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Power of Silence: Walk of Shame, Well-Deserved
More stunning video from UC Davis: Chancellor Linda Katehi held a press conference and then refused to leave the building as students gathered outside chanting, “We are peaceful” and “Just walk home.” After several hours, she was persuaded to walk out through two long, seated, deafeningly silent lines of outrage. Faculty and pretty much everyone else is calling for her resignation after the attack by police and pepper-spraying by the now-I.D.ed Lt. John Pike. He, another officer, and the police chief have been put on leave. They should be booked.
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182 Comments so far
Show AllWow. The deafening silence by those students and faculty was far more condemning of this evil bitch than anything they could have chanted or yelled at her as she walked to her car. I think it's safe to say she is not a very liked person at her place of employment. Resign now, you little shit.
I would really like to know who the hell the people running that school think they are. Parents send their kids there for an education and expect the school to keep them safe. The school should NEVER EVER harm the kids who are peacefully going about their business.
People pay a hell of a lot of money to go to that school. Those students are customers of that school and as such should be treated with respect. How would that bitch like if she walked into a mall and the mall police pepper sprayed her?
The kids were blocking a damn sidewalk, walk the frig around them. I am so sick of the cops in this country. If there are any decent cops that read this site, you better start doing something to get control of the deviants in your ranks because actions like this make you ALL look like low life scum.
One of the things the kids are protesting is the debt they are being stuck with to go to college. And one the reasons school costs so much is the dead wood at the top that skims large amounts of tuition dollars to pad their salaries.
Think about it, that dumb-ass low life school official is pepper spraying the very people that pay her over blown salary. Talk about frigging nerve. Where the hell do they get these tools from? She should be fired, and the person that replaces her needs to get paid a hell of a lot less. These kids are taking on debt for decades to pay the salaries of people that obviously should not hold those positions.
I think the parents of these kids need to "occupy" that woman's office.
"Those students are customers of that school and as such should be treated with respect. How would that bitch like if she walked into a mall and the mall police pepper sprayed her?"
Customers are always abused, just think of the appalling way that mortgage owners and renters are treated.
Customers in shops are treated like potential theives.
Passengers are treated like potential terrorists.
etc etc
It's to stop customers demanding that respect , to not ask what they pay for and to bully them into silence.
You know what? You are absolutely right!
It's been known to happen!!! ~lol
I would like to add that I believe it is a mistake to accept the "business model" of education. Students are not simply customers. The student-teacher relationship is unique and should not be reduced to a market category.
ditto. "There comes a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious..." - Mario Savio
"It's to stop customers demanding that respect, to not ask what they pay for and to bully them into silence."
I think you've over-simplified and undermined the gravity of the situation it to the extent that what you said doesn't apply in the context of what happened. If you read anything about this situation, the students, who are not only customers of the school, but also our nations future, were exercising their right to civil disobedience and I want to emphasize the word *civil*. They even offered Lt. Pike coffee and food the previous day as he was chatting with them in a friendly manner.
I've recently learned the term "structural violence" from a friend. Structural violence is basically the top 1% taking advantage of the rest of us through policy. It amounts to impoverishing more and more of us each and every day.
To express civil disobedience and be bullied...worse than bulled into silence, simply did not work in this case and for that I am grateful. If we don't ask for respect then it will certainly never happen.
"I've recently learned the term "structural violence" from a friend. Structural violence is basically the top 1% taking advantage of the rest of us through policy."
---------------------------
I've always felt that terms like "structural violence" go well beyond consciousness-raising into self-parody, and thus end up serving the predators rather than us.
"Violence" is a pretty well-defined word. The wealthy want us to accept that property damage should count as "violence", but nearly everyone else in the world sees through that, I suspect. To nearly everyone, "violence" is some intentional act on the part of A that results, and was expected to result, in B's broken bones, blood loss, or at a minimum nasty-looking bruising/physical pain (as here, from the spray). If someone accidentally totals our car or bike, but we walk away unhurt, we don't think of their act as having been an example of "violence" since it wasn't intentional and we didn't bleed.
