seems things will just get more interesting as this American spring gets under way.

SXSWi: Homeless Hotspots - All The Rage Until the Geeks Go Home

Well, the media have weighed in on the Homeless Hotspots program at SXSWi, so now it's my turn - and I have two problems with this program, after having read a great deal of the both negative and positive press on the initiative and also having substantial experience in the advertising business. I know the work of agency Bartle Bogle Heggarty (BBH) well and they are amongst the most creatively respected agencies in the world, but this effort generated far more negative press than it needed to for two reasons:

#1) Objectifying the Homeless 

Why call it 'Homeless Hotspots' unless you're trying to 'guilt' people into participating? Why not 'Human Hotspots' or 'Helpful Hotspots' or anything that doesn't make a homeless person wear a t-shirt that calls attention to their disadvantage? Would we have paraplegics wear shirts with the website address if the alliteration works? Simply branding it differently would have taken the negative aspect away and then made it an actual pleasant surprise when you found out it was really staffed by out of home participants who were making a buck in a way that they might not have otherwise. 


#2) Lack of Homeless Creative/Management

On LinkedIn we have a nice LMSW with Social Service provider Front Steps defending the program who certainly doesn't look homeless. She's actually paid, a lot in homeless terms, to work with the homeless. She goes to an office everyday and has a computer and a phone and gets a paycheck every two weeks - even though she works for a 'non-profit' funded by grants and public monies . And then there's BBH. If you've watched Mad Men or know anything about the advertising business you know their business environs can be funky but far from homeless. But what you don't see is any homeless person in the management or creation of the program. As described, it was cooked up by the agency, presented to Front Steps and then administered by Ms. Fowler there. But it's like the days before we had any black quarterbacks. I don't see any homeless people on the front lines, the directing lines, the throwing lines. Why not? We'll they're homeless, right?

What is missed in virtually all the programs to 'help the homeless' is that the problem in America is, that it is impossible to afford housing if you work a minimum wage job and in Texas, a 'Right to Work' (intentional misnomer) state, the minimum wage is just $7.25 . Poor Mr. Clarence, a Homeless Hotspots participant, lost his home to hurricane Katrina but it doesn't seem the government has been able to help him regain his home after a natural disaster aided by ill-maintained national infrastructure took it away. And FEMA? Who knows how they didn't help him. Instead, he's moved to Austin to do this, for a week.

Instead of programs to 'rehabilitate' or otherwise 'cure' or 'help' the homeless it might be more helpful to involve people affected by the syndrome and ask them what they want and how they think they might get there. I doubt that wearing propeller beanies and selling rides at the fair will be on their list. They might think that having an actual job and being able to afford a home are the most important things to them.

iPhone Phund Now Up $450. Thanks Mary

And so we're almost there. Thank you Mary for $100. Mary and I made our first television commercial together in 1984, or rather, we both worked for an advertising agency that made commercials for clients. We were not in the actual spot. Thank God. But we had this wild gay client who wanted us to spend a lot of agency money, arguably his money, on making him happy in LA. And so we did. We also did a complete survey of local convenience stores and hot tubs and spent some time riding a conveyor belt, upstairs and down  in one, searching for the toilet. Are these the kind of stories you want to hear homeless people telling - about their exploits in LA not being homeless? Of course not. But fuck you. What you would know about being homeless or fucking about in LA could fill a thimble. And that's not the point here anyway. The point here is that the face of homeless has changed. Changed drastically. And although you may believe that TV commercial making/conveyor belt riding people should, simply by their virtue of being complete twats, be homeless, then so be it. We have lives too you know. We are you. You just don't know it yet.

How much does it cost to be homeless?

"You have $400 USD coming so you can adjust your thermometer and perhaps get to work...book references that prove the thesis. I dont agree that you need an I phone to get a job and I really dont want to debate this...I really dont care what you do with the 400...none of my business..."

And so began last week, the promise of some small work, a contract to write a book, and a promised retainer that never showed up. By Wednesday, I had not heard that the money had been sent and so, sent a follow-up note. In response, I was told that the job had been cancelled and would never happen - a book the supposed author had already registered a website for and sent me an outline, contract and several detailed notes about.  "So what happened?" you ask? Well, quite simply, he reneged. Or more, quite possibly, didn't have his head screwed on properly in the first place.

And then there was the aside about the phone. "How is it that a homeless person needs an iPhone to get a job?" is the seemingly logical question asked by many as this apparently cheeky monkey writes a blog and begs for money for a high end phone.

