What really happened at Occupy Oakland - Read my firsthand account, not the news. Please Spread.

baked420 · 3 months

At this point, I was on edge because I knew the police were not fucking around tonight. Because of the incident earlier in the day, I realized they were effectively treating the peaceful march as a riot. There was not rioting, or intentions to riot, just dancing, optimism, hope, and walking. But clearly the police thought differently, and I knew they would try to trap us again without warning. From the moment I saw riot police running towards our march from both directions, I knew the constitution would not apply in Oakland tonight. The police made that very clear. My friends thought differently, thinking that they would not be arrested for marching. They are currently in jail.

The second, and successful, kettle occurred as the protest was headed back up Broadway, at Broadway and 24th. Again, the police appeared quickly in front of the crowd, as well as a line behind the crowd. This time there was no side street. A few people attempted to escape into the YMCA; some mis-infonformed news reports claim that the YMCA got 'occupied'. Around 300 people were trapped, mostly young people. At this point I had fallen behind the line of riot police in back of the crowd, and when the kettle was sprung I was on the other side of the police line. I have a policy of avoiding arrest, but I feel like I've been striped of some dignity. I've seen some shit go down in oaktown, but I've always avoided arrest because it was easy. Most mass arrests occur when people choose to break the law (ie occupying Bank of America in SF with a tent to send a statement to UC Regent Monica Lozano). At 'unlawfully assemblies', people are usually extracted by a quick attack of 5+ cops, and they're often 'targets' (previously-identified and profiled protesters). If the crowd is too large, they use tear-gas.

Tonight was different. When I fell behind the group, I feared they were about to arrest a very large number of peaceful protesters without declaring an unlawful assembly at the location. And then they did. I thought this shit was reserved for G20's and WTO meetings. I felt shame for being intimidated away from my rights. 'Unlawful assemblies' feel like a boot stomp on the first amendment, but this was like them wiping their ass with the constitution and force feeding it to me.

300+ were arrested, corralled below the YMCA @ 23rd and Broadway. The only announcement that was made was one I've never heard before:

"You are under arrest. Submit to your arrest."

The 300 protesters were then arrested, one by one. They were ziptied and sat in rows while they waited to be processed. OPD set up an entire processing station behind police lines, where they searched and identified every protester. They were slowly loaded onto buses, including local public AC transit buses. This took about 4 or 5 hours.

Outside the police lines, things were still happening. A group that escaped the trap decided to head back to Oscar Grant Plaza. I do not know how, but they opened the front door to city hall and occupied the building. Opened, as in no window smashing. The move was not meant to be an occupation but more of a show of solidarity to the 300 arrested protesters down the street. When all the people being arrested heard the news, they let out a big cheer...

..At this point I ran to Oscar Grant Plaza. When I arrived there were only 8 riot cops guarding the open front door, but more arrived very quickly. No one was inside the building anymore, but many had gathered in the Plaza. Someone burned an American Flag in front of city hall. I've seen the same guy do it before; frankly he's weird and it's kind of his thing.

One thing to note is the police arrested to wrong part of the protest. Most people arrested were young peaceful types. Aggressive protesters, and anyone with a record, are usually very good at avoiding arrest. Point being, back at the plaza opportunists began their work. I saw some young 'jugalos' spray-painting a wall with "jugalos for life" shit and then take photos next to it. They were just young and stupid kids; some good protesters cleaned it up later in the night. Some CBS and FOX news crews forced to leave the scene, with people spanking their van. They had already gotten the footage of someone burning an American Flag in front of city hall, so their work was done. The crowd was angry about what happened, and milling around the plaza and downtown area. At one point, the first of the 9 busloads of protesters drove past 14th and Broadway. People cheered for the ones inside, and chased it down, slamming on the sides of the bus. None of the other buses came past the plaza. There is about 30 police in the immediate area, 20 in front of city hall and 10 near 14th and broadway. Clearly they were stretched thin, and did not expect the city hall incident. Mutual aid been called it; I saw cops from Oakland, Alameda County Sheriff, Pleasanton, and Berkeley.

