Updated 2012-03-11, with notes from Northbay MDS's Minister of Information Dr.G.:
We now have California's finest facing down the renegade executive power of the upper class!!!
We now have California's finest facing down the renegade executive power of the upper class!!!
Throughout the Occupy Movement through today, Oakland Police faces a non-violent crowd and proceeds to shoot them in the head with shotguns and tear-gas canisters, after being trained alongside Bahrain and Israel police in military-style political suppression during a domestic "Urban Warfare" scenario all along the East coast (and MATRIX and INFRAGARD bosses embedded in the Oakland PD include actual "spook" special ops veterans)... In their "Urban Warfare" paradigm of operation they are trained to perceive protesters as harboring hostile "Low-Level Terrorists and Extremists". Union rank & file, nurses, teachers, parents, the working class, the underclass (Lumpenproletariat, of which Dr.G. is of), the nations across our Pluri-National Republic of California are being treated as actual enemies of the "State".
As the most extreme amount of terror was brought about by the militarized police in Oakland, a group of people calling themselves the OO-TAC decided to lay down the glove. These knowingly self-called Anarchists are regular people like you and I who already face death daily in the streets of modern USA, and these Hyphy scenesters run away if facing death. In other words, these are not street-armies of militants, yet. These "stupid Anarchists" have not engaged in actual hostility against the individual police officers (barring a few examples of self-defense on the streets) and Federal accomplices despite the fact everyone knows who these individuals are and even petty street gang sets know where these renegades and their friends hang out.
As the most extreme amount of terror was brought about by the militarized police in Oakland, a group of people calling themselves the OO-TAC decided to lay down the glove. These knowingly self-called Anarchists are regular people like you and I who already face death daily in the streets of modern USA, and these Hyphy scenesters run away if facing death. In other words, these are not street-armies of militants, yet. These "stupid Anarchists" have not engaged in actual hostility against the individual police officers (barring a few examples of self-defense on the streets) and Federal accomplices despite the fact everyone knows who these individuals are and even petty street gang sets know where these renegades and their friends hang out.
"FILM THE POLICE" by B. Dolan ft. Toki Wright, Jasiri X, Buddy Peace, Sage Francis [youtube.com/watch?v=hyT1buoyTnY]
Uploaded by strangefamousrecords on Dec 8, 2011
DOWNLOAD THIS MP3 FOR FREE & get "Film the Police" bandanas, hoodies, shirts, stickers [http://tinyurl.com/FilmThePoliceSFR]
B. DOLAN's "FILM THE POLICE" pays tribute to N.W.A.'s infamous "F*ck the Police," serving as a call to action for the digitized media movement while responding to the recent explosion of police brutality all across the world.
This free MP3, courtesy of STRANGE FAMOUS RECORDS, features a reconstruction of Dr. Dre's original beat, brilliantly reanimated by UK producer BUDDY PEACE. Label CEO, SAGE FRANCIS, opens the song by picking up the gavel where Dr. Dre left it 23 years ago, introducing a blistering, true-to-style flip of Ice Cube's original verse by SFR cornerstone, B. Dolan. TOKI WRIGHT (Rhymesayers Entertainment) follows up by stepping into the shoes of MC Ren, penning the people's struggle against cops as a case of "Goliath Vs. a bigger giant." Finally, Jasiri X (Pittsburgh rapper/activist) rounds out the track by filling in for Eazy-E, reminding us that police brutality disproportionately affects poor people of color.
With the Occupy Movement bringing various forms of injustice to the forefront of people's consciousness, "Film the Police" is a reminder that cops have been a continued and increasingly militarized presence in public streets. Thanks to the widespread use of smartphones and video cameras, along with the popularity of social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, the power of the media has been put back into the people's hands as they document the injustices perpetrated by those who have sworn to serve and protect them.
The lyrics to "Film the Police" are available at: [http://bdolan.net/film-the-police-lyrics]
[http://facebook.com/BDolanSFR]
This video was directed by Mason Johnson (Klepticenter Productions) and edited by Weston Woodbury.
"Film the Police" will be included on B. DOLAN and BUDDY PEACE's "HOUSE OF BEES VOL. II" mixtape at [http://StrangeFamousRecords.com]
OO-TAC "leader" Melvin (there are no leaders, just noticeable personalities)
2012-03-10 at 7:00pm
19th & Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA
FUCK THE POLICE MARCH WEEKLY
FTP11 - FUCK THE POLICE
***
Note: The rally and march kickoff will be held at the park at 19th & Telegraph Ave. for the near future, because of so many people with stay away orders.
