Community meeting

Neighborhood associations aren't all bad, assuming they are made up of residents instead of property owners, and they are strictly democratic. Keep it under Dunbar's number, and you can do a lot. Not everyone came to tonight's meeting, though. Obviously Chuckles and his supporters weren't invited, and several others wouldn't come because the meeting violates assembly 12. But we got a continuous block of houses, starting with ours and going six up the block, as well as the young couple across the street. Along with the 7 families, we've got friends from nearby and people who've been coming to see the gardens and learn. Oh, and my reformed ruffians and their families.

The rumor has been confirmed, the city plans to bulldoze the community garden tommorrow morning, supposedly before we wake up. (Hah! my mother is up before the sun to tend the chickens. You'd think they'd do some research.) Since this last few weeks have seen the community actually participate in the garden, It's become something pretty important beyond our use of it. Starting with the 3 young boys, several dozen people have come through, and I've stopped being a farmer and started being a teacher almost by accident. Everyday we've got a visitors come by to learn. Since it's the center of our new community and we depend on it to suppliment our food supplies, we're not going to let it go without a fight.

Several of the kids have agreed to camp out in the garden. It's like camping in the backyard. They've all got mobiles hooked up to our new neighborhood WLAN, and will call us at a moment's notice. My brother will be the adult with them, and while he's got his pellet rifle, he's not to display it. Basically, by having warm bodies inthe garden we won't be taken by surprise, and they can do a human wall.

Once workers are spotted, I'll be called in with the support group. At which point I'll inform the foreman that the trees are spiked. As the trees are ours, on land we have right to use, this is actually legal, though I may have to prove that in court. meanwhile, we're planning on making some human barrier barrels, the kind where you lock yourself to a 600 lb concrete barrel in such a way that you can't be removed without your cooperation. A know a guy through zombie squad who's going to get us gas masks and other anti-riot police gear. He's been studying this stuff for a while in preparation and wants to see what works. Also, everything will be openly recorded: the kids do so love their drones and every mobile has a camera dontcha know.

However, we know that if they really want to remove us, thay still can. So while some of us protect what we've got, the rest of us have to aggessively expand. We're already several steps into retrofitting everyone else's yards, so we'll finish that up, but we're also stepping up our guerilla gardening efforts around town. Our friends who live off our block are going to step up efforts in their own neighborhoods. And people have pledged to donate money and/or time for rebuilding or legal defense if required.

Lets see how it goes.