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Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Occupy Chicago Cops Attacked Cyber-Activists
Posted by Charles Mudede on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 8:27 AM
Recall this post, Marxist and Anarchist Discuss the Right to the City, which is a video of a conversation between David Harvey and David Graeber:
3) [Graeber, an anthropologist and one of the founders of the OWS makes this comment] at the very end of the conversation [with David Harvey, a geographer]: The police officers who faced and repressed Occupy protestors in New York were actually worried about being identified because they feared their credit cards and bank accounts would be hacked by activists. Maybe American cops can learn a thing or two from drug enforcers in Mexico.
With this in mind, let's turn to Chicago, a city that's hosting a NATO Summit:
In a cruel hoax, someone called a Chicago police supervisor’s wife on Monday and said her husband had been shot to death — although he hadn’t, a police source said.What this exposes is the class status of American police officers. They are homeowners, money savers, the builders and maintainers of good credit. They are middle class, and so their fears are middle-class fears: corruption of loan and banking information, destruction credit rating, disruption of credit access and flows. In the eyes of a cop, a bank robber becomes a piece of cake when placed next to this viper, the cyber-activists.The person then “called back to say they were coming to kill her,” the source said.
The supervisor had been involved in media interviews discussing the police department’s NATO Summit protection, and authorities suspect the threat was related to his presence in the media.
Investigators are trying to find out who made the call. The police source initially linked the threat to a cyber attack on the city’s website, saying information about officers was feared stolen in the attack.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Occupy Marxist and Anarchist Discuss the Right to the City
Posted by Charles Mudede on Fri, May 18, 2012 at 10:48 AM
David Harvey is the Marxist; David Graeber is the anarchist. Harvey's is a georgrapher; Graeber is an anthropologist. Harvey's masterpiece is The Limits of Capital; Graeber, Debt: The First 5,000 Years.
In this conversation, Graeber says the most startling things.
1) In this moment of radical intervention, what links the students to the working class is the nature of their debt. Students, like working-class homeowners, have a debt they can't remove or reduce. The unrelated groups, therefore, are bonded by the stubbornness of their debt.
2) Democracy has its roots in the aristocratic classes. In this way, you must see democracy as a kind of shark fin soup—something that was once for the rich and is now available to larger and larger sections of the public. The implication of this? Democracy as it's currently practiced might be bad as a whole because it's bad to begin with. (Graeber makes a similar argument for the state, whose root is violence.) The solution? A democracy that is like a lottery or jury duty.
3) This comment is made at the very end of the conversation: The police officers who faced and repressed Occupy protestors in New York were actually worried about being identified because they feared their credit cards and bank accounts would be hacked by activists. Maybe American cops can learn a thing or two from drug enforcers in Mexico.
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Thursday, May 17, 2012
Occupy / Theater / Dance Art Disrupts Illegal Economy: Better or Worse Than Vandalism Disrupting Legal Economy?
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Thu, May 17, 2012 at 11:07 PM
Say what you will about choreographer Donald Byrd—and he's been lauded and heavily criticized by myself and Jen Graves and others at The Stranger over the years. But tonight he achieved something I've never, ever seen before with his free and outdoor performance of Miraculous Mandarin, a Bela Bartok ballet that Byrd has updated to be about modern-day drug dealers and a woman caught in the middle of their cash and dope and violence.
- Spectrum
Byrd—and his Spectrum Dance Theater—performed it in a vacant space in a building in the International District, with viewers standing outside in the rain in Hing Hay park, watching it through the windows. We can discuss the choreography at another time, but right now I want to talk about audience reaction. Hing Hay is a hub of drug-dealing and sex work (neither of which I'm opposed to on principle—it's just a fact). I hung back by the corner, away from the folding chairs, to see how the dealers and the sex workers would deal with this intrusion on their marketplace.
The dealers (four or five African-American men, one Latino) were initially mesmerized by the African-American woman dancer doing sexy moves with the male dancers behind the second-floor windows, but they soon got down to business—there were too many people, too many disruptions, and after a brief meeting, they agreed to go sling their product on a corner across the street for the next few hours.
The lady sex workers were a different story. They were still soliciting, but some were torn between the performance (about a battle between dealers and how a lady is caught in the middle) and their business. I overheard one conversation between an older black woman and a middle-aged white woman that went like this:
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Occupy Headline of Our Times
Posted by Charles Mudede on Sun, May 6, 2012 at 3:22 PM
As if you needed to know...
Why Wall Street fears a Socialist leader
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Occupy / City Two Notes on "Violence" vs. "Vandalism"
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Thu, May 3, 2012 at 9:36 AM
...and then I'll shut up about it. For now. (Also! Very important disclaimer! I do not advocate window-smashing as a form of political expression, and especially not when that window-smashing involves a private home with children inside. But if we're going to write about and think about this stuff, I think we should do it right.)
First. Recognizing a linguistic and moral distinction between smashing a window and smashing a person is hugely important to me*. Judging from the comments on my post and Eli's post, it seems like some of you regard the distinction as blurry—which is surprising, but there you go. Because I prefer a strong distinction, I like the World Health Organization's definition of violence:
The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation.
And I prefer precision and non-sensationalism in our language, saying "violence" when we mean violence and "vandalism" when we mean vandalism.
Some of you have said that vandalism always implies violence, but I disagree. If the demonstrators wanted to hit defenseless people with sticks, they would've. (They certainly had the opportunity.) Eli writes: "Was the intent of yesterday's window-smashing simply vandalism? Was the smashing of Mayor Mike McGinn's windows last night just property destruction? I don't think so."
