From the front lines of CHOP
We stopped by the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (formerly know as CHAZ - Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone) before getting some tasty takeout for lunch and yes, it is as peaceful and organized as everyone except Fox News has reported it to be.
The first thing that stood out when we got there was the man in the center of the intersection of 11th and Pine blowing giant rainbow soap bubbles.
Cal Anderson park is ringed with tents and there were various popups staggered throughout.
They are most definitely not running out of food. There were three 10x10 canopies covering tables laden with packaged foods. (They’d posted signage asking people not to take pictures, so you’ll have to take my word on this.) We also saw an aid station and we also spotted an ambulance on the edge of the park, so anything you hear about emergency vehicles being denied access is also fake news.
Someone had dropped off a truckload of topsoil and people were making container gardens along the curb.
The police station is fine and not cinders.
Many of the buildings are now decorated with murals from local black artists:
As we walked we saw multiple people patrolling the area picking up garbage. There was signage posted to notify people staying in the zone of designated areas where Waste Management would pick up trash, and we witnessed a group of volunteers helping load bags into a garbage truck while we were there.
Here’s the street view of the Black Lives Matter mural. The artists for each letter cam be found here:
And if you hear anyone yammering on about how Seattle has been taken over by whomever/whatever, show them this picture:
(above image source)