Rise (2008)
In the future, many of the city’s poorest are forced to live outside in the streets and under bridges. Families are separated at shelters and the police make raids on the street-dwellers. The city’s rulers only grow increasingly concerned with building an aesthetically idyllic city, complete with sky trains, floating walkways, and expansive highways that take them to other utopian metropolises at nearly the speed of light. Meanwhile, more and more of the poor are forced onto the street because of high living expenses even though they might hold a job.

One of the street-dwelling characters, UpWes, is a day away from giving a presentation to the city leaders when he is ransacked by the authorities and his notes are taken from him. These notes detailed plans for a green space where the homeless could live month by month, work in the community garden, and receive training on adapting to technologies.

Wait! Turns out this is not a science fiction dystopian movie at all, it’s a true story and it’s happening in Portland, Oregon right now. See below for further reading material.

I was recently disturbed by a comment I saw in a blog about the homeless protest. One commenter said that the homeless protesters were pathetic because they were just trying to be a hero by being arrested. I happen to know at least one of the people who were arrested that day at the protest. Even after all the other protesters had gone away and scattered, he has continued to work with a group called the United Poor People and they continue to protest at Portland’s City Hall. They meet daily to discuss their plans about obtaining a green space and to update each other on what is happening around the city. And they sit in every Wednesday at City Hall and give public addresses to Mayor Potter about what is happening to them, what they want, and what they need. They currently want a repeal of the sit and lie ordinance, which makes it illegal to sit and lie in public places downtown, and they are trying to lift camping laws. These are not thrill-seeking kids, these are committed and intelligent humans.

I have written more about this subject here, as it pertains to an art show that is installed at City Hall during the month of July, 2008. The art work is a series of posters that explain what the United Poor People want, and what they are up to. It’s directly outside the office of Sam Adam’s, who currently supports the sit and lie ordinance. The project was part of a show called Municipal Maneuvers and was put on by the Portland State University Art and Social Practice students.

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Further reading about the protests and the sit and lie ordinance can be found here:

Willamette Week – Protestors Dissatisfied After a Meeting with Mayor Potter
Portland Mercury – Sit and Lie Ordinance is a Terrible Idea and Unconstitutional
Ericmsteen blog – The United Poor People at City Hall during July
Willamette Week – Park Exclusions Laws Need Changing say City Hall Protestors
Willamette Week – Homeless Protestors Not Swept From City Hall as Expected
Portland Mercury – Police Arrest Protestors
Portland Independent Media Center
Portland Tribune