Um... why not? What evidence indicates that people wanted to hurt other people? There was recklessness and the chance of accidental injury, but we have zero indication that any demonstrators wanted to hurt people.** Based on what I saw on May 1 and my conversations with demonstrators, they did exactly what they intended to do, no more and no less.
Second. This comment on Eli's post speaks volumes about "violence" vs. "vandalism":
If I am not secure in my property, then I cannot feel secure in my person. Violence directed at property is an implicit threat of violence directed at a person.
So... are banks that foreclose on homes and farms and repossess property committing acts of violence on American families? I wouldn't say so. But this line of thinking points in that direction.
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Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Occupy / City On Violence and the "Smashy-Smashy"
Posted by Eli Sanders on Wed, May 2, 2012 at 5:15 PM
I don't want to distract too much from the point of what Brendan wrote earlier today. The point, as I understood it, was to explain what might have been going through the heads of some of the property-destroyers at the Seattle May Day rallies, and I'm as curious as anyone to know what was on their minds. It's a worthwhile question to ask. We shouldn't be afraid to ask it, even if it takes us to uncomfortable places.
That said, and having read what Brendan wrote a couple times, I still don't think we know for sure what actually was on their minds. We don't hear from any of yesterday's property-destroyers in Brendan's post, as far as I can tell, and they haven't issued any explanatory communiques, as far as I know, so for now it's all conjecture—and possibly, as Brendan says, retroactive "justification."
I hope we hear the rationale for yesterday's "Black Bloc" actions, from the actors themselves. Meantime, there are a few points that Brendan makes that I really don't agree with.
For starters, it seems to me that anarchists and journalists should be among the last people telling anyone what words they can and cannot use. I used the word "violence" to describe what was going on in downtown Seattle yesterday, so did a lot of other people, and I don't see it as inaccurate.
Maybe Brendan's suggestions—"vandalism" or "targeted property destruction"—constitute more precise descriptions, but they have their problems, too. If we can only call the destruction of property "vandalism" or "property destruction," then we don't allow ourselves to enter the realm of how that vandalism or destruction is perceived (or is intended to be perceived).
Was the intent of yesterday's window-smashing simply vandalism? Was the smashing of Mayor Mike McGinn's windows last night just property destruction? I don't think so. In any case, both are violently disruptive (not necessarily a problem in the abstract) and come with the distinct connotation that further violence is possible and even desired (this is where the real violence lies, from my point of view).
Also, as a number of commenters have pointed out, not calling these types of actions violent in other contexts—window smashing by the KKK is perhaps the easiest to imagine for these purposes—would be, well, immoral.
So if Brendan is concerned about degrading the power of the word violence, then I'm listening. But when he constructs the following moral argument to tell me when I can and cannot use the word violence, I recoil:
"Smashing a window is not violence, it's vandalism," he writes. "There is a difference—unless you think of people as the moral equivalent of property."
Wrong.
Occupy / Drugs Man Licks Tree. Man Licks Tree Really Hard. Man Licks Tree Really Long and Hard, And Calls It His "Honey Locust"
Posted by Kelly O on Wed, May 2, 2012 at 4:20 PM
Filmed yesterday at 1:23 p.m. at Seattle's Westlake Center during the 2012 May Day protests
TREELICKER: "I dunno what the fuck they're doing." [points at protesters]
BOY WITH CAMERA: "So you're NOT part of the protest at all?"
TREELICKER: "I don't fuckin' do that..." [back at tree, caressing it] "It's the way I do it man, both hands..." [boy walks away]
TREELICKER: "It's my honey locust."
Occupy / Crime SPD Identifies Arrested May Day Suspects; McGinn Laughs Off Attack on His Home
Posted by Cienna Madrid on Wed, May 2, 2012 at 2:32 PM
Still reveling in the victory of a well-executed police response, this afternoon the Seattle Police Department released the identities of the eight people arrested during yesterday's tense, anarchy-riddled May Day protests.
Twenty-year-old Jack Tierney was arrested at 4th and Pike for carrying a four-inch hunting knife; 23-year-old Cody R. Ingram was arrested at the federal courthouse on 6th and University for malicious mischief; 23-year-old Robert Dietrani was arrested at 1st and Pike for spitting on an officer; 30-year-old Maria J Morales was arrested at 1st and Pike for punching an officer; Joshua A Garland, arrested at 1st and Pike for grabbing an officer; 29-year-old Charles C Conatzer, arrested for pedestrian interference; 28-year-old Arthur Esparza arrested at 4th and Pine for property damage; and a 23-year-old unidentified male (who has not yet been booked) was arrested at 1st and Pike for throwing a bottle at an officer and investigation of riot.
SPD Chief John Diaz said that six of the suspects resided in the Seattle area while another two hailed from California and Vermont.
"We anticipate some more arrests in the days and weeks to come," Diaz continued, explaining that a team of officers would be reviewing media and business surveillance footage to help round up more suspects.
- I own this
- Sgt. Gracy, gleefully demonstrating how to poke out eyes.
Of course, assholes don't need crude, crappy homemade tools to break a window, as McGinn and his family discovered last night. The mayor was remarkably calm about the attack on his home and family, which occurred last night around 12:30 a.m. "At first I thought it was Midge, our overactive Labrador," McGinn said, "Then I discovered a rock had come through our dining room window. We saw that rocks had also been thrown at our living room windows." McGinn then picked up a rock from the police evidence table in front of his podium. "It looked a lot like this rock," he told the assembled media, chuckling. "And I'm looking at this rock, thinking, 'apparently they didn’t confiscate all these rocks.'”
McGinn's dismissive, cavalier reaction to the vandalism was the perfect response to the unidentified assholes who attacked his home.