You know the drill by now -- we march, we yell, the pigs overreact.
Yet another new reason to march in solidarity and rage: the DA has been asking for, and receiving, unconstitutional stay-away orders on key people involved in Occupy Oakland, whether or not they were arrested at Oscar Grant Plaza, they are not allowed to go within 300 yards of Oscar Grant Plaza.
Think about this for a minute -- they can't go to city hall -- a public space -- in their own city, whether they were arrested there or not, whether they allegedly committed any violent crime or not, simply to quash their right to free assembly and protest.
Fuck the police and the District Attorney. Remove the DA from office by any legal means necessary. The DA violates the highest law of the land to protect the interests of the monied players in Oakland, those corporate leeches that sit on the president's circle of the Chamber of Commerce.
***
This event is being called by the Occupy Oakland Tactical Action Committee. It will continue weekly.
The Tactical Action Committee was approved by Occupy Oakland's GA to perform autonomous actions at their discretion. In that sense it is not an "official" Occupy Oakland event, in the sense that it was not directly, but indirectly, approved through the GA.
***
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you identify as peaceful and are likely to interfere with the actions of your fellow protestors in any way (including telling them to stop performing a particular action, grappling, assaulting or holding them for arrest), you may not want to attend this march. This is a militant, radical march that respects diversity of tactics. NV folks are welcome, but it must be understood that this is not a standard peaceful protest -- whatever that means.
For example, this is a Fuck the Police march. We yell "Fuck the Police" a lot. Telling people not to yell fuck at the police because it might hurt their feelings or is violent towards them is not respecting diversity of tactics.
As another example, some people might pull trash cans or other barricades into the streets to protect the marchers at the rear. This is a defense tactic and is not violent.
If you see someone performing an action that makes you uncomfortable, do not interfere, just move away. There is probably a very good reason they are doing what they are doing and you may simply not be aware of what the reason is -- and in the middle of the action is not the time to discuss it. If they are doing something illegal, it is their choice to risk arrest, not a participant's job to do the police's work for them.
The police are paid to do that stuff. They're itching to do it, which is why they follow the march so closely. Our job is to march and exercise our First Amendment rights. Let everyone protest in their own way without interference from within. Solidarity.
FTP March, Iteration 11, March 10, 2012
***
The Oakland Police Department has harassed and brutalized Occupy Oakland and participants in the vigil. Camps and liberated foreclosed buildings have been raided and shut down. OOers at the vigil have been arrested for as little as standing nearby when the police decide to raid, all the way up to the ridiculous charge of lynching. People have been physically assaulted by those supposed to protect and serve, but only do so in the interests of the 1%.
With dozens of our comrades having been arrested in the past months, and culminating in the city's revocation of the vigil's permit and the immediate threat of another police raid to clear the plaza, the time has come to rise up and let them know what we think of them and that we will no longer meekly accept their violations of our civil and human rights.
This event will be held weekly. Spread the word, send the invite, join us as we march in solidarity against police repression.
Rally at 7:00 pm
March at 9:00 pm
THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING OCCUPY OAKLAND
SOLIDARITY
Lexi Washington: "Dress as a superhero or in all black or in blue spandex for this week's FTP March. In solidarity with Captain America's struggle!"
Allen Mullins (a.k.a. Captain America)
[facebook.com/pages/Allen-Mullins-aka-Captain-America/163216243729049]
2012-02-28 posting by John TheBaker to the "FTP" Facebook
In the next few days my band Fucktard will release a new song in appreciation if the Fuck The Police march. It's titled The Cops Are Fuckin Little Girls. We plan to have it available by march 3rd via Tankcrimes Records www.tankcrimes.com
2012-02-26 "FTP march: Where is the Kumbaya crowd? by Zachary RunningWolf ( runningwolf.zachary [at] yahoo.com )
[http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/02/26/18708210.php]
The Fuck the Police (FTP) marches, which has garnered international attention (Barcelona, Spain and Santiago, Chile) and locally, has the Berkeley Police department going so far to say we were responsible for a murder which they were caught lying about.