I walked back down to the 300 arrests in progress to try and get some information or spot my friends, but all I could do was wait and watch from behind the police line. My phone died. Not much happened, a lot of waiting and talking with people who also had friends on the other side. People included one French women who talked about how in France this would never be tolerated, and a teacher of one of Oakland's 10 schools being closed who was out on his birthday 'for the kids'. Eventually, I decided I needed to charge my phone, get on the internet, and figure out where and when my friends will be released. Siting down on BART was great after a long day of walking.

I got home and viewed OakfoSho and PunkboyinSf on Ustream to stay posted. OakFoSho filmed the entire arrest from above, I was able to look for my friends from his stream. All props to that guy. I saw that with the new development at Oscar Grant Plaza, they had to call in mutual aid from San Francisco, Marin, and San Mateo. They declared the 14th and Broadway an unlawful assembly and slowly dispersed the dwindling crowd. No tear gas this time!

Now that this incident is on-record, I'm gonna get a little sleep, then go pick up my friends from jail.

If you only remember one detail be it this: Tonight's mass arrest occurred without a dispersal order. No law was broken. The only order given was: "You are under arrest. Submit to your arrest." 300 peaceful protesters walking down a street were trapped and arrested unlawfully.

A note about police militarization: I saw some big guns and scary gear tonight. Alameda County Sheriff seems to have an endless budget for that shit. But tonight I saw something much scarier, that I've never seen before. First, I saw that the police have a printed profile books of protesters. I saw a cop flipping through pictures with descriptions, talking about who on their list they've seen today. When resting in Oscar Grant Plaza, a cop was filming the plaza from a rooftop in an adjacent building. They're always filming, some have cameras on their bodies now, but this was clear spying and sophisticated intelligence gathering and analysis. Second, a very large tank on wheels, with a water cannon on top, rolled on scene. Someone said it was called a "grizzly", but I can't find a photo anywhere. help? It was massive, and I stood right next to it before they brought it behind police lines. It was a hardcore, modern urban tank. The police are funded and prepared to use a water cannon on protesters, if need be. Know that.

The thing about Occupy, and especially Occupy Oakland, is it refuses to exclude. We are the 99%, and we mean it. The homeless and disenfranchised were welcome in the camp from day 1. The crime rate in Downtown Oakland went down, and some people finally had a safe place to sleep. Idealistic youth, google techies, students, teachers, parents, children, poor, homeless, workers, all coming together. It rekindled hope for a lot of people. Occupy changed the conversation. The idea is more important than any one protest. An idea cannot be stopped. It is no longer about occupations; instead, it's about bringing people together. The 99%, all with their own problems and concerns, have brought their collective attention to the root of the forces preventing them from making a better world.

A lot of the people arrested today were my peers...a lot of young people and students. For us, the occupy movement can't be diminished or co-opted...it's bigger than occupy. I will seek the changes I marched for tonight until I win or die. It is the task of my generation, worldwide, to return power to the people. Governments around the world are quickly realizing that our generation will not back down. This is bigger than 'occupy', this is bigger than one country, one problem, or one protest. The people want their world back. We are fighting for our future, and we are winning.

Edit: Forgot to add this context - The Oakland PD will soon be taken over by the Feds because of their poor conduct and inability to change: http://www.baycitizen.org/policing/story/judge-strips-power-oakland-police/

Plese upvote this comment converstion. This is the most important detail!

I will respond to questions, and provide clarifications over the next two days. I am really hoping to have a discussion about the legality of the mass arrest, and what the Federal response against OPD will be. Also, please know that Frank Ogawa did far more for Oakland than Oscar Grant.

Also, if you would like to watch footage from everything I describe here, seek out OakFoSho on Ustream and watch the archived footage. That man, and all live-streamers, have changed media and reporting forever.

