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Occupy Wall Street: Police Violence Reveals a Corrupt System
Better-off Occupy Wall Street protesters are learning something about the relationship between citizen and state
At four in the morning in lower Manhattan, as what remains of the Occupy Wall Street encampment is loaded into trash compacters, some protesters have still not given up on the police. Kevin Sheneberger tries to engage one NYPD officer in a serious debate about the role of law enforcement in public protest. Then he sees them loading his friend's tent into the back of a rubbish truck. Behind him, a teenage girl holds a hastily written sign saying: "NYPD, we trusted you – you were supposed to protect us!"
The sentiment is a familiar one. Across Europe, over a year of demonstrations, occupations and civil disobedience, anti-austerity protesters have largely shifted from declaring solidarity with the police – as fellow workers whose jobs and pensions are also under threat – to outrage and anger at state violence against unarmed protesters. Following last month's police brutality in Oakland, and today's summary eviction of the Occupy Wall Street camp, American activists too are reaching the conclusion that "police protect the 1%".
The notion that law enforcement is there to protect a wealthy elite from the rest of the population is not news to those protesters from deprived and ethnic minority backgrounds, many of whom have been subject to intimidation in their communities for years, but for those from more privileged backgrounds, the first spurt of pepper spray to the face is an important education in the nature of the relationship between state and citizen in the west. "Who do you guys work for?" Shouts one Manhattan protester, as police load arrestees into a van. "You work for JP Morgan Bank!"
In times of economic and democratic crisis, it makes sense for faltering governments to use police violence and the threat of arrest to bully citizens into compliance. In the context of protest, however, police harassment has three other, important effects. The first and most important of these is consciousness-raising.
The spectacle of police beating and brutalizing unarmed civilians for the crime of sitting on the pavement and demanding a fairer world brings home the point of the struggle to public and protesters alike. The second is galvanizing: attacks on peaceful protesters rarely make the police or government look anything but weak and cowardly, and have tended only to increase public support for civil disobedience. "This is going to explode now," 26-year-old Katie tells me, as we watch demonstrators marched out of Zuccotti Park one by one. "They don't realize what they've done."
Fighting the police can focus the energy of a movement – but it can also drain that energy. In Britain, a year of arrests and vicious crackdowns have left anti-cuts protesters debilitated and depleted, and the challenge for the American movement will be to remember its purpose in the face of police brutality. "That's the whole point of violent resistance," says Sheneberger. "It exposes the corruption of the power that's resisting you."
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Show All"This is going to explode now," 26-year-old Katie tells me, as we watch demonstrators marched out of Zuccotti Park one by one. "They don't realize what they've done."
Now the Elite will get the revolution they feared.
"Now the Elite will get the revolution they feared."..... and deserve.
¡Ya basta!
...peace...
Adams, Bloomberg and Quan...today's axis of evil.
raydelcamino,
As I see it, the OWS and Arab's Spring is a lost cause and a bonanza for the pigs. They continue to ignore us. If you have followed the recent news, you would have noticed the big oil companies, Oligarchy has taken over and are now rewarded. It came to my mind Bill Moyers may be right after all :-)
Define "revolution." I don't think so. Business as usual.
"A New York state judge this morning enjoined the city from keeping the protesters out of Zuccotti Park, but Mayor Bloomberg is simply ignoring the Order and deliberately breaking the law by refusing to allow them back in. Put another way, Bloomberg this morning has broken more laws than the hundreds of protesters who were arrested. But as we know, the law does not apply to the Michael Bloombergs of the nation; the law, instead, has simply been exploited into a weapon used by the politically and financially powerful to prevent challenges to their standing."
http://www.salon.com/2011/11/15/a_police_raid_suffused_with_symbolism/singleton/
I thought that comment by Greenwald absolutely 10000000% right-on. Too bad CD is so woeful when it comes to republishing Greenwald's material. His previous days ripping satire of the news media's vaunted "independence" was also spot-on.