We need a better term. The "structural" part is good, since it illuminates the inbuilt nature of what's going on, the fact that we're being effed over with fountain pens rather than six-guns. But the "violence" part just muddies the water and makes it harder to think.
once you control the land, you can do anything you want to the people...
and they can call it anything they want...
oppression or opportunity...
whatever...
without actual violence, structural violence would fall...
the actual violence is the key...
These government outrages are for the purpose of stripping USAn's of their dignity or as black professor/philosopher Cornell West called it the "niggerization" of all USAn's by ObomberBush What he getting at is that 1st citizens are stripped of their dignity by government abusing them to showcase that USAn's cannot protect themselves and/or their families from government abuse.The citizenry will not protect and/or not know what is their best interest, and the government proceeds to define what is in the best interest of the citizens. The education system is gutted, the Constitution is ignored, and political bribery is rampant so that special interest groups, corporations, tell legislators what subsidies they want from the forced contributions, withholding taxes, collected by the USG and then transferred to the corporations either in like kind and/or corporate welfare benefits like the Pentagon which purpose is to protect the worldwide assets of the corporations.
These government outrages are for the purpose of stripping USAn's of their dignity or as black professor/philosopher Cornell West called it the "niggerization" of all USAn's by ObomberBush What he getting at is that 1st citizens are stripped of their dignity by government abusing them to showcase that USAn's cannot protect themselves and/or their families from government abuse.The citizenry will not protect and/or not know what is their best interest, and the government proceeds to define what is in the best interest of the citizens. The education system is gutted, the Constitution is ignored, and political bribery is rampant so that special interest groups, corporations, tell legislators what subsidies they want from the forced contributions, withholding taxes, collected by the USG and then transferred to the corporations either in like kind and/or corporate welfare benefits like the Pentagon which purpose is to protect the worldwide assets of the corporations.
You wrote: "I would really like to know who the hell the people running that school think they are."
They are The Institution... they are Caesar.
Every human institution becomes a practitioner of evil when its members stop paying attention, stop questioning, stop challenging. Thus we become the Institution. And then we wake up next morning, all dirty and sticky and ridden with remorse.
"There's good news and bad news from the historical Jesus.
The good news: God says Caesar sucks.
The bad news: God says Caesar is us."
- John Dominic Crossan
The Hope: OWS suggests we have a choice.
Let's help give Linda Katehi a "silent, respectful exit" from her administrative role in the UC system. There's a petition you can sign asking for the Chancellor's resignation, it's already got tens of thousands of signatures:
http://www.change.org/petitions/police-pepper-spray-peaceful-uc-davis-students-ask-chancellor-katehi-to-resign
Just keep walking, Chancellor. Just keep walking.
Annette M. Spicuzza
UC Davis Police Chief
(530) 752-3113
I ask all of you to call this number today or tomorrow and demand that the cowardly, sadistic Lt. John Pike not only be fired but arrested for assault. He obviously has a mental problem and should, under no circumstances, be allowed to have a gun or hide behind a badge. Unless, of course, he wants to use that gun on himself which is about the only thing left to the miserable son of a bitch. Cops like this must be punished severly by the system. And if that fails then the people must act. Where is justice?
Yes, and when convicted, be put in with the general population. THAT would prevent this sort of outrageous behavior.
Hi Elizabeth,
As I watch the many videos, my heart ached for the students. It's heartless to see the Chancellor treat her students like Mayor Quan did to the OWS in Oakland.
I write in earnest. I understand the plights of these kids’ faces bleak jobs’ outlook and servicing surmountable debts for the rest of their lives. I was in Davis in June for my kid UC Davis Spring Commencement 2011. She finished six mths early, but still need a few more credit units to get the diploma. I called them and they are OK. I now fear for their safety.
You are right they are kids, being abused.
If parents abused their children like the government does to children they would be arrested and jailed.
The comments by the "police chief" that the students surrounded the cops after the police assault on them and the situation was "volatile" showed a complete misunderstanding of the scene. The cops in riot gear with the power of the state were never threatened by the students who chanted encouragement for them to just leave with their assault rifles clenched in their fists as if they were under assault. This police chief must go as should the entire country's. The people in power clearly do not see the state of our world and are only interested in perpetuating their reign. "Leaders" in government and business are only slightly amused by the OCCUPY movement and confident their police state will protect them and other criminals in power. Sort of like Egypt - you know?