This week brings the shooting of Oscar Grant's cousin and the judge putting down an unconstitutional ruling against 40 Nortenos and putting curfew on them.
The FTP march has identified that the local police are the problem and has begun a process of successful revolution, but it seems that the Kumbaya crowd, which includes Communists, Labor unions, Non-profit people and other lethargic devils ([as sayeth] Immortal Technique), do not want to support the FTP marches.
The Union workers (or leadership) practice really selfish behavior ie. better wages in a falling economy during an environmentally castastrophe (Global Warming). Remember you cannot an economy with no environment.
The Non-profit people... who are let by the system to exist, but not enough to actually change the system.
The Communists who really should be on the FTP marches but are just waiting to take power in a totalitarian way. A workers revolution is the acceptance of slavery (labor).
This is an indigenous revolution and everybody can be indigenous but you have walk with your noses so high in the air. And finally you need to participate and not Hate.
2012-02-24 posting by Dandelion Louise to the "FTP" Facebook
I am so falling deeply in ♥ with this action!!!
Fuck The Police*
Fuck The President
Fuck These Policies
(stop allowing yourselves to be used contrary to our constitution! Protect THE people NOT select people at corporations)
I also invited a group to join us tomorrow... CodePink.
They support occupy efforts and have a strong base that has demonstrated in powerful ways...
I also want to see the copbots react to FTP* and a bunch of mom's and grandma's dressed in pink!!!! Marching together! Grandmas aren't afraid of FTP? Why are cops in riot gear?!?
I wonder if Moms will recognize her kid or kid's friend behind a bandana!!!!! lol!!
Like imagine Cincinnati seeing a grandma that used to drive him to .... boy scouts! hahaha!
2012-02-18 FTP march
[http://www.livestream.com/occupyoakland/video?clipId=pla_5a431883-9d7f-4b25-acab-093dce584ad5]
occupyoakland on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free
2012-02-18 posting by Kik Noehler to the "FTP" Facebook
word is, this infamous snitch will be at the march tonight. be extra careful when masking up and down, do not where the same clothes in and out of bloc, and watch each other's backs! if you see him, let him know what Oakland thinks of snitches!
---
[Text of flier]
Brandon Darby: Snitch & Provocateur
This man posed as an activist and revolutionary.
He informed on his comrades to the FBI about acts which he devised and encouraged. Because of him
his friends are spending years in federal prison.
He also sabotaged political organizing projects in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and
in Minneapolis against the RNC in 2008.
If you see him, let him know that Oakland does not welcome snitches and provocateurs.
Brandon Darby not welcome in liberated Oakland!
Read more: http://theragblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/lisafithianfbiinformantbrandon.
html
2012-02-14 posted to "FTP" facebook
2012-02-09 posted to "FTP" facebook
2012-02-05 posted by Benjamin Cossel to "FTP" facebook
Dear Occupy Oakland TAC and all those who participated in last night's FTP March! Thank you for allowing me to come up and stand in solidarity with you all. I've passed my contact info to the other medic on scene last night, (sorry brother, I've forgotten your name) and would love to come up for more of your actions. Wish more occupations had Oakland's fire. Ben, Occupy SD.
2012-02-04 posted by Kate DeGraaf to "FTP" facebook
I will be streaming live from Oakland's "Fuck the Police march" tonight. Expecting mass arrests. tune in at 8ish. [http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/20234826]
Video streaming by Ustream
2012-02-04 "Unmarked police cars following FTP march"
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/57114524@N06/6940072519/in/photostream]
This photo has an interesting story behind it. At on point during the march I became separated from the march and followed the three helicopters flying above the march. I began to notice that although I was about 6 blocks away from the march, there were two unmarked police cars and two vans all filled with fully geared riot police. They were waiting on the corner and as soon as I would walk past one car, the whole convoy would drive several blocks down the street and wait. I passed them about 5 times before veering away from San Pablo and back to OGP/FOP. People in the march were unaware of these police forces; they were preoccupied as about to 20 police in full riot gear followed the march on foot.