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Occupy / City Now: Mayor and Police Chief Hold Press Conference on Yesterday's May Day Protests
Posted by Eli Sanders on Wed, May 2, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Occupy / City McGinn Terminates Emergency Order Allowing Police to Confiscate Protester Weapons
Posted by Eli Sanders on Wed, May 2, 2012 at 11:24 AM
An update for those tracking—and diving into the details of—yesterday's emergency order: It's now been officially terminated.
Occupy / City Rocks Thrown Through Mayor McGinn's Home Windows
Posted by Eli Sanders on Wed, May 2, 2012 at 9:50 AM
Aaron Pickus, spokesman for Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, confirms what PubliCola is reporting: Rocks were thrown through the windows of the mayor's Greenwood home late last night.
The details: At around midnight, rocks crashed into McGinn's dining room and living room windows. His wife called 911, and officers and McGinn's security detail responded. The mayor was there at the time. Nobody was hurt.
We'll hear more about this at a press conference the mayor will be holding later today.
UPDATE: Here, via the mayor's office, is the police report of the incident.
It notes that when McGinn's wife looked outside after the windows were smashed, she saw two suspects, one of them a white male in his 40s. He "was looking at her and waved," according to the report. "The other individual was standing near [the white male in his 40s] but she was unable to describe that suspect."
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Occupy / Conflict of Interest Why All the May Day Smashy-Smashy? on KUOW
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Wed, May 2, 2012 at 9:16 AM
- Brendan Kiley
- Courthouse smash.
We interrupt Slog silence to let you know that Brendan Kiley will be on Weekday on KUOW shortly to discuss the implications of vandalism—or, as some call it, violence—as a political tactic yesterday and in general.
Here's the smashy-smashy post, "A Beginner's Guide to Targeted Property Destruction."
Here's where you can listen live to KUOW.
Occupy / Education Musical Psychological Torture for the Scofflaws Among Yesterday's Protesters
Posted by Grant Brissey on Wed, May 2, 2012 at 8:47 AM
Originally posted yesterday, but moved up, because one can dream...
Occupy / City What the Police Found at Yesterday's Protests
Posted by Eli Sanders on Wed, May 2, 2012 at 6:00 AM
This was mentioned in our coverage yesterday, but it's worth mentioning again because it's not every day that you get to take a fascinating tour of alleged protest detritus.
My favorite image is the one titled: "A repurposed traffic barrel?"
Occupy / Crime Midnight in the Garden of Property Damage
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Wed, May 2, 2012 at 12:29 AM
Occupy / City Why All the Smashy-Smashy? A Beginner's Guide to Targeted Property Destruction.
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Wed, May 2, 2012 at 12:18 AM
First: I ripped off that headline from the Seattle anarchist gazette Tides of Flame, but it neatly summarizes the big question of the day.
In a post below, Paul Constant decries today's targeted property destruction for upstaging the structural-economic reasons behind today's protests—the wealth gap, the E-Verify and "secure communities" programs that are tearing apart immigrant communities, how Wells Fargo profiteers in the privatized prison industry, etc. People like Paul call window-smashers "know-nothing nobodies" and "thugs" and "idiots."
This is not necessarily true. There are reasons why thoughtful people sometimes smash windows.
But first, let's clear something up: Reporters today on KOMO and Slog and beyond have made the mistake of calling today's targeted property destruction "violence." There is an enormous moral distinction between smashing a bank window and smashing a person. Lumping the two under the umbrella of "violence" is linguistically lazy and politically irresponsible. It is worth noting that in the dramatic property-destruction campaigns of groups like the Earth Liberation Front—burning SUV lots, ski lodges, and in one of their stupider and more infamous moments, a botanical research facility at the UW—people don't get hurt.
In fact, the only "violence" I saw today, aside from some minor pushing back and forth between protesters and police and some pepper spray, was a guy in a tie who was (understandably) pissed off when someone broke the rear window of his car. He chased down a protester and they both fell down in the street and had a minor scuffle. That was violence (however paltry). Smashing a window is not violence, it's vandalism. There is a difference—unless you think of people as the moral equivalent of property.
But back back to the central question: Why would anyone use targeted vandalism as a means of political expression? It's a very, very old tactic, dating back to Jesus smashing up the moneylenders' kiosks in the temple. And it is still popular among some, but totally anathema to most, today.
The rationale breaks down into three basic frames: one practical, one theoretical, and one a mix of practical and theoretical. Any given act of targeted property destruction usually involves a little of all three.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Occupy / City Hey Buddy, Can You Spare A Sign?
Posted by Kelly O on Tue, May 1, 2012 at 9:10 PM
Some photos from today's May Day protests. Lots (and lots) more photos to come tomorrow...
- Kelly O
Occupy / Breaking News Violence Erupts at May Day Protests, Mayor Issues Emergency Order on Weapons, Day Ends With Peaceful Immigration Rally
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Tue, May 1, 2012 at 8:17 PM
- Goldy
- Kelly O
12:35 pm: A few minutes ago, the windows of the Wells Fargo at Fourth and Seneca were smashed, Brendan Kiley just called to report. Right as the protest at Westlake started, a bunch of people changed from street clothes into all black. After the windows were smashed, there were some other protesters not in black yelling, "This is not helping, this is not helping!" Now the protesters have started marching down Fifth Avenue toward the library.
12:44 pm: The windows of the courthouse at Sixth and Spring have just been smashed. Black paint has been thrown against the walls, a highway flare was set off, and there was some confusion after Pheonix Jones attempted to stop some protesters from throwing rocks at the windows. "Things seem to be a little more chaotic here," Brendan says. "The group has kind of broken up. Somebody has some kind of injury, I'm seeing protester medics. No pepper spray or tear gas yet. But I've got a feeling it won't be long."
