It was the last night of the Boston University Sleep-In, a successful campaign so far. We were hoping to make something of it, over the regular benches and food menu, into a special new media/messaging event that no one could forget. View our progress online by following @Stepitup09: and our new petition to the Governor on http://change.org/.. Cold, dark, and windy sets the scene.
After reaching the quota of 350 petition signatures in a single night (gotta love that new media sesh!), there was a limit to what my mind could take. There was more work to do, and the 350 block print stencil (distributed free from http://350.org) kept coming to my mind. Somewhat dazed and super cold from the wind, I wake up again and get out my stencil set. It was almost time to leave for thanksgiving break.
My main problem was choosing to test out the stencil around the camp itself, in the GSU plaza floor and trees. The situation was light, and the stencils were turning out so good that I did not see the car roll up from behind Commonwealth Avenue. The officer said he had watched me tag one before approaching. Defacing public property is a serious offense.. all of a sudden there were eight of them. Pat me down, take keys and wallet and phone, read Miranda rights and cuffed. For those of you who haven’t been arrested, it is intense. Nothing quite prepares you for it. I had known it was going to happen sometime, but Oh! so close.
The cars pull out of the camp at 3:27, through the black misty night up to West Campus. I’m lead to my solitary room, where I’m chained and wondering what’s going to come next. They keep you in the dark on these things, and it’s better not to talk to them. When cops are angry, they’re not your friends. Actually the biggest icebreaker was my Che Guevara tattoo. “Revolutionary,” they said. This would come up later.
The biggest holdup at the jail, other than basics like prints and bail and a phone call (got a machine), was the wait for the court marshall to appear. Guy works on call hours, at 4:30 in the morning, he wasn’t going to be there until 6:30. Well, there goes my flight. First phone call. I doze and think away the hours, still in shock.
When help comes in the form of the marshall, we connect almost instantly. “Che Guevara, huh?” And I show him my tattoo. “He was a revolutionary leader, who united the poor of Latin America,” I say. He’s looking at my case. Maybe thanksgiving is getting to him early. And he turns to me and says, “Well, I might do something revolutionary, here. I know you have a plane leaving, so I’m going to let you go. Defacing public property is a misdemeanor offense, AND we’ll let the marijuana possession (just a pipe) slide here.” The court date would be set for sometime later. I could go to my plane: Standby at 7:55AM to Ohio.
It feels good to be home safe, and yet again escape with a peaceful citation. Ohio is a great place to be with family and dog, and clean energy movement is going to be STEPPING IT UP these next few weeks. Stay tuned for more information.
I have two new online profiles!
http://twitter.com/stepitup09
http://twitter.com/newentry
And my old blog (This is cross-posted from there: http://eddiemill.wordpress.com/)
Thanks for following! Any more questions??
eddiemill@gmail.com, 440-935-5434.
-Eddie Miller
The Leadership Campaign
