(Load)The scene I saw this morning looked like a battle zone. Smashed tents, torn camping gear, dented stoves, clothes hanging from poles, & ripped bags with their former contents of canned food strewn about. Much signage torn down & torn up. Still up on a pole is the handwritten "information" sign. Still attached to that pole also is a sign announcing a "knitting bash" for Oct 29.
Knitting.
Tear gas, rubber bullets or ("bean bag guns"), & somewhere over 100 police in riot gear put an end to the knitting threat.
They haven't put an end to the 99%.
I've been at police riots. I've been at "shantytowns" torn down by riot police. I know what the aftermath looks like. So when I saw Lisa Lockwood's startling diary, I went to look for myself.
The media describes the police action as peaceful. The people I talked to who were there & didn't leave when told to, described it more as a police riot.
When I got to downtown Oakland at about 6:40 a.m. the police lines had several blocks cordoned off. An eerie scene of riot police everywhere I looked. More police vehicles then private cars at first. If you had ID & didn't "look like" an occupier they'd let you through the lines. I couldn't pass.
At 7:30 a.m. the police pulled their cordon back to the immediate barricades around the plaza where the scenes of the earlier battle took place.
At that time there were over 100 police in riot gear. Mostly white. There were only about 20-30 of us on the other side then, mostly POC. It was quite a stark contrast.
It was Oakland.
At first they let us bunch right up against the barricades within inches of the torn & shredded remnants of what had been a open community space. The commons.
I stood mesmerized by the carnage gripping the rails of the police barricade & thought, as did probably others, about jumping over.
Then suddenly they lined up abreast of each other & pushed us back onto Broadway...much to the chagrin of local commuters who for a while couldn't drive by.
All the time, by now daylight, commuters got an eye-full of a very heavy-handed use of police in their civic center.
Still city services hadn't come to take away the ruins of the commons by the time I left at 8:30 a.m.
How long the city will keep paying police to guard the area is anyone's guess. Several homeless people passed by, probably not appreciative of the police barricade seperating them from unopened cans of food now earmarked for the dump.
Several people told me they suspected SF might be raided tonight, after the President's visit.
Today the police were on the wrong side, the ones who showed up for work. They may not be tomorrow.
There's a meeting at the Oakland main library at 4:00 p.m. I'll try to go. I hope you can.
No one I talked to was demoralized by the outsized police presence. Al contrario, people are fired up...& ready to go occupy...again....and again.
Don't count Oakland out. Never count Oakland out.
P.S., if check out Lisa Lockwood's diary on the raid for great links on info, action, & updates on Kossacks arrested. My computer is lagging & I can't post the links here.11:25 AM PT: Just got this this from a friend.
She showed me where media was allowed to stand, so I joined a small group of independent media like myself.Next thing I knew, we were tear-gassed. That explains why the TV trucks left, and explains why they grouped us together.
Originally posted to MBismo Vencerá on Tue Oct 25, 2011 at 10:53 AM PDT.
Also republished by California politics, Occupy Wall Street, Inherent Human Rights, and Anonymous Dkos.
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(Load)Diary Recommended By
Meteor Blades, Renee, shari, Sean Robertson, glitterscale, nicolemm, mimi, Shockwave, wu ming, chuco35, eeff, recentdemocrat, jancw, opinionated, bronte17, maxschell, chimpy, vmckimmey, navajo, kharma, scorpiorising, Sychotic1, Pohjola, Gowrie Gal, joanneleon, Tonedevil, Sun Tzu, Dem Beans, RichterScale, Lisa Lockwood, peacestpete, Ekaterin, jct, skywriter, martini, detroitmechworks, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, Russgirl, cookseytalbott, kestrel9000, Shakludanto, Lefty Coaster, blueoasis, triv33, Rosaura, joe shikspack, IL clb, Stripe, zedaker, Statusquomustgo, kurious, Haningchadus14, SpecialKinFlag, gloriana, noofsh, HCKAD, jnhobbs, MikePhoenix, poligirl, bythesea, elwior, CDH in Brooklyn, beach babe in fl, tofumagoo, TokenLiberal, Tam in CA, makettle, ZhenRen, legendmn, maggiejean, pileta, aufklaerer, divineorder, Clarknt67, ewmorr, An Affirming Flame, MKSinSA, nancat357, smileycreek, TDreamer, vixenflem, The Troubadour, angelajean, cany, Actbriniel, slice, asterkitty, merrily1000, worldlotus, DRo, anodnhajo, Horace Boothroyd III, TBug, Kinak, George3, Marjmar, katiec, allensl, Wes Lee, SwedishJewfish, Tom Stokland, DampSquid, remembranceRecommended by catilinus
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10/25/2011
Daily Kos: #OWS: Oakland down, ahorita, but not out.
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