- Brendan Kiley
- The attack on American Apparel.
- Brendan Kiley
- Another photo of the damage-in-progress at American Apparel.
12:54 pm: The windows at Home Street Bank on Sixth Avenue have been smashed. So have the windows at NikeTown at Sixth and Pike. They also broke American Apparel's windows and hit them with paint bombs and smashed the rear windows of several cars parked on the street. They've also spray painted "Proteltariatism" on the outside of Barney's New York. Fidelity Investments has spray paint that says "Foreclosed." Smashed a window at Starbucks and a glass door and a window at Verizon as well. Then the police and demonstrators with sticks had a melee involving pepper spray. Then people dispersed.
- Brendan Kiley
- Marching to the courthouse.
- Brendan Kiley
- The courthouse entrance.
1:00 pm: KIRO has live, ongoing video coverage here.
- Kelly O
- Broken windows at NikeTown.
- Brendan Kiley
- Paint splatters at NikeTown.
1:27 pm: Goldy's at Westlake and reports: "It's your run of the mill Occupy gathering in Westlake right now. There's music playing over the PA and there's a porta potty people are lined up at. It looks like what you saw last fall." When he asked someone at Westlake which Wells Fargo window was smashed up, the person said, "A Wells Fargo window was smashed up?" There's a distinct divide between the people in Westlake and the people who did the damage. Whoever did it came and went, but the bulk of the crowd stayed in Westlake.
1:35 pm: This just in: "The only pepper spraying that went on was not by the cops but by the superheroes, according to the person at the first aid station in Westlake," says Goldy. Here's what Westlake looks like right now:
1:43 pm: Cienna Madrid reports, "I ran into Slog commenter Baconcat, who was pepper sprayed by Phoenix Jones. Baconcat was taking pictures at the courthouse and Phoenix was screaming at the group, 'I'm not against you guys, I'm here to keep the peace and protect this historic building,' and then took them out with pepper spray. Baconcat says his eyes are dry as hell." Tear gas went off shortly thereafter; it's unknown if the tear gas belongs to the "superhero," too. "Beware: Phoenix Jones is still on the loose. But it's still peaceful here in Westlake."
1:53 pm: "Wells Fargo on First Hill is in lockdown," reports Stranger staffer Joel Schomberg, who just walked by. "They looked at me strangely because I'm wearing black today."
2:05 pm: At Sixth and Pine, ten cops are suiting up in riot gear. Everything is calm right now, but obviously they're anticipating more to come.
2:15 pm: The mayor is set to speak to the media at 2:15 p.m., but that could be delayed a bit because of the chaos of the day. Here's video of the press conference:
3 p.m.: "This is what we spoke about Friday," Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said at his press conference just now, referencing his earlier warnings about violence at today's May Day protests.
- Mayor McGinn, declaring he will use emergency powers to stop the vandalism and violence.
He and Seattle Police Chief John Diaz said there have been two confirmed arrests already, with more expected as the marches and protests continue. McGinn singled out "black bloc" protesters for engaging in a lot of the violence, and said he would be issuing an emergency order to take away the weapons they've been using—particularly flag poles, tire irons, and pieces of wood. “When they move rapidly, disperse quickly, and his multiple points, it’s hard to react," McGinn explained.
So, he continued: “Using the emergency powers of the mayor’s office, I am issuing an order for the limited purpose of giving police the authority to confiscate items that can be used as weapons... We are concerned that the group gathered at Westlake may choose to march again... Having this order will allow us to approach people before the march begins, in order to confiscate items that can cause property damage or cause injury to others.” He said the order would be effective for the duration of the May Day protests only, and only in the downtown area. “The First Amendment uses of five-foot-long, three-inch-wide sticks is outweighed today by our desire to protect public safety and confiscate weapons," McGinn said, adding that he'd ordered the police to act "swiftly and aggressively" to prevent more violence.
“We will be asking for the highest charges possible for these individuals," Diaz said of those arrested. “Some of these people think it’s fun and games. It isn’t.” Asked what he would say to tourists caught off guard by today's events, and downtown workers whose routines have been disrupted, McGinn said: “We’re sorry this had to happen in this beautiful city. We’re going to do our best to keep this city safe.”
- The march down Fourth Avenue begins.
3:21 pm: Another march has started northbound up Forth Avenue in the middle of the street. "A big piece of corrugated metal or something just landed in the street," Brendan reports, standing near Seneca. He reports that a contingency of people is chanting, "We're here, we're queer, we're unicorns, and we'll fuck you up!" The mayor just declared a state of emergency and said anything that could be used as a weapon, including the poles protesters' flags are attached to, will be confiscated to maintain the piece, but there are "still lots of flags—I can see two or three dozen," Brendan reports. Cienna Madrid is up at Fourth and Virginia and reports there are about hundreds of people marching up there, flanked on both sides by cops in riot gear. "Everything's peaceful so far," she says.
3:23 pm: A concerned parent wrote in an hour ago to tell us, "Madrona K-8 (and I'm sure many other schools closer to downtown) just cancelled after school programs, and bus service for kids is expected to be delayed by 1 to 2 hours, due to the shenanigans downtown. Awesome."
3:44 pm: The mayor's emergency order is here for the reading.
3:48 pm: All the marching on Fourth Avenue has ended at Seattle Center and is now congregated around the freshly painted John T. Williams pole. Cienna Madrid says the crowd is chanting, "No borders, one nation, stop deportation." Brendan Kiley reports they're also chanting, "Honor the dead and fight for the living." There are no reports of fighting or violence at Seattle Center.