So let me give it to you straight. Let me state this case for the last time and hopefully get this over with - what the appropriate technology is for communicating these days and what is expected of a potential employee when they show up for the job interview.

In the Beginning

US Debt in 10 years

On September 11th, 2011, I flew back to the US after having worked 16 years overseas - part for a US corporation, 6 years at my own company, and the remainder as an independent consultant, educator and speaker. I have worked in advertising and marketing and continue, when possible, to do that to this day. I have a university degree, have been a Vice President for a major multi-national and had started my own business overseas to reasonable success and industry accolades. But if you needed a personification of what the term "global economic recession" has meant, I would also be that - a person who has been directly affected by the financial meltdown of the past 10 years. And no, I don't mean only since the current round beginning in 2007 but of the round that began on 9.11.01 - the round that saw America divert its more than substantial resources towards wars in the world as opposed to growing the country in an organic and sustainable way. Following 9/11 you'l find a distinct downturn in the economy in general, coupled with a steady rise in US Debt (Source: Robert Kientz). Yes, there was a brief economic upturn before 2007, but brief. And then, complete hell. This is what caused me to return from overseas and seek work here. I had already lost my company, had no means of real support any longer and needed to re-enter the US and see if I could put all my now considerable international experience to work towards a real life again. Enough of all this American duress, this hopelessness. I could do better, couldn't I?

Re-entry

Before returning I poured through any number of emails from friends telling me to stay away and even countered a US Consulate employee asking me if there wasn't anything I could do to stay abroad. The prognosis for America's welcome home was not good at all. And so I knew that. But I came anyway. The offer from the US State Department was that I could have a loan for the ticket home, and then be able to borrow up to $500 for the first three months back in country. But turned out not to be true. Within a week of my return I realised that the US government was in the business of not giving me the loan for the extra $1500 - in fact they were actually paying a subcontractor, Heritage Health and Housing, to flat out lie to me and keep me from collecting on a law that guaranteed that loan for me. And so I was deposited into a shelter, and began as a ward of the state in a system that has been described in Kim Hopper's book, Reckoning With Homelessness, as " the new temporary bivouac for the 'reserve army' of the new industrialized capitalist order". Interesting. But not a 'home' at all. A prison it would turn out to be. A prison that I had voluntarily turned myself in to with the promise of something totally different.

Instituitionalisation

"You will be up at 6 and out by 8. You will be back by 10 and if you're not, we will give your bed away to another and you will sleep on the street. You will line up for cold meals and stand in line for the one elevator we have for 400+ men. You will not have computers or internet access and we will routinely inspect your room and locker at will. We will post guards at every corner in your home. You will have snail mail only and be able to do laundry, maybe, on the weekends. You will be scanned by a metal detector and guards on entry every day". 

This is homeless shelter life, Chapter 1, my life at Bellevue. Chapter 2 tells you that you must leave the building all day and since you have no money, will need to wander the streets or go to the library for something to do. You could also hang out at Grand Central station. But in short, you will be institutionalised in much the same way that we control criminals, "Because you are one", they say. Because any man in America not capable of pulling his own weight will be judged a threat to society - and this is exactly what the government system communicates to you. It took me less than one week to figure this out. But it took me two months to get out.

The "Back to Work" Program

Ask the electorate what to do about all these indigent "homeless" bums in America and they will say quite simply, "Put them back to work". But wait, the reason there is insufficient work in America is arguably the fault of the government - of lax regulation and a bailing out of the institutions who caused the problem in the first place, right? Doesn't matter. If there's one thing government regales in it's in shifting responsibility elsewhere - so to make this jobless problem go away, we'll outsource it. My "Back to Work" program agent was called CEC. Career Educational Consultants, as if the reason I didn't have a job in the first place was that I needed to be "educated" in just as to how to do that. But no matter. According to my case workers and the shelters I was required by law to participate in this program. Another program modelled on the prison industrial complex.

You will punch in on the clock, and after that you will wait in line for possibly one hour to manually check in at your class, after which he will give you a ticket to get out and go look for clothing so you can then go look for a job. This will eat up three weeks if you can swing it. Then you will be given a case worker and a job counselor, neither of which will have any fucking idea what's really going on with you. Then, if you're unlucky or unruly, you'll get Mr. Rivers. He runs the computer lab and is an ex-Marine - a man now on a 30+ year military pension +SS and doing this for extra money. "In at 9, break at 10, out for lunch at 12, back at 1, break at 3 and out by 4:50", he says. And if you got all that right, you'd be lucky to get 4 solid hours on one of his raggedy old computers to actually look for work. And and don't bring your own computer. I was told they were not allowed - that they were illegal inside the program. And yes, the director of the program told me that. Hmm. I wonder if he's ever looked for a job.

