Occupy San Francisco being evicted
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OSF being evicted tonight in a sneak raid. Done very covertly/quickly (e.g. no barricades were set up in advance, etc.). Little media present. Commuter systems are being shut down to prevent people from going to the encampment.
Livestreaming here (globalrevolution) and here (OakFoSho).
No defense presence at OSF, given that it's a surprise raid.
Huge number of police in riot gear. Police are being aggressive, using batons, etc. Arrests are occurring. Listening to an occupier talking about police crashing and grinding his face into the concrete (swelling visible) and hitting him. Possessions (bikes, backpacks, etc) are being tossed in DPW trucks - and some are being broken apart/crushed. Tear gas cannisters are at ready, but haven't been used at this point.
People were given only 5 minutes notice. Many were woken by police out of sleep. Many had no chance to retrieve belongings. Some were arrested out of their tents. Occupiers are angry. Scene is chaotic given rapid, unexpected nature of raid. It's cold and many occupiers have nowhere to go.
Short AP story
Update: Police have now declared unlawful assembly.
And now a bunch of people are choosing not to leave the street (civil disobedience) and are getting arrested. OakFoSho says it's the third or fourth set of arrests tonight.
OakFoSho's livestreaming and his loud firm statements to police (announcing their badge numbers and actions) appears somewhat effective in producing a hint of police restraint (e.g. a cop might ease off on twisting limbs, etc.).
Earlier tonight some of the police were laughing at protesters, but OakFoSho notes one officer who appears to be almost in tears.
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New tactics....
Definite from the Barcalounger but what the heck:
Sounds to me like (a) scanner access would be useful, is there a web site? and (b) pickets out at all times....
Say, how many of these mayors are Democrats? Most of 'em, right?
drone
OSF folks were working on a drone (footage here) to monitor police movement, but not necessarily useful in a quick, night, surprise police action like this.
Unrelated notes:
There are reports that Channel 7 reporter was arrested (info is from a reporter from a different TV channel).
Also, now listening to an arrestee who was just released (releases for initial round of arrests apparently quite rapid, in contrast to what LA did - with arrestees kept in jail for days with high bail) - he said he was trying to leave the camp (complying with police order), but was blocked and arrested.
Footage near the beginning of the raid seems to show police essentially charging the camp.
Also, heard a woman talking earlier - if I understood correctly, this was just after eviction occurred and she was outside the camp area proper but in a location where police were clustering - was told that if she didn't move, she would be struck.
P.S. I assume that if police are trying to mount a complete surprise raid, such as this, they'd work hard to keep it off the radio (or at least inaccessible to scanner).
"That's how we know we're winning"
"Look at their faces, they're all fucked up about it"
Comments by a woman at OSF. Talking about the police.
Somehow reminds me of Otpur!, the nonviolent protest movement that overthrew Miloševic, At the beginning they were brutally suppressed. Over time, the police and military wore down and were won over. Without their backing Miloševic fell.
SF DPW disposing of occupiers' possessions in compactor truck
Occupiers belongings were tossed into trash compactor trucks (i.e. destroyed). The crunching is painful to listen to.
Has anyone else noticed how the rhetoric of hygiene...
... is just like the Nazi rhetoric against the Jews?
That's a really valid point
The rhetoric in both cases, at root, seeks to exploit primitive feelings related to "pollution"/"disease". In human psychology, health fears reinforce prejudice. A couple days ago I posted the following tweet:
http://twitter.com/affinistim/status/143854169206435840
In general (from my own experience with different protests I've been involved in - including four occupation-type protests), I think it really pays off for demonstrators to invest a lot of effort into an appearance of "cleanliness"/"grooming"/"hygiene" - this is the first thing that opponants will attack, and the connection with outgroup prejudice renders these attacks effective. It shouldn't be that way - but I think it's human reality (I still remember the newspaper headline for my first occupation - in the anti-apartheid divestment campaign - "Protesters Stir Odors and Anger").
Some of the most effective social movements seem to have recognized this. Gandhi emphasized cleanliness in Satyagraha campaigns. MLK emphasized the importance of civil rights demonstrators being well-dressed, well-groomed, and curteous (given the deep prejudice that African-Americans were fighting against). The African-American students conducting lunch counter sit=ins were always well-dressed - and I think this really garnered sympathy and highlighted the egregious nature of the discrimination.
I just googled this topic and, among other things, came across a DU thread from 2004. Noticed a comment by airstrip1:
"Radical thinkers such as the surrealists have always known that the best way to discomfort the establishment is by taking their icons and turning them into the instrument of protest. I have spent years as a union activist and always turned up on the picket line in a suit because I knew it made the cops uneasy."
I just had a conversation about this with a friend. It riled her (i.e. she felt that it represented capitulation to conservative standards). As for myself - I'm rather hippie-ish and intrinsically somewhat of a slob (my choices in day-to-day attire have been known to make people grimace). But for purposes of protesting/activism, I do think investing heavily in cleaning/grooming/sanitation aids success.
MIT Prof and Class Working on Attractive Modules
for the Occupation. I read that somewhere. That they were trying to come up with attractive small living modules for the movement. We used to call it low income housing. It is all intertwined. All Americans, indeed, all humans deserve clean decent housing. It is a basic human right. I believe it was also part of FDR's Economic Bill of Rights. No, mr. president it is not about a "fair shot"t to afford to buy crap. It's about basic priorities such as clean air, water, food, shelter, and clothing.
OSF update
Occupiers met at 5 PM today, marched, and retook Justin Herman Plaza. Occupiers in the plaza were then kettled by police. Police have now offered to let them leave, but have stated that they would be subject to arrest if they did not do so.
livestreams urls here:
http://twitter.com/HarryElephante/status/144623783217598464
Update: As of 9 PM PST, the police have left (I would guess they weren't prepared to arrest this large a number of people).
More updates
I was there this evening, bringing the illusion of middle-aged respectability. I gotta say, I'm extremely impressed with the core participants and how they handled the situation. I went home around 9:15 after the majority of cops stood down. We'll see what happens later. News on Channel 2 (Fox) just reported that "some bystanders want the protesters to leave." Whatever! I wonder how long it took to find that person?
"Arrest this large a number...."
Safety in numbers.
Imagine if some large fraction of those who marched against the Iraq War were Occupying....