It's interesting that the police chief should openly mention that his men were being surrounded, as it's an unremarked feature of some of these videos featuring police confrontation - the police are largely outnumbered and in fact fortunate the opposing crowd is not in a mood to fight back. Several of the UC Davis officers are visibly nervous as they begin their slow retreat. This can also be seen in the evening footage from Berkeley, as officers nervously check behind to be sure their comrades are still there. The "shock and awe" facade of the robocop stormtroopers is, in these instances, a bubble that has definitely popped.
Cops like this ARE the (existing) system. I will call however.
I would like to see the parents of the abused students take this to court. Charges should be brought against both the Stasi, for harming their kids, and the school (to which they entrusted their kids), for not keeping their kids safe.
RT has reported that "Two University of California, Davis police officers have been placed on administrative leave after pepper spraying protesters in Friday's Occupy protest, according to a local radio station. Earlier the UC Davis Chancellor said she was forming a task force to investigate the police action" http://rt.com/news/line/2011-11-20/#id22283
So we should make our demand for justice loud and clear!!!
Not ENOUGH! Sign this petition to get their asses fired! http://www.change.org/petitions/police-pepper-spray-peaceful-uc-davis-students-ask-chancellor-katehi-to-resign
You are all truly amazing and I love you all for it! I would say 'HELL NO' to administrative leave on criminal officers. Arrest, charges, prosecution, fines, and imprisonment. In the general prison population. We must ensure we don't allow "cop prisons" and we must dissolve the elitist prisons too. Bless you all for the courage to speak up.
I am in agreement with your emotion. I like that you have the Chief's phone number here. I differ only on how Lt. Pike should be treated. I obviously think he should be disciplined. But don't you think he was doing what his boss, Annette wanted done? You don't develop a career and get appointed and promoted by constantly disobeying orders or being a rogue officer. The Chancellor and the Chief are the ones who need to be punished. As a person at the top of an organization with 290 employees, I can tell you it is their responsibility and theirs alone. They know exactly what Lt. Pike was going to do before he did it.
"I was just following orders". doesn't even fly in the military any more. One is obligated to NOT follow an order that contradicts the constitution. Or, for that matter, that violates basic societal moral standards. Clearly these cops have demonstrated that they need to find another line of work.
.
It might not supposed to be able to fly anymore, but somehow I'm not so sure anymore.
How many soldiers actually refused orders to help torture detainees recently?
Does anyone even know?
The bitch needs to go. Look at her smut face!
you may have meant "smug" but "smut" works too.
vdb,
I checked before posting. Normally for one-liner I don't double check. At that moment, Just cannot remember the spelling. My first draft I type "smurt" it marked error and “smut” was the option in WP and Eudora email client. Checked thesaurus for "Smut" - stained with a dirty substance, like soot. I guess close enough, not what I wanted. Thanks for pointing it out and most probably forget it the next time around. I appreciate it. :-)
Sivasm, your word choice was quite apt!
English is obviously not your native tongue but your writing is getting better and better. I always look forward to your comments.
Sivasm, I agree with dkshaw, and happened to be thinking the very same thing as I read your comment above.
Most likely this woman should be fired but we don't know that she made this cop spray the students with pepper spray and the misogyny in these comments whenever a woman is in the wrong is far beyond condemning her for what she did.
I appreciate your caution artemix. The human tendency to form into lynch mobs when there is a PERCEIVED outrage is disconcerting. This woman did not directly abuse students. If she sffirmed the atmosphere in which this occurred or in any way sanctioned the police violence, then I believe she should be pressured to resign. But we don't seem to have all the facts and she deserves her day in court before we judge.
Ultimately she is responsible for what that cop did. She O.K.'d the police action regardless. The problem with our society is no accountability at the top. This woman must be removed, and those on her staff, to be made example of, or we will continue to see the arrogance this video showed. Both of her "bodyguards" had smirks on their faces walking out. It is indicative the way the 99% are treated. Remove them, and make examples or they will strengthen their resolve.
"The problem with our society is no accountability at the top." Exactly! How many times do you hear somebody at the to say; "I take full responsibility for this..." and they keep their job and go on like nothing happened.