RedditFed · 3 months

"volley of firecrackers, small projectiles, "

This is the point where I knew you guys were fucked. Stop doing this, you're only hurting yourselves. The entire protest, the 99.9% of the people who were being peaceful, become a violent protest the moment this occurred because the people who do this, with masks covering their faces, will then retreat back and blend into the crowd. The cops have no idea who are doing this, all they see is a big crowd of people and things exploding around them. At that moment you, as a group, have become a danger to them, to yourselves and to any pedestrians that could get caught up in this. They can't allow you to continue. Do you see what I'm saying ? Once someone in your protest group behaves like this, the cops no longer have a decision to make in the matter, these idiots have made the decision for them.

If you don't want to get stomped by the cops, stop this shit. I'm not saying it justifies the police response, it doesn't matter, I'm saying if you don't see the pattern yet, you're doomed to repeat this series of events at every single protest while ensuring your complete irrelevance to mainstream society.

This isn't about a moral high ground or who's right and who's wrong, it's about examining a pattern of failure and fixing it. It's never about the moral high ground, it isn't about your first amendment rights, it's about a small little group of complete morons trying to play revolution ruining the chances of anything actually being accomplished. Either break the protest up into smaller splinters spread all across the city so that clowns like this can't get in there and hide behind big groups, or pin them down and arrest them yourselves. You don't claim solidarity with people that are actively sabotaging everything you're trying to accomplish and who are endangering the safety of the entire protest group.

Incoming 'fascist' 'police state' 'fox news' comments from brainwashed fools. You guys are like the tea party of the left, all slogans and no brains.

zxlkho · 3 months

You should really upload that video.

wookiee42 · 3 months

All of this occurred during the day, but it was that street battle that set the tone for the police response later in the evening. After taking a break in Oscar Grant Plaza, feeding everyone and resting, the group headed out for their evening march. Around 5pm, the group took to the street at 14th and Broadway and began a First-amendment sanctioned march around the city. The police response was very aggressive.

The problem here was that the initial, violent group never dispersed. It just moved into a different area, rested, and moved again.

AmericanDerp · 3 months

There is no sane or legitimate reason to NOT post such a video on YouTube. You're doing active harm if you don't.

Shinma · 3 months

The protesters returned one volley of firecrackers, small projectiles, and funny things like balloons. A very weak attack...

Stop that. ಠ_ಠ

If you're going to throw shit at the riot lines it damn well better be Molotovs and pipe bombs. Or you don't throw anything at all.

"Oooooh... but we were just throwing funny things, like My Little Pony dolls! What officer would respond with anything but Friendship when we pelt them with Twilight Sparkles!"

And they're going to respond just the same... friendship gas! And Beanbag hugs!

There are two very simple rules:

1.) If throwing things at cops, make it count.

2.) Don't throw shit at cops.

cbroberts · 3 months

If a guy named baked420 isn't a serious, reliable news source, then who is?

bitchinawesome · 3 months

GRUMPY SUNDAY MORNING RANT: I live in Oakland. 25+ vans filled with riot police drove by my house last night. I'm sick of the cops, but I'm also sick of the state of protest. It's really like an obstinate spoiled child(protesters) rebelling against a very strict parent(if the parent used riot shields, tear gas, batons, and zip ties to enforce her rules).

I work as an attorney in downtown Oakland at a nonprofit that helps homeless mentally ill folks. My clients live with the everyday reality that they can be stopped and shook down by police at any moment, anywhere, because of their disheveled "outsider" appearance(and yes sometimes their race). I feel like, if occupiers funneled all of their energy into occupying their community and making a difference that way, themselves and the people they purportedly care about, would be a lot better off. There is lots of work they could be doing in Oakland.

