Occupy Orange County Rallies Support; Plans for Large Protest in Irvine

At least 39 people, many fed up with the death of the American dream, made their voices heard last night thanks to the magic of telephonic conferencing. People with degrees ranging from business management to graphic design, some struggling to find decent paying jobs in a dire economy, called in to discuss the best way to lend their talents to Occupy Orange County's efforts at staging multiple protests around the county in coming weeks.

Nanette Gonzales/LA Weekly

Occupy L.A., an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street protests, took place in downtown Los Angeles on October 1. Click here to see more images from the protest.

​The call, which lasted more than an hour was prompted by a Facebook announcement posted yesterday by the group which is loosely associated with similar groups currently operating in Los Angeles and New York.

The goal of the protests according to the call's moderator, D'Marie Mulatierri of Irvine, was for people in the land of citrus to stand in solidarity with New York activists operating under the banner of Occupy Wall Street. A recording of the 93-minute conference call in its entirety is temporarily available online here through October 8.

This past weekend, many East Coast rabble rousers were subject to mass arrests and seemingly unprovoked pepper spray attacks by police officers in New York City as they protested the collusion of government and corporate entities.

For more information on the movement, check out Weekly staffer Matt Coker's blog from yesterday.

@OccupyOC's Twitter user image

​And for those of you ripping up your old Dead Kennedys shirts to use as Molotov wicks, the goal is to keep things civil and peaceful. The discussion in last night's conference call focused on establishing various committees to handle protest logistics, communications and food services as well as to obtain permits.

"We need to figure out what's going to be allowed and not allowed," Mulatierri told callers. "This is a peaceful movement and we want to abide by the law as much as we can. I'd like to get through this without anybody getting arrested."

Though several Occupy Facebook pages have popped up announcing protests in numerous OC cities, it's unclear if they are all operating in concert. Last night, participants mentioned the possibility of holding protests in Anaheim, Fullerton, Santa Ana and Costa Mesa as well as Downtown Disney. The goal of these events is to garner attention in advance of October 15, also known as Global Revolution Day, when Occupy OC plans on holding a large protest in Irvine's financial district.

With videos on YouTube showing freshly peppered New Yorkers screaming in anguish, one has to wonder how Orange County's conservative enforcers might view a populist uprising, even if it is peaceful. Stay tuned.