Tue, 09/02/2008 - 1:04am — chicago dyke
So it's been bothering me for a long time now: what is it going to take? This country has tolerated the travesty that is the "Drug War" for decades; ok, I grok that as it's "only" brown and black and poor people who suffer AIDS and rape and death as a result of imprisonment. This country has also come to sleep in and miss the fact that we're bombing/shooting/raping/killing brown non-xtians in a war of choice; again, I sort of understand as that war is far away and not often on teevee, from which most people construct their 'reality.' Obama, unlike MLK, felt the need to surround himself with 000s of "security" folk in a mass grouping of fellow democracts; I guess that's a statement on how far we've (not) come since the glory days of the Civil Rights movement. But St. Paul? MN? Some of you do/have lived there; you must know how gentle and "neighborly" most of MN really is, and how infrequently it's upset by security theatre. Amy Goodman got arrested. I guess that's not surprising or worthy news to most people. But gosh, I really do wonder what it will take. Armed camps? Mass arrest of suburbanites? Shooting xtian babies and their moms?
Wake up America. Or rather, how do we wake up America? That whole logic of "I was not a [x], so I didn't speak up when they came for [x]" is starting to seem like so much more than distant memory. Is it just me? Video (one of many from the links)
The COINTELPRO part of this post, natch.
I am not the first person to say it: the purpose of "security theatre" is not to 'protect,' it's to 1) intimidate legitimate citizen action/protest/enactment of our 1st Amendment rights and b) enrich "security" companies/cronies. Are we tired of that yet, as we all lament our lack of health care, good roads and schools, and a declining environment? Feh, I guess I'm just making blogospherical hot air, but I subscribe to the idea: things will only go on (the illusion of "democracy") until they can't. I think we're reaching that point sooner than even doomsayers like me had imagined.
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What I'm curious about is the RNC Welcoming Committee
those supposed 'anarchists' who dutifully wore black, yelled and trashed the streets, and harrassed delegates.
"Members of the Connecticut delegation said they were attacked by protesters when they got off their bus near the Xcel Center, KMSP-TV reported. Delegate Rob Simmons told the station that a group of protesters came toward his delegation and tried to rip the credentials off their necks and sprayed them with a toxic substance that burned their eyes and stained their clothes.
One 80-year-old member of the delegation had to be treated for injuries, and several other delegates had to rinse their eyes and clothing, the station reported."
I mean, WTF
?
Who was their protest aimed at, if they were part of an anti-war rally? The only thing they do is cement in the country's mind the image of anti-war protestors as hypocrites who damage property instead of changing minds.
They, as a group, seem fishy to me.
And weren't they preemptively investigated and arrested, this weekend?
http://www.startribune.com/politics/2769...
Who was left to protest, if over 100 people were detained, questioned and released in the earlier raid, but only 35 anarchists were considered to be the ringleaders, in causing the trouble? A raid that doesn't capture those 35 people, or releases them when the cops said they found evidence of plans for civil disruption and obstruction of traffic, again, seems fishy to me.
And why did those anarchists identify themselves as such to media, as the riot was going on? You can't tell me the cops didn't plant at least one C.I. that could have prevented the violence from taking place... unless their goal was to control that violence toward their ends.
Betcha Code Pink's gonna get it in the neck, any time this week they try to get air time during the convention. The anarchists have set the standard.
Media Blackout
There's little to no national reporting on this off of the internet that I've seen. Just as I don't believe there was much media reporting of the cages the Dems built in Denver and the arrests there.
So many people may not even know this is happening. What's more because such protests are rarely covered, a lot of sympathetic people who might take local action or join actions think they are alone. Movements do not come from isolation.
Today's Democracy Now program is up at the Dem Now site
Glad to see she's on the air.
Glenn Greenwald has been following all the protester/activist arrests and raids over at Salon and Firedoglake is covering them closely.
The videos of the Dem Now personnel arrests are chilling. I couldn't catch the audio before, but Amy is perfectly rational and doing what most normal innocent, responsible people would do.
The two producers are charged with a felony charge of inciting to riot; Amy with interfering with a police officer. Or close to that. They describe their experiences on the show.
Nicole Salazar describes her attempt to cover the police actions. She had her press credentials. Tried to obey order to move back, id'd herself as press several times, she got caught against some cars in a parking lot, police slammed her into a car, threw her to the ground. Officer tried to pull one leg; other had his foot on her back pushing her into the ground; she was trying to not have her face dragged on the pavement.
She had asked how they could get out of the area (the police formed a pincer movement, then rushed to force everyone into a place they couldn't get out of), but it was clear they were not going to be allowed out of the area. (Later, in jail, put in 9x11 paces cell with 17 other people. Some still covered in pepper spray. No treatment for them.)
Guy producer, Sharif, had RNC press credentials, as well as regular. He was slammed to the ground, one officer grinding a knee into his back. A photographer from the NY Post was also on the ground nearby, yelling "Press, press," then added, "For Christ's sake, it's a Republican paper!" Only moment of levity.
When he was in the jail, guy who appeared to be Secret Service took his RNC press pass. Said he would not be needing it today and walked off with it. A jail officer refused to serve as a witness. A SS guy ripped Amy's press credentials off of her; same story. Plastic cuffs were extremely tight; when Sharif asked to have looser new ones, they just tightened it more. Did same to Amy!
He asked one officer what he thought of all this, and the officer said, "Awesome, awesome!"
Police removed battery from Nicole's camera, but did not take her tape. (Probably won't make that mistake next time...my comment)
After her producers were arrested, Amy came on the scene: Explained she was there for her press people, one officer who kept telling her to shut up, refused to give his name.
Glenn posits that this is all part of intimidating the American public to not make waves--and to accustom them to unquestioning acceptance of the power of the state of arrest and detain people within out borders. It's a logical extension of the principles of the Patriot Acts and FISA (t/u, senators who voted for this crap).
Glenn posits that this is all part of intimidating the American public to not make waves--and to accustom them to unquestioning acceptance of the power of the state of arrest and detain people within out borders. It's a logical extension of the principles of the Patriot Acts and FISA.
The people will learn to keep their heads down, make no waves, keep protests within the areas prescribed by the powers that be, get in line, and stay home if there are those who do choose to make their voices heard through freedom of assembly. Got it? Well, if you don't, you'll get it.