Opposing Oakland police at this point is zero sum. You will get tear gas shot at you, you will get arrested. Yes it's wrong, possibly afoul of the 14th amendment, although arguably occupy left "peaceable assembly" behind a long time ago. Granted the police created the condition we have now, but hey, they're OAKLAND police. Has anyone been watching news for the last 40 years? They have never been a friend of the people. Federal Judge Thelton Henderson is threatening the department with receivership. So when OP tries to sensationalize the SHOCKING DETAILS of an OUT OF CONTROL POLICE STATE, I'm like, meh. And what has been accomplished? People in jail, drain on OUR, yes OUR, civic resources. The place I work for draws from the same source of funds that all city programs, including police overtime, draw from. More zip ties purchased, less help for the homeless.

Sometimes you do have to throw yourself on the cogs of the machine. But to me, this machine is built to chew up Occupy. That means diminished returns and I guarantee that the Occupy movement has lost tremendous amounts of real political capital in the US. The police, as portrayed by the media, appear mostly like the good guys.

Occupy the Streets("Whose streets? Our streets!" really?) just to get tear gassed, pummeled, and arrested? No point, no thanks.

Occupy Community for Positive Change, count me, and I bet a whole bunch of others, in.

END SUNDAY MORNING GRUMPY RANT

littlejohnnyjewel · 3 months

I 'm sorry to say this, but this action doesn't sound like it really helped the movement...from the OP's account, it sounds as if the crowd was more intent on provoking a confrontation, than on successfully Occupying the Kaiser building, which would have been a major coup.

When you have one failed occupation & near-riot, and then stage a second march, the same day, you can expect a major escalation in police tactics.

Furthermore, this got NO live coverage, on a Saturday...the protestors need to be more strategic, and not just let the crowd "decide" where they are going to roam, next...

jakxfanatic · 3 months

so let me get this straight. you guys throw firecrackers at the police as well as other objects, try to occupy an abandoned building, which is illegal (squatting or trespassing either way), and then come at police with shields of your own(which by my assumption means you had sticks or some other weapon to accompany it). and you are surprised when they try to disband you with tear gas and non lethal rounds???

Alkanfel · 3 months

There was not rioting, or intentions to riot, just dancing, optimism, hope, and walking.

Good post, but this is laying it on a little thick.

YDP_red · 3 months

Post the video now

aDildoAteMyBaby · 3 months

[deleted]

lupistm · 3 months

You were trying to break into a building. The police are right, this was an unlawful assembly. Whether the police overreacted or not is irrelevant, you're a bunch of fucking criminals and you've hurt the credibility of the entire movement.

MazlowRevolution · 3 months

Water balloons filled with non toxic paint can wreak havoc on the visibility of an officer in riot gear.

theonomatopoeia · 3 months

"Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

I think the Occupy protesters are starting to lose their way.

AbouBenAdhem · 3 months

I was there too—the only thing I’d add to your account is that there was definitely tear gas deployed against the protest during the first kettle. (People were massing to the southwest to prepare to push through the kettle there, and were gassed before they could begin.) I’d also like to add an especial condemnation of the jugalos—the business they vandalized was one that’s been a strong supporter of Occupy Oakland.

Oh, and some context on the building that was targeted for the takeover: the Kaiser Convention Center is an historic public landmark that was shut down by the city during the real estate boom, supposedly because it was operating at a loss. But it’s been widely speculated that the city shut it down to justify eventually selling the land to private developers—with the conversion of multiple streets in front of the building into a park, the land will soon become prime lakeside real estate.

laliloleelee · 3 months

In advance: I agree with the movement and not the actions.

That march that went down the the Grand Lake Theater a while back. Drunken half naked homeless who didn't seem to know what was going on. Teenage boys in masks swooping around on bikes. Throwing glass at me, threatening me with rape. What was I doing? Waiting at the bus stop to go to work. A cop told me I needed to head home until this died down, he walked me most of the way home - the guys were still messing with me IN FRONT OF THIS COP. I spent $32 cabfare to get to my shift to make $48. I took home $16 that night and the experience really, really scared me. I didn't see people protesting in that whole frontline of the march, I saw people looking to fck sht up. It made me so sad and seriously, being threatened with rape is scary. I was scared.