2012-02-05 "Fu©k The Police (FTP 1) March & Rally in Austin, Texas 2-3-12" from "ZGraphix"
[http://blip.tv/zgraphix/fuck-the-police-ftp-1-march-rally-in-austin-texas-2-3-12-5936172]
About this episode
TV-UN
ANNOUNCING THE FIRST "FU©K THE POLICE" MARCH IN AUSTIN TEXAS FTP1 This event was called by various Anarchists and radicals in Austin Texas This event was explicitly Anti-Police and Anti-Capitalist. This event was created in response to the call for solidarity put out by the citizens of Oakland who have been participating in these marches for several weeks now. No longer can we ignore this call. We did not create a facebook event for this march because we recognize that facebook alienates the participants in these demonstrations by giving law enforcement and city officials a list of participants and organizers that end up becoming targets. FTP1 Austin was the first of many FTP marches that will be planned in the coming weeks. We gather in the spirit of open revolt against the racist police state that we live in, and understand that there is no excuse for Austin to sit back and remain passive while our comrades around the world face violent state repression. There is no excuse to continue to sit back and let the racist Austin Police Department along with every other facet of law enforcement private or public to brutalize and murder children in the most marginalized communities in our area. There are no borders in this struggle. To quote our friends in the bay area - "Please do not consume the images from the Bay as you would the images of overseas rioting or as a netflix subscription. Our hell is yours, and so too is our struggle." We hold our friends in Oakland in the highest regard; their actions have been an inspiration to all of us. Produced for Austin Indymedia by Jeff Zavala. This is a zgraphix production. http://zgraphix.org
2012-02-04 posted by Austin Copwatch to "FTP" facebook
ANNOUNCING THE FIRST "FUCK THE POLICE" MARCH IN AUSTIN TEXAS FTP1
This event is being called by various Anarchists and radicals in Austin Texas
This event is explicitly Anti-Police and Anti-Capitalist, if you do not identify with those things you are not encouraged to attend. Everyone who does is welcome to participate. Non-violent participants are also welcome to attend, but those folks should be aware that this march has no guidelines for its tactics. NV participants are expected to not interere with other other demonstrators who may use differing tactics to express their discontent with the state.
We created this event in response to the call for solidarity put out by the citizens of Oakland who have been participating in these marches for several weeks now. No longer can we ignore this call. We did not create a facebook event for this march because we recognize that facebook alienates the participants in these demonstrations by giving law enforcement and city officials a list of participants and organizers that end up becoming targets, so please pass this along your social networks as much as you can. FTP1 Austin will be the first of many FTP marches that will be planned in the coming weeks. Join us in the spirit of open revolt against the racist police state that we live in, and understand that there is no excuse for Austin to sit back and remain passive while our comrades around the world face violent state repression. There is no excuse to continue to sit back and let the racist Austin Police Department along with every other facet of law enforcement private or public to brutalize and murder children in the most marginalized communities in our area. There are no borders in this struggle. To quote our friends in the bay area - "Please do not consume the images from the Bay as you would the images of overseas rioting or as a netflix subscription. Our hell is yours, and so too is our struggle." We hold our friends in Oakland in the highest regard; their actions have been an inspiration to all of us.
The destination(s) of the march will be decided once we gather on the bridge. Please wear black and bring signs and banners if you are able.
WHEN?
Friday Feb 3rd @ 4pm
WHERE?
on the lamar pedestrian bridge
Marcha contra las brutalidades policiales // F**K THE POLICE [11/FEB/2012]
[http://www.facebook.com/events/314803918571021/]
Saturday, February 11, 2012
12:00pm until 4:00pm
Marcha contra las brutalidades policiales ! El Sábado 11 de Febrero en SANTIAGO DE CHILE (PLAZA LOS HÉROES) ! Llamada a la Manifestación Internacional!
Marcha para Joder a la Policía en solidaridad internacional con Occupy Oakland y F**k the Police March, y por las personas asesinadas por la policía.
Jonathan Carrillo (Terrassa), Matias Catrileo - Manuel Gutiérrez(Chile) Pedro Álvarez (Barcelona), Wissam El Yamini (Francia), Hakim Ajimi (Francia), Oscar Grant (Usa), Carlos Giuliani (Italia), Y muchos mas asesinados por la policía.
SIN JUSTICIA, NO HAY PAZ!!!
Encuentro a las 11h en Plaza Los héroes para comenzar a las 12h.
ANTIFASCISTA ! ANTI-REPRESIÓN !
Rompamos el silencio !
