How to Squat … What it is … What you need to know; 101
“The Earth does not belong to us, but we belong to the Earth”
~ Chief Seattle

Q: What IS Squatting ??

A: Urbandictionary.com defines “squatting” as, “Occupying abandoned buildings without authorization. As much as 1/10 of the world is housed in urban squatting (developments).”

Example:

person #1: did you see that squatted building?
person #2: yeah! they don't have to pay taxes!

Wikipedia.com’s definition of squatting is “a term for inhabiting an abandoned or unused building or plot of land without owning or holding a formal lease on it; a person squatting is known as a squatter, and the house or building occupied by squatters is known as a squat. “

Example #2 :

In a sentence, it is written as:

“He lives in a squat.”

SQUATTING is defined as a lot of things to a lot of folkx, but to me it is inevitably and intrinsically, and variably, related and connected to FREEDOM FROM RENT, LAND CONTROL AND THEORETICAL/MYSTICAL/RELIGIOUS LAND”LORDS“; it relates to consciously objecting to money-based society, greed and capitalism.

Essentially, it is temporarily and/or permanently (depending on the situation) inhabiting, living in, modifying, creating and/or building a squat/housing/camping situation out of what would have been an abandoned building or place; this directly feeds into creating sustainable housing options for low income and homeless individuals who might freeze otherwise in a cold winter.

Also, in parts of Europe there are established rights and protective laws for squatters, a development rooted in the social and working class movements throughout Europe, especially in the 1980’s.

Wikipedia, the online dictionary, reveals that:

In the Netherlands and in other parts of Europe, “if a building is empty, not in use for twelve months and the owner has no pressing need to use it (such as a rental contract starting in the next month), then it can be legally squatted.” The squatters write a letter to the Land “Lord” and then “the police check whether the place is indeed lived in by the squatter — in legal terms this means there must be a bed, a chair, a table and a working lock in the door which the squatter can open and close”. If the squatters pass all these tests, they win a free place to live in Europe. There are large and famous squats throughout Europe, especially in Berlin and Amsterdam., where squatters rights prevail and you can have legal tenant rights to an abandoned building some chump forgot about …

ALTERNATE MEANING OF THE WORD “SQUAT” :

Squat (exercise), a lower-body exercise in strength and conditioning.

Q: WHO is a Squatter and what IS a SQUAT ????

A: Anybody can be a squatter, and it is tied to numerous definitions, experiences and types of folkx. Basically tho, a squatter is anybody who temporarily “squats” and lives on the land of someone else, and who consciously objects to paying RENT to a Land “Lord” or OWNER and who gets away with it … hahaha … ALSO : Urban Dictionary defines it as “A place/building obtained by one who settled the unoccupied land without legal claim.” This can be a bridge, tunnel, cave, Cliffside, Nat’l Park, City Park, abandoned building or whatever …

Q: WHERE do I find/create a quality SQUAT ???

“Feel it out” … usually, if you GO OUT TO THE VERY OUTSKIRTS OF WHATEVER URBAN AREA YOU FIND YOURSELF IN, THERE’S USUALLY UNOCCUPIED BUSHES, TREES, CAVES, COVES, BEACHES, BENCHES, PARKS, PORCHES, ABANDONED HOUSES, BOATS, CARS, TUNNELS AND BRIDGES. You could always sleep on a rooftop. Beware of the sprinklers in parkz, set for the AM sometmez …

SQUATTER HISTORY …

There have been squatters in North America since the 1600’s, as long as there has been RENT and poor folkx who couldn’t afford it and needed a place to live. Check out “A People’s History of America” By Howard Zinn for the REAL history of how America was lost, not won. You can also look up squatter history online or at the local library, at you leisure. Just remember to keep an eye out for HomeLand Security hahahahah just kidding … SORT OF …

WHAT TO PACK:

A BACKPACK THAT IS SUITABLE FOR HIKING/ROUGH TERRAIN/TRAVELING

This can be a bag of any sort of size, a satchel, a hiking backpack (NorthFace is a good brand for this kind of pack … if you can steal/liberate/get one from REI, because they’re QUALITY), maybe even a ROLLING BAG / ETC, one of those snazzy deals that have wheels … I guess you could call them “Airplane Bags” hahaha …

A WATER BOTTLE/THERMAS/CANTEEN

HYDRATE OR DIE. YOU ARE HUMAN AND NEED WATER; You’ll die within 7 dayz without water and within 30 dayz without food. So, hydrate or die, muthahfunkahh …

SLEEPING BAGZ/BLANKETZ

= you’ll need ‘em.