Last night I was working at the Rotunda Building across the plaza. Last night I felt the doors being pounded on four feet behind me and watched the security guards frantically cover each area as people outside tried to damage/ break in. Last night I had to tell myself not to go look at the security video feeds from outside and go back to my menial job but they were freaking haunting. We were not allowed to leave the building for our safety until midnight.

Both incidences where I was trapped in the circumstance I heard no slogans chanted and saw no signs. Seriously. I have attended and visited reclaimed park space in Berkeley and have friends, both an older woman in her 60's and a young family with a 4yo girl who were living in the encampment in Oakland before they no longer felt safe. I'm not unfamiliar with the the cause nor do I stand outside of it looking suspiciously at the carnival. I hear people saying that peaceful things are going on and the media is twisting things, I think those people are choosing to overlook when someone walking beside them throws two glass bottles at a girl sitting on a bus bench for the idea of the greater cause. That is not helpful to the people.

the TL;DR I guess is that there is a lot of not productive crap going on and it's freaky and disheartening to those who agree with the points but not with the actions. The whole thing is ugly, why are we adding ugliness to it and looking the other way about it?

siebiscuit · 3 months

Once anything was thrown back it wasn't a peaceful protest anymore, regardless if you did it earlier in the day. You made yourselves known to be aggressive I do not feel bad or condone these actions in anyway, get fucked. Don't fool yourself into thinking you were "peaceful protesters". Clever use of wordage to, "less than lethal rounds" "kettle the protestors". Your just as bad as the media sources, this garbage should be taken down. In no way do I support the police actions, police are constantly abusing power. I sure as hell do not support your so called "peaceful protest" either

TheBlackHam · 3 months

I'm all for the occupy protests, but in all honesty from reading your account of what happened, it seems the protestors were definitely in the wrong here. When protestors start throwing projectiles at the police (regardless of what it is), it's a violent act and turns your peaceful cause into a riot. Why would the protestors think that they should be allowed to congregate in an abandoned building? That's trespassing at minimum and was a stupid way to conduct the protest.

You said that your second march was completely non-violent, but that is negated by what you all did earlier. It sounds like you all are turning this into an anarchist movement, which will destroy all that has been worked for. Burning American flags and assaulting the police is NOT the right way to send your message.

My main problem with how you all conducted yourselves is that you tried to illegally occupy an abandoned building. That is what escalated the situation.

Moh7 · 3 months

No law was broken?

Dude, you tried to take over a private building and you even admited to tearing fencing down.

Anyone that isint closed minded would have accepted the fact that you broke breaking and entering laws.

Amdinga · 3 months

Please, please let this make the mainsteam news.

"A Reddit user by the named of 'baked420' released a first hand account of..."

You could hurt our image.

OberonDark · 3 months

Honestly I don't think the police did anything wrong this time.

cup00joe · 3 months

I only saw a "jugalos" tag once while in Oakland, but I did see a whole bunch of "fuck the police" and one "kill cops" spray painted on grocery stores and other small businesses around 9th. You say that the Oakland occupy is non-exclusive, but if there are people in the movement tagging businesses and inciting violence you should make an exception. I know you said kinds were doing the tagging, but I never saw who did it so my impression is that it was done by occupy people.

Also the moment you threw stuff at the cops it was no longer a non-violent protest, I don't care what you threw.

blawler · 3 months

A few points (I live thousands of KMs away in another country and am just making observations. )

In you summary of the peaceful protest you say The group re-took telegraph ave. , this is a military type term, and can be considered an aggressive action.

Also the police response in the evening was probally fueled by the actions earlier in the day. The tensions were already high. I am not excusing the behaviour or anything, because i was not there, but it is something I thought.