I don't think CD can pillage Salon's content too often. Got to be sparing so as not to violate fair use. Instead, should just pull up his content through an RSS feed.
To paraphrase something I wrote yesterday:
Behind closed doors, Bloomberg and his ilk can piss all over ordinary unprivileged citizens 24/7.
But as long as they don't shock the conscience with heinous acts of Public Urination, they're regarded by the Establishment and its corporate mass-media propaganda arm as paragons of unimpeachable probity and respectability.
When politicians frame the issues and manipulate the limits of what can and cannot be done, it is a God send to have a gifted free person step up to the public microphone and tell it like it is. The politicians may not get it but the people do.
Hear this and know that we will change this world; pass it along for others to hear. Learn it, sing it.
http://makanamusic.com/?slide=we-are-the-many
Money talks and the "rule of law" walks. Laws no longer apply to the 1% so there is no justice for the 99%.
..............We all need to take our money out of the institutions that are buying what's left of this "so-called" democracy.
Laurie Penny is correct in saying that appeals to the police are misguided. They work for the 1% and nothing will change that. The danger is that in the face of brutality we begin to think our fight is with the police instead of those who manipulate them. Our quarrel is not with the hammer. Nothing would make our masters happier than seeing this movement degenerate into a battle with the police, a battle we cannot possibly win. Rebecca Solnit is absolutely right, violence is not an option. Always keep in mind Ed Abbey's famous distinction between sabotage and terrorism. We are not in the business of hurting people. That's their game. If we play it, we lose. It's time to regroup. We have the high ground, morally and intellectually. They have the police. This movement is just beginning.
"Our quarrel is not with the hammer. Nothing would make our masters happier than seeing this movement degenerate into a battle with the police, a battle we cannot possibly win. "
So true, and this needs to be repeated often.
Cops and soldiers are weeded out in boot camp if they don't succumb to brainwashing by the state that they are hired to gun for.
In busniess and government, nobody gets into upper management that doesn't drink the groupthink kool-aid.
You don't reason with these people.
Wise words, Moses!
to get to the king, you have to get through the pawns.
chess is not just a game, its a teaching tool.
It's starting to get a bit pedantic to go through the violence/non-violence debate every day... while I agree that so far it is not wise to succumb to aggressive action at this point, I also believe that when or if things start to become more tense and desperate non-violence will be a write off in some circumstances. In other countries where conflict is a lot closer to people's homes, you will find it's devastating no matter which option you choose. Non-violence may be worse because it can lead to total demoralization sooner...
I am starting to despise the 'Martin Luther Gandhi' mantra as noted by Derrick Jensen... sweet-natured protesters who focus only on peace. No one is willing to talk about how MLK began to have serious doubts about the effectiveness of non-violence--just before he was extinguished, which should be enough of a point right there; also, Gandhi is not quite the hero to millions in India as he is here. It may be found that Gandhi's actions alone were not responsible for true change... there were many fierce fighters in the background who were sabotaging plants and accomplishing real struggle against oppressors while 'Daddy Nappy' skipped his dinner again. The historians don't want you to know that, however, because their patrons are uneasy with effective resistance... therefore the non-violence narrative gets pushed expediently.
Sorry, but everyone in the west is pretty spoiled. We don't really believe it will get much worse, even though things are actually constantly escalating... we don't want to face the fact that state power is arming itself now and preparing for internal strife. Hundreds of millions of dollars-- money that's not going into schools and infrastructure-- is being spent on police armor and semi-lethal weapons. This is a clear sign to me that we must be ready and able to react to hardship and struggle, and to stop being so relentlessly soft. This is exactly the kind of attitude the powerful are trying to encourage...
Another point of view about Gandhi and peaceful protest:
http://voi.org/04apr2010/sourced/socialistalternative/gandhiandthemythofnon-violence.html
This comment is not a criticism of the OWS participants.
The super rich "1%" could not have torn down the walls of the Constitution for their use as a gallows if the delusional vast majority of the "99%" had not repeatedly told the political gatekeepers to let the 1% have whatever they wanted.