- Cienna Madrid
4:29 pm: The group has picked up and moved on from the John T. Williams memorial and now they're marching down First Avenue back toward Westlake. They're currently at First and Lenora, Brendan reports. Police have been taking away sticks and flag poles from people, which has provoked yelling from the demonstrators. There have been a few tense moments when the demonstrators stopped and locked arms. Police have been yelling at demonstrators to keep their distance from officers. People are popping pink balloons filled with glitter. "Looks like they're trying to glitter bomb officers in some way," Brendan reports.
4:45 pm: "On Pike between First and Second," Brendan reports, "a melee broke out when police detained somebody and other protesters shouted, 'Let him go, let him go!' And 'All cops are bastards!' People started throwing things at the police—it started with a paper airplane and crumpled up pieces of paper, then I don't know what, then police charged into the crowd and grabbed a few people. Now protesters have surrounded police, who I think are detaining people or holding them but I can't see through the crowd. In the past five minutes, I've seen police in riot gear uncapping their pepper spray and police coming onto the scene with tear gas guns. Protesters are holding Pike Street between First and Second. Some of them are putting on gas masks. Looks like they might be gearing up for a confrontation."
4:45 pm "Two men are hastily drilling plywood over the windows of Bank of America at Westlake," Brandan reports.
5:28 pm Aaron Pickus, spokesman for Mayor McGinn, tells Eli Sanders that the mayor activated the city's emergency operations center after the press conference earlier today, is in there now, and will be staying as long as necessary.
5:34 pm Frizzelle reports from Fourth and Pine (this is Eli receiving reports now, by the way) that there's a large, chanting, Occupy-ish thing going on.
"The police chief (the police chief)," they're saying. "And the mayor (and the mayor) are spreading rumors (are spreading rumors) that we're the bad protesters (that we're the bad protesters) and we can't let them do that (and we can't let them do that)."
Frizzelle says the group is a bunch of people in normal clothes interspersed with guys in ski hats with bandanas over their faces.
- Christopher Frizzelle
- Kelly O
Brendan adds: "The mood has been getting more and more intense all day, with police and protesters yelling at each other, protesters flipping off cops, calling them pigs, telling them to fuck off... I don't know, but I am suspecting that things will become more confrontation as the evening comes. They are moving to Wells Fargo soon, and they are telling parents and small children to stick together in the march."
5:55 pm What Paul Constant thinks. "Based on what I've seen of the coverage, this General Strike is being blown out of proportion by almost every media outlet in town (and a few around the country, too)."
6:02 pm Frizzelle reports that the protesters are now marching down Third Avenue, led by a woman on a bicycle with a giant—"giant"—unicorn horn coming out of her helmet. Also spotted: Commuters trapped on a Metro bus, watching and looking bored as marchers occasionally tap on their windows.
- Christopher Frizzelle
- Kelly O
- The unicorn leader mentioned earlier.
6:24 pm Brendan reports: "We're northbound on Fourth and Marion. The group left Westlake, passed by Wells Fargo, and has now met up with the immigration reform march. Looks like they're headed back to Westlake. Every bank the march passed was heavily guarded by police officers—and the steps to Wells Fargo were blocked off by yellow tape. Several police officers and men in suits stood at the top. The crowd is banging drums, chanting, and I would say the mood is still tense but nothing has happened yet. There's a pickup truck towing a trailer with a big, red pretend jail with people inside. A man dressed as a rodeo clown is standing on top swinging a lasso and playfully catching people in the streets. The float seems to be about immigration reform."
6:38 pm Now a total of 8 arrests, says the SPD.
6:42 pm Brendan reports that the protesters from earlier in the day have now merged with a large immigration march that just arrived downtown. "The crowd has completely filled Madison between Second and Fourth Avenues," he texts. "Lots and lots of people here."
- Kelly O
A brass band is playing. "Sign on the bell of the tuba says 'Borders blow,'" Brendan writes. "The music is making the mood more festive... A man is giving a speech in Spanish atop a stage in the intersection of Second and Marion. Behind him is a banner saying 'We the People' in old, Revolution-era font."
According to Brendan, an SPD officer estimated the current size of the crowd at around 1,000 people.
6:51 pm We are not unique today. However, Seattle does account for a lot of the photos on MSNBC.com's slideshow of May Day rallies around the world.
6:56 pm The mayor tweets that he won't be able to attend the immigration rally, though he'd wanted to. "Events dictate that I need to be at the EOC."
- Kelly O
One speaker said: "The bank funds the jails." Another speaker said: "Wells Fargo makes money by dismantling Latino families." Another speaker talked about how she was taken from her small children after being detained because of her immigration status. Another speaker talked about labor, saying, "The only reason we have undocumented workers is to keep the wages low. If they could be documented, they would join unions!" It seems like the numbers have thinned some, Brendan says, perhaps because of the rain.
At one point, some of the Westlake demonstrators began chanting: "Whose streets? Our streets!" The immigration protesters responded by chanting, "Si se puede!", drowning out the other chant.
- Kelly O
Jordan Eisen tells Brendan that he saw officers point out the medic at the immigration rally. Another protest medic named Mike Munro says he was walking with the arrested medic and one other person at Second and University. He says around a dozen police officers then surrounded them with guns drawn, told the arrested medic to get on the ground, and cuffed him. That's when the protesters gathered and began shouting.