España : http://www.facebook.com/events/138864192897629/
2012-02-01 "occupy occupy occupy"
[http://www.thisiswhatconcernsme.com/2012/02/01/occupy-occupy-occupy/]
This is a video of me and many others being kettled by the YMCA. My favorite part is the cop yelling at me at the end to “get out the building” as we were all standing on the sidewalk.
Besides getting arrested for a second time while reporting on Occupy Oakland, I’ve been actually reporting on Occupy Oakland! For the Guardian, AlterNet, Truthout, Citizen Radio and the East Bay Express, from civic engagement, to lynching, to OPD’s new smarter policing, to Occupy Wall Street West, to January 28th’s “Move In Day,” and to my first part of Occupy Oakland paintings. Of those six pieces, two have drawings, and five are basically wholly written. I’ve also done some sweet “media appearances” with Punching Down, Thom Hartmann and the Alyona Show.
In light of being left off my own goddamn union’s list of arrested journalists this week because I am a freelancer, I have to link again to this piece I wrote a few months ago about why I am a cartoonist — and why I am still a journalist. I’ve kind of given up on people understanding that I can do multiple things, though, so from now on I guess I just have to go with “journalist” for clarity.
2012-01-28 posted by Kelly Caldwell to "FTP" facebook
apparently Portlanders are getting hassled in solidarity as i type
2012-01-28 "Minneapolis Reclaims Space in Solidarity with Occupy Oakland" by Gus Ganley
[http://vimeo.com/35849710]
2012-01-28 "From Oakland To Atlanta: Fuck The Police"
[http://atlanta.indymedia.org/march/oakland-atlanta-fuck-police]
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 10:10pm
Date/Time: Sat, 01/28/2012 - 8:07pm - 11:07pm
Location: Troy Davis Park (formally woodruff park)
The pig who murdered Ariston Waiters is back on the street. So are we.
DISCLAIMER: This is not an attempt to 'be like' Oakland. This is a solidarity action therefore the parameters are mirrored. Of course, what works there may not work here. Act accordingly. This sectio...n may change for further actions. This IS NOT a call for violence and/or property destruction and this will be mentioned again below. Also, the host of this page IS NOT the organizer of the event but simply somebody with a facebook. Continue on.
In response to the recent slayings and examples of police violence committed by the APD. In response to the murderer of Ariston Waiters being allowed back to work with no charges pressed, to Kathyrn Johnston, Joetavius Stafford, Dwight persons, victims of the EAGLE raid, Troy Davis, Oscar Grant, Sean Bell, Ian Tomlinson, Jason Alan Kemp, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, Carlo Giuliani, Maurice Hampton, John T. Williams, and thousands more... Fuck The Police.
"IMPORTANT NOTE: If you identify as peaceful and are likely to interfere with the actions of your fellow protestors in any way (including telling them to stop performing a particular action, grappling, assaulting or holding them for arrest), you may not want to attend this march. It is a militant action. It attracts anti-capitalists, anti-fascists and other comrades of a revolutionary bent. It is not a march intended for people who are not fully comfortable with diversity of tactics.
FTP March, January 28, 2012 - Tactical Parameters
Due to the fact that most of our internal issues on each march and action to date have come from a lack of information on what the tactical parameters of a particular action are expected to be, we will be calling for tactical parameters on this and all future FTP marches that may change as we learn and practice our skills in the streets.
Note that these are the wishes by the callers of the march. In the interests of solidarity please respect these parameters. These are being called for this march only. This goes both ways -- please be respectful enough of the event to not pursue certain actions at this time if they are being put on the "please don't" list; likewise, if you are uncomfortable with someone performing an action that is acceptable within the march parameters DO NOT INTERFERE with them. This is respect for diversity of tactics, and also proper solidarity in the face of our common enemy. There will come a day that this practice, discipline and restraint will serve us well as a unit.
If you cannot follow the parameters DO NOT ATTEND. They will be read before the march during the rally. People will be given the opportunity to back out if they feel they cannot respect the tactics, with no loss of face.
So, for this march, we are asking for the following:
SHIELDS: If you have the capability and the will to march in the front line, make a shield to carry for Saturday's action.
NO DAMAGE TO PRIVATE PROPERTY of any kind -- people's cars, any Atlanta businesses.