Having served in the military in Australia, I know that a mere few hours after a "live engagement" you are still very wary, and then if you are confronted by what seems to be the SAME people, then that tension grows, and shit can sometimes boil over un-nessecary.

The thing I would have done to diffuse the situation of earlier in the day, is postpone the night-time peaceful march to the next night, instead of antagonising an already tense situation. That may have allowed things to calm down a bit.

dabezian · 3 months

The Occupy movement pisses me off. They expect people to believe that its entirely peaceful when they found fucking evidence of weapons [edited, I was wrong at first, I admit my mistake but my argument is still just as valid] at Zuccotti Park.

Even if most of you are peaceful, if you don't throw out the ones with violent intentions, the whole movement will be treated as a violent uprising.

You have no Constitutionally protected right to assemble and "occupy" public spaces. This is not a protest. Additionally, SUPREME COURT cases have stated you only have a right to protest at the site of what you are protesting. There isn't shit going on in Oakland. Let the downvotes come, but the Occupy movement is one of the biggest wastes of time that I've ever seen. Why the fuck would anyone change something because people under them are standing in the streets? Think from their position. They're laughing at you. They think you're a bunch of uncivilized idiots who don't know how to get anything done. Your movement is a joke.

Keep in mind I am one of the most liberal people I know. On political spectrum tests, I always score 99-100% liberal. I just think mass protest with no definite goal will not effect change. Don't even think about comparing yourself to the Civil Rights movement. They had a goal: desegregate the South and give blacks social, economic, and political equality. Compare that to the Occupy movement's goal: Change. What? We don't know. Just change it because we're mad and we're going to stand in the streets until you do.

I hate police brutality more than most people, and I hate a lot of police forces, but what the fuck do you expect them to do versus a bunch of morons with their heads in the clouds, especially when a good number of these morons come with the intention of violent uprising?

An example of how the Occupy movement is retarded: My friend's dad works at the upper levels of a law firm on the top two floors of a banking building. As he was walking into work, the Occupy Birmingham movement (which is composed of a pathetic number of people) harassed him, asking how much he made in bonuses this year, to which he replied TRUTHFULLY, "Barely enough to get by." Instead of letting him through as a "peaceful" protest would, they grabbed his suit coat and tore it. I'm glad he responded properly, by pinning the moron that tore it to the ground and calling for police to arrest him for aggravated assault. This is a man who grew up in a house with one light bulb, and how he's a lawyer in one of the best firms in the nation and has handled cases in the Supreme Court.

My message to the Occupy movement: Grow the fuck up. Life is unfair. Get over it.

lordhadri · 3 months

Thank you for your account. You write that the protesters are nonviolent but that some also fired back with firecrackers at least once. I know that this is practically harmless, but I am wondering what the definition of a nonviolent protest really is.

Occupy Chicago and the police have not had such a violent confrontation but I see yesterday's events in Oakland as an example of what Occupy Chicago is up against during the NATO and G8 summit. I can't imagine that throwing/shooting anything at the police would be tolerated here by either side.

TorchicBlaziken · 3 months

You sacrificed your innocence when you engaged in civil disobedience. If you're going to do civil disobedience you can't just pretend you were innocent, you have to act like you just don't care. You have to make sure that what you're doing is worth getting arrested for.

Elementium · 3 months

So.. You broke the law? Confronted police, attacked them and are surprised at the results? My dad was a cop.. They take their own safety into account too chief. Once things start flying at them they assume protesters have more dangerous objects.

If you want to protest then protest but leave the fucking police alone.. Chances are they sympathize with you until you start assaulting them.

Ngiole · 3 months

TL;DR OP and Occupy broke laws and the cops arrested them.