"I've been buddied with him most of the day," Munro says, "and he's been nothing but helpful. He hasn't done anything wrong." Eisen suspects the police arrested him because he was present at the window smashings at the courthouse earlier today. But, Eisen notes, the arrested medic was encouraging protesters to not smash windows. "But, he was the closest to the broken window," Eisen says.
8:14 pm Reports of Occupiers meeting downtown to declare today a success. Meanwhile, the city's emergency operations center, which Mayor McGinn had been hunkered down in, just announced it is closing down for the night "as crowds at Westlake Center dissipated and planned protest events resolved peacefully."
Also: "The Seattle Police Department will continue to monitor and respond to public safety threats as they arise." (At least they seem to be keeping a good sense of humor about it all.)
Oh, and if you're missing your sharpened stakes, metal poles, shields, hammer, pry bar, rocks, paint, "makeshift barricade with jagged edges," modified traffic barrel, or lighters—check the SPD Twitter feed.
8:26 pm Brendan was at that closing Occupy meeting, and reports: "The mood at the day's final general assembly meeting at Westlake was calm but happy. People talked about upcoming meetings and work groups, and a few people took the people's mic to say that they had come down to thank the protesters after seeing the demonstrations on TV.
"Word around the meeting was that the medic who was arrested earlier had been released without charges. Information is pending on the legal status of the other arrestees.
"As I walk home through downtown, I see workers covering up fancy storefront windows with sheets of plywood. I asked one of the workers if everyone was boarding up for the night. He said, 'Yes, windows are expensive and we are not.'"
Occupy A Few Notes on What I Saw at the General Strike
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, May 1, 2012 at 5:41 PM
Based on what I've seen of the coverage, this General Strike is being blown out of proportion by almost every media outlet in town (and a few around the country, too.) Right this moment, we have a few broken windows along one block downtown. There was an incident involving pepper spray, but the spray reportedly came from a man with a history of arming himself with pepper spray and throwing himself in the middle of confrontations. (He denies being the one who sprayed the crowd. Several people who were there say they saw him spraying the crowd. Presumably, someone has video that will clear this issue up.) The vandalism of those windows was a shame, and photos indicate that they were broken by a few kids. (Someone wearing Nikes was involved with smashing the NikeTown windows, which to me indicates a protest tourist from a privileged background who just wanted to stir shit up and succeeded.)
Here's the thing: There are hundreds of people all around town right now protesting income inequality, identifying a desperate need for immigration reform, and celebrating our shared American history of organized labor. Those are issues that need our discussion, and our consideration, and our attention. And all the coverage is centering around the acts of a few know-nothing nobodies who wandered in from nowhere to cause small-scale trouble. Sure, people said stupid things, and did stupid things, but this was almost entirely a peaceful assembly.
It drives me crazy that when all the idiot airhead newscasters around town open their broadcasts tonight, they're going to mention the broken windows, and the stupid things people are saying, and they're not going to mention the causes that inspired hundreds upon hundreds of Seattleites to peacefully take to the streets, to make their voices heard. The media is complicit in allowing a few petty criminals to steal the voice of average, everyday Seattleites. Tell me that's not a goddamned shame.
Occupy / Crime / City Alleged Superhero Phoenix Jones... Framed??!
Posted by Cienna Madrid on Tue, May 1, 2012 at 5:27 PM
- Baconcat
- "What, this can of pepper spray?"
<—-Here's Jones, pictured posing downtown this morning with a big-ass can of pepper spray.
But Jones, who was arrested by police last fall for allegedly pepper spraying another group of innocent bystanders, vehemently denies that he unleashed his spray today:
"I NEVER PEPPER SPRAYED ANYONE I DID GET SPRAYED BY ANARCHIST 'PROTESTER' OCCUPY IS OK BUT ROITS [sic] ARE NOT," the self-proclaimed superhero writes on Twitter.
But if not Jones, then who? Could it be that Jones was framed? By a new villain in town?? Mayhap by the people's villain??!
For all our sakes, I fucking hope so. Rex Velvet, you're a desperate city's only hope.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Occupy / Etiquette / City / Economy Are You Going to the May Day Protests?
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 6:15 PM
For some people, tomorrow is a big day: no work, no school, no banking, and no shopping as a protest about immigration policy, the wealth gap, and a bevy of other problems the demonstrators see with the status quo. Plus demonstrations. (Schedule here.)
The mayor seems a bit freaked out, anarchists seem resolved, and the city has announced that Second Avenue might be shut down tomorrow afternoon.
Last month, a Slog poll showed that 28% of you were planning to participate.
- slog
How about now?
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Occupy / 2012 The 99% Spring: What Do You Think?
Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Apr 19, 2012 at 11:24 AM
Part of Occupy Wall Street's comeback plan involves something called the 99% Spring, an activist training initiative to prep protesters for the May 1st "general strike," backed mostly by MoveOn.org. The 99% Spring's links to established progressive organizations has led occupiers to worry about being enfolded in the effort to re-elect President Obama, and has prompted Adbusters, the magazine whose call for a Wall Street occupation ignited the movement last fall, to announce that the very soul of Occupy is in danger.
A post on Adbusters' blog yesterday asks, "Can we co-opt the co-opters? Should we simply ignore the 99% Spring? Or do we need a more visceral response?"
I get the desire for ethical purity in a progressive movement. But I'd argue that ethical purity is what resulted in the Occupy movement winding up as nothing more than a late-winter scuffle over the right to post tents in public spaces. You can't win a battle if you're picking fights with every side, as Ron Paul fans are learning right now. I think if Occupy wants to make a difference, they'd do better by supporting Barack Obama at the top of the ticket and also promoting a slate of more progressive politicians in local races. They also need strong leadership that understands the importance of compromise while still keeping the core message pure.