NO FRONTAL ASSAULTS ON THE POLICE - i.e., no bottle throwing. Defensive actions are fully accepted and encouraged. Shields, unarresting, disarming cops that are beating comrades, etc. MAKE THE POLICE STRIKE THE FIRST BLOW.
SPLIT-OFF MARCHES AND AUTONOMOUS ACTIONS ARE NOT DISCOURAGED. If you do decide to go your own route, please respect the above parameters.
STREET BARRICADES ARE FOR YOUR PROTECTION - Do not remove them if they have been placed. Do not stop comrades from placing barriers if they choose to take that risk. It is actually to protect the march. If you are uncomfortable with the barriers, just walk away from them.
MASS UP: If you hear the shout, "Mass up!" Or "Tighten up!" It is in your best interest to clump together with the main group in tight formation. Be aware of distance and do not string out along the march route. Do not give the police an opportunity to snatch you and plant evidence on you to conflate charges with.
And to repeat:
NO INTERFERING IN OTHER PEOPLE'S ACTIONS EVEN IF YOU DO NOT PERSONALLY AGREE WITH THEM. Do not yell stop. Do not grab your comrades. If you feel unsafe, move away. The parameters listed above are for our own use so that we can hold one another accountable afterwards for things that may not have gone according to plan. But in the face of the enemy WE SHOW FULL SOLIDARITY. Afterwards we can argue about stuff. Not during the action.
We are all adults. We are all comrades. We have a common enemy and we will have to learn to work as a unit. Following the action parameters on each FTP march should mitigate the fighting and problems we have consistently had after every action to date.
Thank you for your cooperation.
2012-01-23 "#OPD Spending $50,000 Per Week to follow #OO #FTP Marches as City Prepares to Lay off Hundreds of Workers"
[http://www.politicalfailblog.com/2012/01/opd-spending-50000-per-week-to-follow.html]
The Oakland Police Department has racked up nearly $3 million worth of expenses related to Occupy Oakland protests according to this brief report on SFGate.
As a result of the weekly #FTP marches, held by the Occupy Oakland Tactical Committee, the police department has been spending an estimated $50,000 every Saturday night on hundreds of riot police, multiple vans, cars, & helicopters.
The city of Oakland is expected to lay off nearly 400 workers on February 1, due to a lack of funds.
I don't know if it was a tactic to drain the department's funding, but I knew OPD had to be spending a fortune to maintain their oppressive presence throughout the protests. I have been to all three of the 'Fuck the Police' marches in Oakland, and each time I have made comments about the over the top police activity & presence. We have proven to be peaceful week after week, the decision on whether to spend the city's money on unneeded policing of Occupiers or maintaining hundreds of jobs will be in the hands of the Mayor.
OPD retreats after the third weekly peaceful 'Fuck the Police' march.
2012-01-23 "Oakland PD Hides Nametape" posted by christinakayp to "ustream.tv"
[http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/19925196/highlight/235259#utm_campaign=www.facebook.com&utm_source=235259&utm_medium=social]
State law requires on-duty, uniformed police officers to display their names or identification numbers. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article. cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/11/BAG21MNQ3Q.DTL#i xzz1kIruHZHr
Video streaming by Ustream
2012-01-21 posted by Comrade Kalamity to "FTP" facebook
OPD took out the OO tree sits again last night in the dead of night while people were sleeping off OWSW's action yesterday. Our Pastor was cited for sleeping. Come one, come all, let's show these fucking pigs that we have had enough!
2012-01-21 posted by Kalin Zevetchin to "FTP" facebook
Email from Barcelona FTP marchers! They have a message for us
From the facebook event page.
http://www.facebook.com/events/345909515427395/
Demonstation F**k The Police ! Saturday, February 11 in Barcelona (Catalonia place) ! Call for a International Demonstration !
For the first time in Europe, March F**k The Police, international solidarity with Occupy Oakland, FTP and all those killed by the police.
Jonathan Carrillo (Terrassa), Pedro Alvarez (Barcelone) Wissam El Yamini (France), Hakim Ajimi (France), Oscar Grant (Usa), Carlo Giuliani (Italie), all killed by the police.
NO JUSTICE ! NO PEACE !!!
Bring your talent, bring your cameras, bring your friends, dress in black and bring your protective equipment if you wish (body armor?) WELCOME DIVERSITY OF TACTICS!
Where Plaza Catalunya in Barcelona
When 6pm March Starts promptly at 7pm
ANTI POLICE ! ANTIFASCIST ! ANTI REPRESSION !