TDmorty · 3 months

Why the fuck wouldn't you post the video? You NEED too. It's your duty.

heyfella · 3 months

brb playing the victim, again.

hoobooloo · 3 months

Ohnnn that note I was in Whole Foods in Oakland on Grand Ave today. There were two girls behind me who had been at the protest last night, chatting about how they had been arrested. One line struck me:

"You know, we weren't even doing anything totally illegal. The worst my friends did before we got arrested was start breaking the windows on the news van. Fuck the media!"

bluetea534 · 3 months

So you threw firecrackers and other objects at police officers and are surprised they are being aggressive? Sorry, but I have no sympathy for you or anyone else who was there. If you're going to be violent, expect violence in return. That was not a peaceful protest and you wrote that story in a horribly-biased fashion. I'd rather read Fox News.

Lance_lake · 3 months

I go to these things primarly as an observer, and do not support many of the things I saw.

We decided to turn left up the street, and a police line formed to stop the march.

Perhaps you shouldn't use the word "We" when refering to the protesters then.

They declared an unlawful assembly, and this is when the crowd broke down the construction fence.

They again declared an unlawful assembly.

no dispersal order was given, nor was an unlawful assembly declared at the arrest location.

Just to be clear, it doesn't have to be. You were told at least 2 times that you needed to disperse. You didn't and therefore, you got arrested.

Sorry.. The protestors. Not you because you had no part in this..

Wise_Guy_57 · 3 months

Are we really supposed to support a bunch of people who have decided that they can take over buildings and do what they want with them? I don't care if it was abandoned or whatever, that kind of behavior is naive and idiotic.

Shanegentry · 3 months

I'm a little baffled. "Peaceful" and "lawful" protesting does NOT include breaking into buildings and causing tens of thousands worth of damage.

SadisticAndroid · 3 months

So does it surprise anyone that baked420 is a fucking idiot?

[deleted] · 3 months

I'm for OWS 100%, I think our government has declared war on the poor and the cops are their easily controlled lapdogs. I just finished arguing with my parents that it's not all stoner hippy dreadlocked anarchists getting involved in this.

Then I see the username of the poster and had to facepalm, I'm glad they don't read Reddit.

gprime · 3 months

I will read your account. But you can fuck right the hell off if you think I'm not going to read those of the mainstream media too. There is no means to establish your credibility, so I'll be damned if I'm going to take an anonymous reddit source as the sole voice of authority.

nawid · 3 months

Hey, fellow East Bay guy here who works in Oakland. I've been to an Occupy Oakland takeover before (19th and Telegraph) and I've been keeping up on events and livestreamed some of the General Assembly's. Here is the problem: Occupy Oakland has an incredibly weak core. The General Assembly's are at this point a joke. Seems like a majority of the people that go to them are as bad as whoever the movement would want to replace. A month or two ago, there were not enough people to make a proper vote, however the GA still held an illegitimate vote. During this vote a Tactical Action Committee was voted in. This committee is a group of idiots. They are the ones who wanted to occupy a Burger King, had that entirely stupid foreclosure occupation which the landlord did not want, and have started weekly Fuck the Police marches. In addition, the GA still hasn't voted for a statement of nonviolence.

Now you would think, the best course of action here is to go and help out so the GA and the Occupy Oakland's committees would get better. Good luck. There is aggressiveness towards people who want things to change from within and newcomers have not been feeling very welcome. The movement has alienated everyone but their rapidly shrinking selves.

MyKarmaKilledURDogma · 3 months

Face Book is blocking links to this page

Stay classy F/B

onecrzyrdr · 3 months

Wtf do you expect when you throw stuff back at the police? You take a break and go right back to marching and they dont know what your going to do. You damaged property and lets be honest all these occupy movement dont do anything than harm the local areas and leave trash everywhere. And on top of that you break into city hall? Newsflash: when you damage public property and break into a government building your going to get arrested.

iLurk2 · 3 months

And by "move in" you mean "trespass on property we don't have a legal right to". You can call it "squatting" if it makes you feel better, but it's lame either way.

koft · 3 months

So it all starts out by trying to commandeer private property and went down hill from there. Great.

reaverdude · 3 months

If you look at all of the facts and statements surrounding Oscar Grant's existence (besides the multiple felonies that he was convicted of, which included running from the police and drug dealing) everything points to the fact that his mother should have either swallowed him or let him drip down to the back of her ass crack.