It is long past time that we see that the republican/democrat/libertarian gatekeepers are now the hangmen. The hangmen flatter us as they are putting our heads into the noose because they get paid by quantity of hangings.
We are hanging ourselves for the pleasure of the 1% every time we vote for anyone who belongs to a corporate-owned party.
VERY well-freaking said. 2012 will see tens of millions vote to continue being raped, whatever their "good intentions" be. If you vote to be raped, then shut up when it happens. You have absolutely no room to protest. D's and R's have made it abundantly clear which side they are on, and it isn't the 99%.
To paraphrase a classic poster statement: "What if they gave an election and nobody voted?" (or, at least, nobody voted for Dems or Repubs?)
We can dream, can't we?
Ah, yes, once again we see those who are there to supposedly protect and serve cracking down on protesters in the less than proud tradition of their fellow stormtroopers who had cracked heads on the demonstrators outside the Chicago convention in 1968 and the jackboots who had shot and killed four students at Kent State in 1970 when daring to exercise their First Amendment rights in protest against the Vietnam conflict.
The hope is that these illegal evictions and use of force and violence by the American Gestapo is being well documented so that people can say: The whole world is watching.
Anyone who believes Law Enforcement "protects" anything other than the status quo is seriously deluded or has failed to learn from the past. The Blue Meanies work for the "Man". Never forget that.
If it's wearing blue and it's mouth is moving, it's lying. The poLICE are not you friends and they don't care about "JUSTICE!" Karma is a BITCH!
These cops and mayors think our movement will go away, wrong ass holes!
You're assembling in the streets, BUT YOU'RE NOT SHOPPING???? FELONIOUS!!!
I love your comment! Priorities!
The cops may be part of the 99% BUT they often Act as the sharp end of the stick for the 1%ers.
This is nothing new - try calling the cops about a house robbery or property theft when you live in a poor neighborhood. They rarely show up and if they do they don't actually investigate the crime - even when someone Knows who robbed them.
Then call the cops if you live in a nice neighborhood "up on the hill" - hell they'll come if someone unfamiliar Drives thru the neighborhood or a dog barks too much.
Protect and Serve my ass.
Cops become Part of the 99% AFTER they take off their uniforms and become once again Citizens.
The example of Vancouver is a telling example. The downtown east side is one of the poorest neighborhoods in all Canada. It is a few blocks from the form the main Police headquarters.
Yet over 30 poor women were picked up in this neighborhood raped and murdered by one Mr Pickton. Family members implored the Police to investigate and were shrugged off. Women came to the Police indicating Mr Pickton had assaulted them and were ignored.
Yet there were two incidents of women being assaulted in West Vancouver wherein they were "Molested" and the Police were out in force warning of a serial predator in the region.
West Vancouver is one of the richest communities in all Canada.
I agree that it is rather idealistic to think that the police are "on our side." However, I also think it is important to keep working on their conciences even if it seems futile; revolutions can be won by enlisting the support of the police as well as American servicemen and women, who often really do sympathize with the masses and who have seen the abuses perpetrated on their fellow citizens (not to mention to citizens of other lands, in the name of "freedom.")
Will the majority of these uniformed individuals come to our side? Probably not. But to demonize ALL of them is also counterproductive. So a joint strategy perhaps ought to be adopted; a clear realization that law enforcement agents as a whole are not "on our side," with all of their abuses being visibly recorded and spread far and wide as is currently being done. At the same time, the movement should continue to reach out to EVERYONE regardless; you never know what is going on in the hearts and minds of others, even cops.
Don't naively believe you can win all of their hearts and minds, but also don't throw out the possibility that a substantial and critical number of the law enforcement agents of this land will indeed support the people over the tyrants. If even 20 or 30 percent ultimately refused to obey orders and attack the protesters, that would be extremely significant.