If those are campus police, their primary job should be to keep the students safe, NOT to pepper spray them. The cop who sprayed them, and whoever gave the order need to go.
Go where? I suggest that they be fired, stripped of their pensions, and then prosecuted. I think jail time is in order. Not only at UC Davis, but also at UC Berkely. These monsters are not "too big to fall" for the crimes that they have committed. If this doesn't happen NOW, the brutality will continue.
Glad to hear the voice of reason here. We do not need to lapse into the kind of mentality being displayed by the police in many of these situations.
As to another person's comments on cops, I've known many cops and former cops in my time and about 1/2 of them are really good people, with good intentions, trying to do a somewhat thankless job. The other 1/2 are, indeed, power hungry, control freak, S.O.B.'s. The task they need to realize they face is to say "no" or to speak up when they disagree with orders.against orders with which they disagree, to be the voice of reason. People in many of these demonstrations have shown extreme restraint and the police are only making the situation more volatile and adding impetus to our cause. If those who are in the police departments and disagree with this and don't speak up they become complicit by their own actions. This premise was used after WWII in dealing with Nazi war criminals and has commonly been upheld in similar situations. Look at the troops in Syria that have changed sides as an example of more honorable choices and behavior.
dogrunner78,
The cops in Davis are really bad or most of them anyway. My wife was fined and almost charged with felony for not making a complete stop at the cross walk at 4:30am in the morning. I missed by an inch. My tail signal light was out. Most of those charged were minority (Hispanic) and students for jay walking. You really got to watch whenever in Davis as parking and driving is a pain in the ass.
BTW, just found out the two cops involved are placed on administrative leave Sunday. "Katehi also set a 30-day deadline for a task force investigating the incident to issue its report. The task force will comprise students, staff and faculty, Katehi said, and will be chosen this week."
My understanding, those cops are on leave, with pay!
Huh? "Don't know that she made?" This has nothing to do with sexism or the hatred of women by men as you suggest, but if you are focused on this you surely miss the bigger picture. Priorities, my dear.
As I mentioned earlier. I see shame and guilt as she is walking out. Not arrogance. That a side. She is making a huge... huge salary. Supposedly she is making such a huge salary because she is ultimately responsible for decisions such as how to treat protesters on campus. Granted nobody can be responsible for the actions of others... but if you are going to pretend you can be... and accept such a humongous salary. You shouldn't cry crocodile tears when things go wrong. In other words... Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time. Her time has come.
She knew the fascist goon squad was on her campus. If she was concerned for the safety of her students, she should have laid down the law at the onset of the demonstration. It's her job to maintain an orderly and safe campus. She failed miserably. She deserves to be fired.
And with an attitude like hers, she could well be California's next governor, if she ever broke down and got American citizenship.
Actually, here's what we KNOW:
She made the decision to send in police to clear the protestor encampment.
She made that decision after her fellow chancellor at Berkeley had made a similar decision with quite disastrous consequences -- which she was certainly aware of.
It's obvious from the video that the pepper spraying by the police officer was COMPLETLEY unwarranted and just plain sadistic, but she DID NOT call for the immediate dismissal of the police officer involved -- which any person with any appreciation for the enormity of what they were witnessing would have done.
At the very least, she made exceedinly poor judgements that directly affected the safety of university students (placed them in peril) and is guilty of gross negligence in that regard. What if that officer (who is clearly deranged) had used a gun instead?
Is there really any question that this is NOT the kind of person who should be in charge of a university?
PS I believe that the UC Berkeley Chancellor should resign as well. He has no more good sense -- and understanding of the US Constitution -- than the UC Davis Chancellor.
And if I were the governor of CA, I'd take a good look at the hiring criteria used by the CA Board of regents because the latter have failed utterly in their choice of Chancellors.
I said "If I were governor of CA" not "If I were Jerry Brown" :-)
But your point is a good one.
If I were Jerry Brown (or Arnold, or Ronny or most of the other clowns CA ends up with for Governor), I'd probably just commit suicide and put myself out of my misery -- and save the millions of CA residents from misery as well (and save the people of the country and world from misery as well, in cases like Ronny)