People that knew him, besides his "homies" whom are now trying cash in on his death, all say he was an asshole, he was mostly unemployed for the majority of his life (he had a brief stint working at a local KFC once), teachers that had him in their classes said he was disruptive, one even went out and plainly stated that he was "dumb" and from what I can see, he wasn't even a good father to his kid.

Why the fuck are you people worshiping him?

It's called Frank Ogawa Plaza you ignorant fucks.

jesus-cookie · 3 months

where is the tl:dr?

evolve18 · 3 months

These two quotes don't jive:

no dispersal order was given, nor was an unlawful assembly declared.

They declared an unlawful assembly

Relevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc20DK6m24A

pandeomonia · 3 months

I do very much want to sympathize with you and your cause, but it's EXTREMELY difficult for more conservative Americans -- or more importantly, politicians -- to sympathize, politically, with words written from someone with the handle 'baked420'.

LazloNibble · 3 months

The Kaiser is no more "abandoned" than an elementary school is "abandoned" during summer vacation -- it's just closed, mainly because the site is being used as a staging area for the 12th Street Project and the parking lots are all full of construction equipment, trailer-offices and fill dirt. The city was holding events there right up until construction started, though admittedly towards the end there were a lot more graduations/proms/plumbing trade shows than concerts. I know this because I live basically across the street -- if I look over my left shoulder I can see the building from right here where I sit typing, and before the project started I crossed through the property every single day on the way to or from work.

God knows there are plenty of grounds to criticize OPD, but the idea that they should have just let a bunch of protesters break into and "take over" a major historic public building that's still chock-full of city property (offices, furnishings, etc.) and located on a working heavy-construction site is absolutely ludicrous.

Also, while the OP may think there's nobody "ever near there", he seems to have missed the entire student population of Laney College (which is right across the street), visitors to the Oakland Museum of California (which is literally right next door), everybody who has business at the Alameda County Courthouse (on the other side of 12th, kind of tough to get to from the Kaiser even before the construction started), and again, those of us who actually live here.

Mooar · 3 months

Just to be a prick about things..... I watched the evening unfold on multiple livestream and ustream feeds, as well as local news covering the situation. To be fair OP, the protesters were given numerous, multiple warnings and noone took the warning seriously. The police said to walk away and protesters came closer, the police said disperse and protesters sat down in the middle of the road...not to mention every asshole with a camera has a habit of showing just how much of an obnoxious twat they can be for their viewers.

The whole situation was a recipe for disaster with overworked and exhausted police dealing with protesters who just don't know when to stop for the day. Then you add in a group of protesters BREAKING INTO CITY HALL AND TRASHING it to the mix and yeah, buddy, I can see why things went south.

Here's some real advice for anyone involved with Occupy, wanting to get involved with Occupy or wondering WHY and HOW these things happen. Get a few ideas of what to protest and stick with them, rather than a dozen different people with two dozen different complaints trying to be heard. In every march, GA, speaker event there's no fucking order. Ever. Noone is really in charge, there's so many people wanting to be heard and being looked over, or ignored. You have different groups of protesters with different method, needs, complaints, values, etc and not a single person to make some sense of it.

I sympathize with you, and other Occupiers for the events over the weekend. Shit shouldn't have happened, period, but face it...you guys were more or less asking for the chaos and shit to go down, and you got your way. I don't think the movement will last much longer. With all the negative attention it's gotten lately, with members playing 'badass Anarchist' and breaking into government buildings and assaulting officers, etc.

There's a way to go about doing things, and this isn't the way, and that's why this keeps on happening, why noone takes Occupy serious and the numbers are getting less and less.

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