Believe me, I have no faith in law enforcement agencies and agents coming over to our side in big numbers - and I'm also aware of just how serious they could get with all their various crowd control "toys" and the use of the Patriot Act and Homeland Security to justify their attacks on American citizens - but I also feel that many individuals will come around to support the OWS protests and goals, and those numbers could ultimately be very important to the progress and success of the movement.
"But to demonize ALL of them is also counterproductive." When they lay down their weapons and step over to the correct side, they will be accepted, I am sure. As long as they are armed and acting the way they have shown, they are the enemy and deserve whatever Karma comes their way. Non violence is a noble goal but if they continue on the path they are on, God help them. COPS ... I stand with Scott Olsen, where do YOU stand. Answer carefully!
pay packets and pensions, they will not be human while they continue to suck on/at the taxpayers arteries.
1% an 99% thinking is very very wrong and deluded, 1% might own the wealth, but they also control 10% or more by their govt pay/pension incentives.
Its the 'king' and the king's men.
1% might be all very well when considering wall street, the financial giants and 'normal' graft and corruption, but when you are thinking about the status quo and civil liberties and human rights, its 10% and 90%.
Percentages aside, they are still "public servants". And as such should be accountable. I would hate to see them privatized. Then they certainly would be the "kings men".
For now, we must all remain diligent and alert. Be prepared to document excesses, and report them. It would be detrimental to throw up our hands and accept this sort of behavior as the "new" norm.
In all class divided societies, primary function of The State is to act as the instrument of repression to safeguard the interests of the ruling class and its master, in this case finance capital. There are obvious limits how much dissent it will tolerate under the guise of ‘democracy’, and I suppose the lead 1%-er of NYC, Mr. Bloomberg is making sure his class is not threatened and inconvenienced any longer. It would be interesting to see those who with best of interests shun organized movement in support of spontaneous efforts, and (I suppose) for hope for the good will of the 1%-ers to make the changes, will do next!
Hmmm
Actually soon the elite will get the "revolution" they ordered. Just like the "revolution" in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan if the kind like Italy, Ireland and
Greece fail to take hold here. People the only way and I mean the only why that the ruling elite are going to be able to hang on to the trillions they have stolen is if and only if they can destroy whats left of the free world. They are well on their way.
The police union locals should all be immediately kicked out of the AFL-CIO. Call and urge Richard Trumpka to throw the police union out of the AFL-CIO.
Here is their phone number:
AFL-CIO Media Outreach
Department, 202-637-5018
Here are three media contacts:
Josh Goldstein -- jgoldstein@aflcio.org
Jeff Hauser -- jhauser@aflcio.org
Amaya Tune -- atune@aflcio.org
If the cops want to stand with the 1%, then they should do so without the benefit of collective bargaining, that are being fought for by the other unions standing with OWS.
I think that's a good start.
As a longer term issue, what are alternatives to the existence of police currently? I'd say that the problems are obvious; they're racist, they're authoritarians, they mostly police issues that the 1% cares about at the expense of everyone else, there are little meaningful controls on their actions/misdeeds. I have some ideas, but freely admitting that they're not very good, perhaps they could still be a starting point.
Is part of the problem the idea that police is basically a lifelong activity? Essentially someone after the weeding out process above becomes so invested in it that they either come to believe in all of the things that are wrong about it-or alternately, they choose to remain silent about what's wrong and abet what's wrong through acquiescence.
The people at DKos would be very very upset, they love them their police unions.
People there used to get very upset at reported stories of police brutality and civil rights abuses, banning people for bring them up.
Good point, J-. The movement is all about non-violence, but it certainly isn't about playing softball with those who play hardball.
I agree that the movement IS the message, but I also strongly believe that many other methods must be used besides street protests and occupations to hit the PTB wherever it hurts. It's also vitally important, in my opinion, to provide other ways for the 99 percent to get involved - realistically, many will never hit the streets, but they certainly might participate in boycotts, mass write-ins and phone-ins and other activities that show their support.
