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The Past Two Days...
Mar. 22nd, 2003 12:32 amIt's been a very exhausting last couple of days in Portland, and I have some diverging opinions on what's been happening here and in San Francisco.
I attended the Day of Bombing rally and march in downtown Portland Thursday. From 7,000 to 10,000 people marched in the street without a permit, and the cops generally left them alone, shepherding the march through the streets and trying to minimize traffic disruption.
The trouble started later that evening. There was scattered civil disobedience, including people sitting down on the Steel Bridge and on the west side of the Burnside Bridge.
The police reacted in a terroristic manner, spraying pepper spray, shooting rubber bullets, and otherwise initiating less-than-lethal force against non-violent demonstrators. The actions reminded me of racist Southern police using fire hoses, clubs, and attack dogs against civil rights marchers in the 1960s.
Rest assured, I wasn't in the action. I even disagree with much of the civil disobedience, but on a tactical level; I think it pisses off people more than driving one's point across.
However, the police in Portland and in many other places are out of control. Instead of defusing situations by watching, shepherding and drawing as little attention to disruptions, they have to be a bunch of macho assholes and attack. They escalate the situation by attacking peaceful protesters with pepper spray, rubber bullets, and other weapons.
Guess what, cops? You are following in the footsteps of such luminaries as Bull Connor, the Birmingham police chief who attacked Martin Luther King's marchers with fire hoses and attack dogs. I hope you're happy, and I hope your mortgage is paid up, because you're going to get sued. You are terrorists of the worst stripe; those who hide behind the law.
I attended the Day of Bombing rally and march in downtown Portland Thursday. From 7,000 to 10,000 people marched in the street without a permit, and the cops generally left them alone, shepherding the march through the streets and trying to minimize traffic disruption.
The trouble started later that evening. There was scattered civil disobedience, including people sitting down on the Steel Bridge and on the west side of the Burnside Bridge.
The police reacted in a terroristic manner, spraying pepper spray, shooting rubber bullets, and otherwise initiating less-than-lethal force against non-violent demonstrators. The actions reminded me of racist Southern police using fire hoses, clubs, and attack dogs against civil rights marchers in the 1960s.
Rest assured, I wasn't in the action. I even disagree with much of the civil disobedience, but on a tactical level; I think it pisses off people more than driving one's point across.
However, the police in Portland and in many other places are out of control. Instead of defusing situations by watching, shepherding and drawing as little attention to disruptions, they have to be a bunch of macho assholes and attack. They escalate the situation by attacking peaceful protesters with pepper spray, rubber bullets, and other weapons.
Guess what, cops? You are following in the footsteps of such luminaries as Bull Connor, the Birmingham police chief who attacked Martin Luther King's marchers with fire hoses and attack dogs. I hope you're happy, and I hope your mortgage is paid up, because you're going to get sued. You are terrorists of the worst stripe; those who hide behind the law.
