Occupy takes Eugene property: 'The bank is just sitting on this house'
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EUGENE Ore. -- Having been recently displaced from the courthouse plaza, some members of Occupy Eugene moved onto an abandoned downtown property on Friday.
Occupy Eugene said they are staking out on the soon to be bank-owned property at 12th and Lawrence as a protest against America's housing crisis.
One of the protesters inhabiting the property, Scott Fife, said that the public has a right to be there in spite of the house being privately owned.
"It's a public property because we bailed out the banks ... and the banks are just sitting on this house." said Fife. "It's creating a detriment to the neighbors."
The property was abandoned over a year and a half ago and is in the process of foreclosure. Shortly after it was abandoned neighbors said that people began breaking into the house, making noise at night and leaving trash around the yard.
This prompted neighbors to get a trespass letter on file with the Eugene Police Department. KVAL News contacted EPD about the letter, which they said had expired.
In cases like this the police department said that they usually get complaints from neighbors, which they follow up with a call to the property owner. The property owner then has to tell the police that the person is a trespasser.
Until someone with a legal interests in the property makes a complaint, the protesters are not criminally trespassing and EPD cannot make a move. Provided that no other laws are being broken on the property.
Neighbors told KVAL news that they were delighted to have the protesters cleaning up the property and protecting the property from further harm.
"It is absolutely a good thing because it's keeping the people people who care here, and keeping the people who were abusing the place away." said Lisa Arkin, who works across the street.
Fife, who has a home of his own in Eugene, said that Occupy will inhabit the abandoned property unless they are kicked off.
"We're not looking for a place to squat. We are looking fro a place to keep clean, we are looking to raise awareness." Fife said.
So now the OCCUPY movement is actually HELPING the BIG BANKS by cleaning up and then guarding this house from squatters?   That's so funny  I almost spit coffee all over my screen!   The brain trust the occupy folks demonstrate is really helping their cause among those of us who actually work hard to make society run.... WHAT A BUNCH OF TOOLS!
None of the comments seem to indicate that anyone commenting understands the foreclosure crisis. Â Maybe you should do a little research. Â Also, all the people occupying this yard have homes elsewhere; they are not squatting. Â Can you think of a better way to spend your free time than to work in a worthy social cause? Â They are not doing this for themselves, they are doing this for all those who have been crushed by the banks.
@paysattention so why not clean up schools or churchs,city parks, public toilets,wash cop cars and the list goes on ..No your just looking for attention and this abandon house was and is your stage=)
West Wind, SkinnersGhost... you've both just shown up today, you've only commented on this article, and all you're doing is harassing people. Occupiers or just Occupy supporters? (:
Yeah just wait for the rest of the loosres to get wind of the camp then the cops will be a getting involved,the good
loosers set it all up and the bad loosers just screw it all up=) go figure right.
 @IAMHIGH If you read the story, the "bad" people were there first and the "good" people are already keeping them at bay.
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Even if you're high, as your nick suggests, you should be able to get your reading comp up to the level of this article. If not, you've had way way too much.
@SkinnersGhost @IAMHIGH and it started the same way down at the Washington Jefferson park , people wanting to make a point( which i am up on my reading thank you very much) and the bad element came a knocking!! and if your dumb enough to bevieve that the exact same thing won't be going your high and welcome to the club=)
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@West Wind do hate all humans or just the ones you think you can bully? take it easy ok!
it just a fun place to comment but you know this right ....Bully=)
U R 2 twisted 2 talk 2! Bully???
How does squatting in a vacant home = a protest against the housing crisis? And how do they have a right to be there? Just a bunch of homeless losers who chose to be homeless.
 @givupongod You do know that most protesters are normal people from all walks of life... right???
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And how does it make a protest, well it got talked about, even by you. By the time you're talking about it, it should be pretty obvious to you what makes it a protest.
 I thought we were talking about the occupy protesters. Not most protesters. Specifically the occupy crowd that just left/wore out their welcome at the federal building.Â
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 @West Wind Please educate me. I am not sure what I did not comprehend. But it would not be the first time.
 @West Wind Nice to see you deleted the post where you said "inglish." LMFAO.
I'd normally be just enraged that Occupy has decided to mess with private property... but since the bank is auctioning it off in October, all the occupiers have really managed to do is help out Bank of America. They've cleaned it up, which will likely mean a slightly higher auction price, and now they're guarding the property from vandals, further protecting the bank's assets. It's HILARIOUS. I'm surprised BoA hasn't sent them a list of all the properties they're going to be auctioning off.
 @PleaseBeSmart Unless the property owner has asked you to be outraged, you'd just be coveting somebody else's property with your outrage.
 @SkinnersGhost Oh yes, THAT is the logical conclusion. It couldn't possibly be that Occupy doesn't respect private property and that pisses me off. Lol.
@SkinnersGhost @PleaseBeSmart (rolls eyes) So by your logic, the only time we can get outraged (your word) over an injustice is when it happens to us or our property only? Good one. Maybe we should tell the Jews, gays and gypsies that the next time some knuckle-dragging despot decides they all need to be eliminated again.
...so, perhaps you'ed rather do nothing, as the the banker's blight, destroys our community??  BRILLIANT!!!
 @West Wind Are these the only options or are you going to tell me what other opinions I can choose from?
@PleaseBeSmart Now that's funny stuff right there...haha
.Fife has raised my awareness that he is a loser who needs to get a job and get a life.
O.K., Olwie, do you know anything, for sure, or is that just your gums bleeding?
""It's a public property because we bailed out the banks ... and the banks are just sitting on this house." said Fife. "It's creating a detriment to the neighbors." Only this kind of statement could come from someone educated in public schools. The occupyers should try occoupying a job for a while and then maybe they would actually be taxpayers with a legitimate gripe. Sure is hard to understand how someone can just sit around and occupy some space. They are using air that could be used by somebody that is useful.
 @souptonuts Hating schools doesn't make your smart, or show signs of education.
 @SkinnersGhost  @souptonuts Do you want to reword that? =/
@SkinnersGhost I don't hate schools, I just don't like Progressive Indoctrination centers, I am a total advocate for good schooling. Can you tell me what our standing in the world is for schooling? Can you tell me why the majority of teachers today come from the bottom third of their classmates? Can you tell me why we teach our children for only 185 days a year? I know you will say it's all about money, and I will say you are right, that is all they care about.
"We're not looking for a place to squat. We are looking fro a place to keep clean, we are looking to raise awareness." Fife said.
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Note to Fife:Â if three-quarters of the so-called "Occupiers" had kept their own backyards clean, they wouldn't be living in the streets now.
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@West Wind I can assure you of a couple things: it never has and never will look like an occupy camp. Having said that, you do realize that my comment had nothing to do with keeping actual back yards clean, right? Or is the use of metaphors not part of your grasp on the English language?