The early days of Occupy were an inarguable success. Occupy got the message out to the masses. Economic injustice is now a major issue. But seizing banks and camping in downtown squares is a first, attention-getting step. That kind of behavior isn't going to make a difference in the long run, and failing to support a candidate because he's imperfect is frankly stupid. It's better to get behind that candidate and make sure he knows he owes you once he wins. That's how politics works.
Of course, it has been argued before that sellout hacks like me are the reason why the world is so shitty. What do you think?
Friday, April 13, 2012
Occupy / Animals / Sports / Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz / Economy The Whales and Monopoly Capitalism in Sports
Posted by Chicago Fan on Fri, Apr 13, 2012 at 4:47 PM
Today is the anniversary of several events important in the history of baseball not just as a game but as an expression of capitalism, of labor relations.
First,
1914 Major league baseball returns to Baltimore as the first Federal League game is played with approximately 27,000 patrons on hand to watch the Terrapins beat the Buffalo Blues, 3-2.
The Federal League was an attempt not just by owners to create a third major league to compete with the National and American Leagues, but by players to destroy the Reserve Clause and be able to negotiate fair wages for their labor. This league failed after two seasons, and for decades the myth of baseball as a game, not a business, flourished, as players loyally played for one team their whole careers: because they had no choice (unlike Ann Romney). I am wearing at this very moment a Chicago Whales groundskeepers' jacket (from the very cool Ebbets Field Flannels); the Whales were the Chicago entry in the FL (and 1915 League champs!), and Whales owner Charles Weeghman built the park that would become Wrigley Field.
Second, in 1972, the first MLB players' strike ended. The players got owners to not only kick more cash into pensions, they got the right to arbitration, which actually helped fuel spiraling salaries far more than free agency (the owners insisted that arbiters had to choose between the player's request and the team's offer; they could not split the difference).
Finally, the movement of MLB franchises out of the east coast and towards first the midwest, then the west coast and the south began on this date when in
1953 On Opening Day, thanks to the three-hit pitching of Max Surkont, the former Boston Braves win their first game representing the city of Milwaukee by beating the Reds, 2-0 at Crosley Field. It is the first time in since Baltimore shifted to New York to become the Highlanders (Yankees) fifty years ago that a franchise has moved to a different city.
Such movements were based on money following fans, and attempts to maintain MLB's monopoly (the Pacific Coast League was thiiiiiis close to being a Major League before the Dodgers and Giants moved in. . . ).
And in purely PNW local interest:
1990 The first sellout in Mariners history occurs when 54,874 fans attend the season home opener at the Kingdome. The Friday the 13th crowd leaves disappointed when Seattle is routed by Oakland, 15-7.
Enjoy. Will try to keep up the daily baseball lessons as long as I have time, energy, and internet access. Meanwhile, anyone know what Milton Bradley is up to?
Occupy / Books / Indian Country Consensus, the Navajo, and Fourth-Person Pronouns
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Fri, Apr 13, 2012 at 12:46 PM
The quote below is from Language and Art in the Navajo Universe by anthropologist Gary Witherspoon—who was a teacher of mine—published in 1977. This passage made me think of some of the fretting—and mockery—in the press about Occupy and its political/decision-making process and unusual way of using language: the "mic check," the repetitions, etc.
Navajos believe that each person should have the right to speak and act as he pleases, so long as his intentions are not malevolent or his actions harmful to others. Desirable and ethical behavior on the part of others is hoped for and even expected, but it is never demanded or required. Coercion and control are always deplored in interpersonal and intra-group relations. Downs described this attitude as a belief in the "inviolability of the individual."
... In intra-group relations no individual, regardless of position or status, has the right to impose his will on the group. Likewise, the group does not have the right to impose its will on the individual. Unanimity is the only acceptable basis of collective action. Although a system of majority rule has been imposed on the Navajos for half a century, the extent to which the principle of unanimity continues to pervade almost all social and political deliberations is amazing. In searching for a key to the Navajo social system, Shepardson and Hammond came upon the phrase bila, "it's up to him," which is heard so frequently among the Navajo...
The reluctance to avoid even the slightest appearance of attempting to speak for or control the actions of others is also significantly marked or expressed in Navajo grammar and linguistic behavior. A Navajo never addresses another person by name or speaks the name of another person when he is present... Beyond this practice of not using names in address, there is a separate person (called the Navajo fourth person by Hale and others) in the conjugations of all verbs which is primarily used in reference to states and actions of people who are in the presence or within hearing distance of the speaker.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Occupy Down With Capitalism! Buy Our Stuff!
Posted by Dominic Holden on Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 4:56 PM
This Occupy Wall Street kids t-shirt—featuring a fist with six fingers plus a thumb—is hanging from a canopy this afternoon in Westlake Park. An orange shirt says, "We Are the 99 Percent" and bears the Amalgamated Transit Union logo. I asked the guy manning the table of Occupy Seattle literature, how much for the shirts? "It's a donation," he said. How much? "Ten dollars."
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Occupy Occupy... Easter Eggs
Posted by Megan Seling on Tue, Mar 27, 2012 at 12:07 PM
Monday, March 26, 2012
Occupy / Economy The May Day General Strike
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Mon, Mar 26, 2012 at 3:35 PM
- OWS
A few months ago, Occupy Seattle voted to join Occupy Wall Street in endorsing a general strike. Point of interest: During the Seattle General Strike of 1919, around 60,000 workers, 19% of the city's total population, walked off the job and effectively paralyzed the city. The vote to strike happened, incidentally, while many of the city's prominent (and more moderate) union leaders were at a meeting in Chicago. You can read more about that at Historylink.org.