Ziploc Bagz

For leftovers, weed, laundry detergent, waterproofing matches, etc.

PLASTIC BAGS ~ Black Garbage Bagz … maybe 10 of them or so …

You might be asking yourself, “Why use fuckin’ Plastic Bagz ??” and “What’s that got to do with anything” ?? It’s GOT EVERYTHING TO DO WITH ERRYTHANG !!! What’re you gonna do when it rainz, or when your gear getz janky from travel

TARP

this will be useful and possibly essential to keeping you, your gear, your food, your loved one and/or dog dry, safe and warm. It sucks to get a cold in the winter or to freeze, so pack safe and warm for happy travels.

SOCKX AKA “Freshiez”

Fresh sockx are not only necessary, but street currency and a scarce commodity among street kiddz, squatters and punkx.

CAN OPENER/P16’S, UTENSILZ, PLATEZ

How are you going to eat or drink beverages without utensils, a mug and other “blissware” (hippie term, I know)?? USING CARDBOARD, PLASTIC BAGS AND OTHER HOUSEHOLD ITEMS FOR PLATES, SPOONS, FORKS AND TIES IS AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF SQUATTING. (Think of MacGyver … )

STREET SLANG AND SQUATTER LINGO
(So you don’t look like a putz …)

THERE ARE A LOT OF NICKNAMEZ FOR (ANARCHIST AND OTHER) HOUSING COLLECTIVES, WAREHOUSES, DROP-INZ, BANDZ, FRIENDZ AND OTHER THINGS ASSOCIATED WITH STREET AND TRAVEL CULTURE, AND IT’S REALLY HARD TO KNOW WHAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT AT FIRST, BUT IF YOU STICK AROUND LONG ENUFF, YOU’LL PICK IT UP …

Putz: dumb ass, stupid person (synonym: republican) … Urbandictionary.com definez it as “Literally, vulgar slang for penis, not to be used lightly. More offensive than the schmuck, which can be used affectionately or teasingly. Rarely used to describe the member, schmuck does that.”

Gear : yo stuff !!!

Kidddz : These are the “kids” off the streetz, the street orphanz, and it is actually a term of respect on the streetz, esp. among street punkx, and should be used sparingly

Ooogle : not a real street kid, a false, a fake; a person, usually young but not always, who doesn’t understand street culture but tries to commodify it. Roughly explained, it’s really stupid buttholes from suburbia who pretend they’re tough to get attention. This is a derogative term used towards snobby scenesters by real (tuff) street kids to call them out, as being a false, a fake and a dork. This term is not to be used lightly towards a real street kidd, as it incites violence.

Janky: not working well. A FUNNY TERM that’s used to describe something that, although rusty or oddly put together, works well and inspires humor, of a sort. “A janky piano with the E keys sticking together was ringing throughout the hall, and all the squatters were cheering on and singing oi oi oi to the chorus …”.

Sho Nuff : Sure enough … for sure … absolutely.

Juzz Cuzz : Just because I fuckin’ felt like it !!! No other reason, except, JUST CAUSE …

Joint/J/Blunt: Weed, Mary Jane, Reefer, Ganga, rolled into a paper and smoked.

Handle/Booze: Usually used to refer to a 1/5th of liquor, whether bought or stolen/liberated from a chainstore …

Po/Piggz/5-0/6UP/Boys in Blue/Copz: Police, Undercovers, Narcs, etx.

Xxxxxxxx TIPZ TO REMEMBER WHILE SQUATTING xxxxxxxxxxX

THE MOST AWESOME TIP, EVER: CHECK OUT GARAGES, CONSTRUCTION SITES AND OTHER VARIOUS, RANDOM PLACES FOR FREE/CHEAP GEAR !!

CARABEENERZ AND HAMMOCKS: ARE GOOD IDEAZ FOR SQUATTERS ON THE GO ...

REMEMBER BOIIIZ AND GRRRLZ: BRING A KNIFE; I THINK ANYTHING OVER 7 INCHES IS ILLEGAL.

Where to stash your gear (w/out it getting jacked): Okay, there is no sure-fire method to this, to getting yo stuff jacked up, but, there ARE wayz not to set yourself up to GET jacked !!! Try to get a crew together, so you can be safe in numbers, take turnz getting various needz met, take turnz carrying and watching gear (at the squat or in the public/parkz), and other useful things. You’ll need a homecrew to be safe in your travels, raves and train rides, so choose wisely.

“Faith is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and knowing it’s not a train coming to run your ass over” …