The labor "movement" (well, it used to be a movement) is a prime means of enlisting millions in support of OWS. The idea of petitioning the AFL-CIO to kick out police unions when members of those unions attack peaceful, law-abiding Americans, is a very good one. Even if such attempts seem to "fail," they are not failures because every effort, every outreach, every ounce of energy directed toward change will ultimately bear some fruit.
Workers of the world, unite! Freedom and justice loving people of the world, unite! Our time is at hand - believe it!
What kind of a United States police department imposes a press blackout on its actions? Only a petty tyrant undertakes such an move.
"What kind of a United States police department imposes a press blackout on its actions? Only a petty tyrant undertakes such an move."
Or envokes a State Secrets Act.
Did you know that in Greek initially the word Tyrant described an individual who overthrew Oligarchic/Aristocratic Rule and placed the interests of the Masses foremost once again?
Today was my first foray down to the OWS camp. I went in search of my 19 year old daughter who spent the night and was caught up by the police dragnet. It was so surreal. The sight of so many police in riot helmets lining the street was daunting and instilled a chill. As I stood on the corner of Broadway, I overheard a conversation two police officers wearing Community Affairs jackets were having with a female passerby. Comments like if they wanted jobs, there are plenty to be found, they are lazy, they are trust fund babies and don’t need to work, they are wasting time. Their ignorance and disdain was so upsetting that I approached a PO Canty who had several stripes on his sleeves and told him it was not appropriate for these officers to be making these comments while in uniform at a protest. He told me they had a right to their opinions and basically it was the fault of the protestors camping out. I told him yes, everyone has a right to their opinion, but when you are in your workplace, in full uniform, it is not the right time to air them.
I finally found my daughter who described her harrowing experience. My 4’11”, 95lb daughter told me how she was tackled to the ground by a 6ft 200lb officer, put in restraints and dragged to the waiting. She said she watched as the camp was destroyed and belongings were swept into garbage trucks and compressed. Her jacket and bags slid down her hands and cut into the restraints for the duration of time that she was kept on an airless bus to wait to be sent to Police Plaza where she remained penned while awaiting processing. Thankfully, she was finally released after 4pm. Sadly, these kids were treated like low hanging fruit while the real criminals continue to get away with murder.
Glad she's ok. The police need to hate and fear those they will beat on, just like countless people in this country are made to hate and fear the protests, or any protests for that matter. They have deeply imbibed the immobilizing alienation preached to them daily on TV.
It was not appropriate for those officers to make those comments. PO Canty's observation points out his lack of professionalism. If I was you I'd make a formal written complaint. More of us should do just that, if we hope to stem the excesses. I would send copies to the police department, the office of the mayor and the city attorney's office.
Maybe NATO will intervene to protect the protesters like they did in Libya?
Surprise, surprise. These evictions were coordinated by the FBI and Homeland Security, aided and abetted by other federal police agencies.
http://www.examiner.com/top-news-in-minneapolis/were-occupy-crackdowns-aided-by-federal-law-enforcement-agencies
as the old saying goes
"no shit sherlock"
people were naive to believe that the armed thugs of the establishment were there to protect dissent.
Get the ex-military on our side and the police will melt away like a rainbow snow cone on a summer afternoon.
It's amazing despite so much evidence to the contrary, North Americans (whites mostly) trust the police more than most people in the world. Go to most other countries, and there is an implicit distrust of the police. So much indoctrination in the sanctity of state violence that it is chilling. Not much of a land of the free or the brave.
Not surprising really. Think back to how we began to idolize them after 09/11. No longer were they considered "public servants". No they became the "heroic first responders". We all applauded and and exclaimed "hosanna" every time we viewed a uniform.
We should have had our eyes openned after Katrina, and some of us did. But many others were still caught up in the mindless patriotic flag waving and hero worship. We should be asking ourselves why the "Anti-Pinkerton" laws aren't enforced, and so many of local law enforcement agencies and our national government is/are relying on contracted security personnel with limited oversight and accountability.