Why to Occupy?

And in the middle of all that madness, I found Occupy Wall Street. The most rational explanation of why all this government lunacy was what it was. Because things were not right. Because my unemployment was not because of me. Because the 1% had actually started to eat away at the 2% - because I was told at one point in time that I had actually arrived in the top 2% of American income.

"And I should feel sorry for you? And I should help you buy a fucking iPhone?" you ask? Well, it's an option honestly - because if I view you as "the American people", you've obviously let some much worse shit fly under your radar this season so this shouldn't be the largest imposition you've been saddled with recently. Geez mates, buck up. Get a spine. Can't you see what you've been fed? This rubbish? This Obama/Geithner/Paulson/FED/Goldman Sachs fucking bullshit rubbish? Or maybe not. I dunno. In my case, Occupy was the only logical conclusion to having my own government brand me as a criminal, just for wanting a job. Fuck em'. I can do this all on my own.

Out Of the Frying Pan

I moved out of the shelter on November 3rd, just short of my 2 month anniversary. Thank God. And I have never looked back. I was fortunate to be able to build a teepee on Wall Street, or damn close. Will somebody please tell me how whacked that is? It's way whacked. And it's way cool. By any number of barometers. And so I began to live on my own, first at Occupy in Zuccotti Park and then at a succession of churches and then currently, with a friend who lets me take a sliver of floor in a back room and lets me use this computer. Thank God, or somebody - because my family has been out of the mix since the beginning. Don't ask. I was adopted anyway, so it seems their thought that I was basically, redundant, at birth. And that's sad. Fucking sad, the way our society treats people. Like miscreants needing rehabilitation. The extras. If we could just make them go away. And so I have - at least away from the institutionalised method of things.


iPhones and the Logic of the Modern World

If you could boil the modern world down into one icon, it might be the iPhone. The embodiment of Steve Jobs, a contemporary genius, that was, before we crucified him in the press and vilified him as a man who just didn't get it, and installed Bill Gates as the current chancellor of American "Conventional Wisdom" - that is, until the conventional failed to work and the unconventional seemed novel.  Enter Jobs. Modern rennaissance man. Rugged individualist. Malcontent. In black jeans. What the perfect foil - to allow America to claim credit for him, after a life of being messed about - slapped like a pestering bug. Almost politely asked to go away. But he wouldn't. But there's a lot of him in that phone that everyone wants. Including me.


And that phone is not just a phone. It reads that code above. That QR code that takes you precisely to my Facebook page. Whoooh, the anonymous blogger being unmasked by technology. Well, not if I don't want to. And so now I want to. Why? Because that's the world. And if I'm in an interview with someone about a digital advertising job and they throw that at me and I have a vintage Motorola, I will look like an idiot. It's not about the money, it's about the technology - and whether I get it or not. NOT - if I have a shitty phone. So that's the story, Marsha and Soren and Susan and all the other people who have given me shit for being homeless and wanting a high tech phone. That's how it works today. And by their help so far, I understand how much, or not, they get it.


"Oh Lord, Won't You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz"


To be homeless these days costs thousands. Really. Thousands, or tens of or hundreds of to get into but tens to get out of. Plus whatever the pain I've illustrated above. Do the math. Weekly expenses, computers, phones and food. And if any of you can do the math that comes up with less than $10,000 to get out you're an idiot - or at worst, poor at the maths. The government estimates they spend $38,000+ a year supporting "homeless" people. Rubbish. Most of that is going to the profit making complex that's been built around the market. So give me 1/2 of that. I can budget - and easily come out with better than the government number.


But don't tell me how to do something, or how much you think it will cost, or any of that rubbish. You don't know - and if you think you do, I'd more than happily invite you to attempt it along with me - but you buy your own food, okay?


So that's the story. Please donate at will or not. And realise, that If really didn't want to get back to work, I wouldn't be doing all of this - it's not good for the resume, as you might understand. Having that phone is lifeblood for me and to all those people who think I can do it on a $35 dollar phone? Fuck em'. I'll give them a $35 phone when they're up shit's creek and see how they do. I'm sure it will make a damn fine paddle.