What will you do on May 1? Will any Sloggers stay away from work and school, either quietly (by calling in sick, for example) or loudly (by announcing your intentions)?
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Occupy / Economy Looks Like Occupy Chased the G8 Out of Chicago
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Sat, Mar 24, 2012 at 2:58 PM
This is oldish news, but in case you hadn't heard: The G8 was supposed to meet, along with NATO, in Chicago this May. In January, Adbusters put out the call for people to amass in Chicago for an Occupy-style protest:
Against the backdrop of a global uprising that is simmering in dozens of countries and thousands of cities and towns, the G8 and NATO will hold a rare simultaneous summit in Chicago this May. The world’s military and political elites, heads of state, 7,500 officials from 80 nations, and more than 2,500 journalists will be there.
And so will we.
On May 1, 50,000 people from all over the world will flock to Chicago, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and #OCCUPYCHICAGO for a month. With a bit of luck, we’ll pull off the biggest multinational occupation of a summit meeting the world has ever seen.
A few weeks ago, the Obama Administration announced it would move the G8 meeting to the more secure location of Camp David. The White House explained that Camp David would offer a more "intimate" setting for a "free-flowing discussion"—without a backdrop of police clashes and bloody protesters and journalists.
Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel was reportedly surprised by—and couldn't have been very happy about—the move:
The decision came as a surprise to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was praising city’s plans to host the G8 summit as recently as Monday morning, when asked about downtown businesses preparing for the possibility of having to board up windows if expected G8 protests were to turn violent.
“I think this is a unique opportunity for Chicago to showcase itself to the world, and the world to see the city of Chicago. I think our police department is highly trained, very professional, with the right leadership,” he said.
If nothing else, this is a public-relations victory for Occupy. As the news stories tell it, the mere specter of its presence has forced a major international event out of a major American city and into a fortified citadel. Whatever you might think of Occupy or the G8, the news creates a mental image of worried world leaders—without a popular mandate to lead—hiding out from their pissed-off citizens.
The NATO meeting is still planned for this May, and the city of Chicago has been rejecting permits for protest marches, arguing that there aren't a “sufficient number of on-duty police officers, or other city employees authorized to regulate traffic."
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Occupy Five Occupy Seattle Protesters Arrested at Chase Bank Acquitted
Posted by Dominic Holden on Thu, Mar 15, 2012 at 4:50 PM
According to a person familiar with the case, the five Occupy Seattle activists known as the Chase Five who shut down a Chase bank branch on Broadway last December—they chained their arms together between lengths of PVC piping in the bank lobby—to protest the visit of CEO Jamie Dimon were found not guilty of trespass charges this afternoon. The Seattle City Attorney's office has not replied for requests to comment. At this point, I have no more details. I'll update this post when I get more.
Still, this sounds like great news.
Actions like these are exactly what Occupy Seattle does well—focusing on a major bank and associating their demonstrations with one of the bank's executives. The SPD's widespread application of pepper spray on several protesters outside the bank, who were never charged, in hindsight, was reprehensible. If officers have grounds to pepper spray people in the face, then they have grounds to arrest those people. And given the choice between assaulting someone with chemicals or making an arrest, an arrest makes more sense: At least the defendant enjoys due process. In this case, the five defendants who did have due process by getting arrested, charged, and a defense before a judge, apparently got off without a conviction.
UPDATE: Seattle City Attorney's office spokeswoman Kimberly Mills writes they were "all acquitted." But that was everything she had.
UPDATE 2: I just spoke to Michael Martin, who was one of the six jurors who ultimately decided to acquit the case. He explains that the burden was on the city's prosecutors, who sought charges of unlawful trespass, to prove that the five defendants were knowingly breaking the law when they sat down in the bank during regular business hours. Police had informed the protesters that they would be arrested, he says, "but that doesn't mean that they know they are breaking the law."
"Government bailing out the banks—that wasn't even discussed," he says. "We didn't spend any time on that. In fact, there were a couple of jurors out of the six that weren't sympathetic to Occupy, residents of Capitol Hill, and they were annoyed by nuisance and drugs. But when it came down on to it, based on the evidence, they didn't know it was breaking the law."
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Archie Comics to Take On Occupy Wall Street
Posted by Paul Constant at 3:29 PM in Occupy / Books / Nerd
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Occupy Seattle, Bologna, and Obama in Bellevue
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement at 11:27 AM in Occupy / 2012 / Chow
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Here Comes Occupy Wall Street 2.0?
Posted by Paul Constant at 11:43 AM in Occupy / 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Crowdsourcing Uncut Police Video from the Dec. 12 Occupy Protest at the Port of Seattle
Posted by Eli Sanders at 6:00 AM in Occupy / City
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Oregon Republican Wants to Outlaw Online Organizing
Posted by Goldy at 12:30 PM in Occupy / Politics / Teh Internets
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The Occupy Bills (Featuring Sen. Pam Roach Fighting Big Banks Over Shady Foreclosures!)
Posted by Eli Sanders at 10:42 AM in Occupy / Olympia
Monday, January 30, 2012
Working Washington Rebukes Wells Fargo Vandals
Posted by Dominic Holden at 4:02 PM in Occupy
Police Investigating Pro-Occupy Vandalism and Smashed Window at Seattle Wells Fargo
Posted by Dominic Holden at 2:19 PM in Occupy / Crime
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Woman Intends to Gay-Marry a Warehouse
Posted by Dominic Holden at 2:10 PM in Occupy
Occupy Seattle May Streamline Decision-Making
Posted by Dominic Holden at 1:40 PM in Occupy
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
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