With an army of affiliated photographers, Occupy Bernal (a shard of fractured Occupy SF) admired its own reflection Saturday, outside the private residence of Wells Fargo President & CEO John Stumpf in San Francisco.
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| Occupiers at Private Residence of Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf |
Self-styled "socialist worker" and Univ. of Illinois grad student, Julien Ball, led Occupiers in a "block party" (with show trial!) to "foreclose, auction and evict" Mr. Stumpf from his home in Russian Hill.
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| Activist Julien Ball with "socialist worker" megaphone |
Photographers equalled or outnumbered protesters, many sporting OccupySF buttons or paraphernalia, and joining the crowd for group shots.
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| Photographers in Thrall (1) |
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| Photographers in Thrall (2) |
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| Staged Group Shot at Crowd Peak |
The Ink Dried, People Died
Occupy Bernal paraded "victims" with placards prepared by grammatically challenged staffers.
In literature and their mock "foreclosure pre-auction testimony", Occupy highlighted three cases of bank abuse in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. Egregious, poignant tales of fraudulent overreaching? Not exactly.
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| Thomas German |
According to their own literaure:
- Former Navyman Thomas German bought his house in 1974. A few years ago, a fire "gutted" his home. Without adequate insurance, he financed repairs with an adjustable rate equity line of credit. After the interest rate reset, he cannot afford the payments and faces foreclosure.
- Alberto Del Rio, an adult with three children, lives with his family in the home he grew up in. The house is now in foreclosure, after his retired 55 year old mother ran up a large equity line of credit and stopped making payments.
- Maria and Washington Davila are tenants in a home owned by a Las Vegas resident who owns multiple rental properties she can't afford; the building in which they live is now in foreclosure.
Do any of these stories fit the narrative?
Bum Rush
Pre-event publicity said that Occupy would attempt to enter John Stumpf's personal residence to deliver a "foreclosure notice" and "eviction order". The residence, a multi-unit dwelling, was ready with a security detail.
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| Private Security |
As Occupy leaders approached the entrance, they were surrounded not by security, but by a mosh pit of adoring photographers.
Forming a human barrier, relaxed and cordial, the security detail denied permission to enter, but agreed to accept a package of papers.
Anticipating possible assault charges if they breached, Occupy decided to withdraw.
Photo Montage: The Characters of Occupy Bernal
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