Free Show at Peoples Park Today to Restore Free Box After UC Vandalism

In years past UC Berkeley authorities have come out as opposed to The Free Box at Peoples Park where locals drop off clothes they no longer want, to be reused by others.

They say:

"The free clothing box at the park has been identified by police, neighbors and park users as a source of illegal drug activity. Individuals gather around the box to conduct drug-dealing transactions and some sell the donated clothing to area shops - using the proceeds to fund their drug or alcohol habits."

( http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/99legacy/1-13-1999.html )

I have yet to hear a park user come out against the presence of a free box at the park and I have hung out there a few days a week, every week for the past year.
I can not say what the opinions are of the new gentry that increasingly surrounds Peoples Park thinks of this. Also, how is getting rid of access to free clothes going to address drug addiction? This is just a fascist bully response. It is not a compassionate solution for many people who are in need, due to the effects of their neoliberal agenda, which is brutality for the people who can not fit into their corporate-crafted labor market, and for those who can, yet at great cost to their health and their lives...

And it is true that some of the clothes are picked up by addicts and then sold for cash. Yet how is that going to stop illegal drug activity? Until addicts want to stop and are given the means to stop, like free detox, rehab and other social, (non-capitalist) programs, they will continue to find money other ways. In the meantime I, personally, would much rather see people reselling free clothes than stolen bikes at Karims on Telegraph.

The UC Berkeley has also been quoted recently saying that:

" Hegarty said the free box has been a costly nuisance to the university, whose employees are often left carting off “crates of trash,” from the park, including clothes and household appliances.

She said park users often throw free box items throughout the park and then fight over them. “There seems to be a problem with selling clothes at used clothing stores and using the money for alcohol,” she said."

( http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?archiveDate=09-27-05&storyID=22393 )

This is an overstatement. It is true that some items like shoes, never find a new owner, and they should be gotten rid of periodically. But very little goes to waste. Why not put a sign on the box for donators telling them what is typically in demand by free box consumers and what is not. There are plenty of compassionate, easy solutions out there, but it seems that UC does not have the heart to care.

In response to the UC thug cops and their upper class masters, we are mobilizing in the tradition of People’s Park to restore this free box with or without their permission. We will not let this park and this town remain company- controlled. It is our land. Let's take it back! Free bands, free box, and possibly free pastries and fruit juice at People’s Park today.

-Mario
East Bay Food Not Bombs Volunteer

P.S. Until The Free Box is re-established please continue taking old clothes to Peoples Park. As of now the top of the band stage is being used as a free box. It is not great: there is no roof to protect the clothes from the rain, but it is something, and it sends the message that our tradition of compassion and sharing will not be stopped..