Title: Fuck The Police March
START DATE: February 11th Saturday
TIME: 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Location Details: Plaza Catalunya
Event Type: Antifascist Manifestation
Email ftpbcn@gmail.com
The Barcelona Fuck The Police March is a direct action against police brutality worldwide. While we find it impossible to come to an exact figure, we know that at least tens of thousands of people around the globe are murdered, beaten, or otherwise victims of police brutality every year. In 2011 we witnessed a year of uprisings, but with that came an increase in police brutality and murder. In Oakland, California, our comrades have put out the call. In Barcelona we will answer!
No longer will we stand idle as the police beat and kill with impunity. We will not wait for more bodies to drop before we take action. We will take the initiative and join people all around the world in saying, "Fuck the police!"
This is an international call. Join us in Barcelona at Plaza Catalunya on February 11th at 6pm as we take to the streets! We will march the the Central Police Station an express our anger!
Things that you can do to help:
* Diffuse information for the Fuck the Police march, make fliers with cool artwork that give the date and time, invite your friends, and post it all over Facebook and Twitter. Translate this information and send it to the email above. The more people that come the safer it will be for everyone. If you can´t b e in Barcelona for Saturday the 11th, plan a Fuck the Police march in your town, and make the police all over the world afraid.
* Wear black so that the police cannot single anybody out for arrest. You might also want to bring protective gear, for example: motorcycle helmets, face masks, homemade shields and body armour. If you would like to march in the front line, wearing protective gear is recommended.
* Bring banners that declare how fucked the police are.
* During the march, please stick together. If the police block our route, we recommend that you don´t separate from the march. If the group is fragmented, it is easier for the police to control, and that is what they will try to do.
* Be aware of the movements of the police, and if you hear people calling to "bloc up" or tighten up the group, please do so. Always keep the group ¨blocked up¨.
If you happen to notice anyone destroying a police vehicle, a mainstream media vehicle, a nasty corporate bank, or any other physical symbol of corporate fascism, don´t try and stop them. Let us not behave in a manner that emulates our enemy.
* Defensive tactics highly encouraged. Please be sensitive to your surroundings and the comrades next to you.
* Diversity of tactics is highly encouraged. Each person is responsible for their own actions, please do not attempt to stop your comrades from expressing their anger in the manner in which they choose for themselves. In the face of our common enemy we ask that you show full solidarity. This march is a message to the police we are finished with silence, how we choose to break that silence is up to the individual and autonomous groups.
* Break The Silence!
2012-01-17 "Report: Police Response to Occupy Oakland Raises 'Serious Concerns'; Court-appointed monitors question department's ability to reform" by Shoshana Walter
The Oakland Police Department's response to Occupy Oakland protests this fall raised "serious concerns" about the Department's ability to "hold true to the best practices in American policing," according to monitors tasked with overseeing the department's progress toward implementing court-ordered reforms.
In a report released Tuesday, the monitors promised that their next assessment, due in April, would include a thorough investigation of police activity connected with Occupy Oakland.
That investigation could increase the chances a federal court will take over OPD until the department can fully implement the improvements. "[W]e cannot help but view the events of Occupy Oakland as a test of the reform mettle of this Department," the monitors wrote.
While the monitors commended the efforts of Mayor Jean Quan and police Chief Howard Jordan, they noted that the department has made very little progress in the past two years. The city has already missed two deadlines to complete the reforms, and the new deadline is only a year away.
The police response to Occupy Oakland calls into question those improvements that the department has made, the head monitor, Robert Warshaw, wrote in the report.
"I cannot overstate our concern that although progress on compliance has been slow, even those advancements may have been put in doubt in the face of these events," Warshaw wrote.
Among the issues the monitors will examine are officers’ uses of force during protests and whether the department had adequately trained officers on crowd-control policies. They will also investigate whether the department followed procedures for reporting complaints and policy violations to the department's Internal Affairs Division. As The Bay Citizen reported last week, a supervisor was demoted to sergeant after he failed to report an officer who was hiding his nameplate, a violation of the department’s reform agreement.
"We were, in some instances, satisfied with the performance of the Department, yet in others we were thoroughly dismayed by what we observed,” the monitors wrote.
The possibility that other law enforcement agencies played a role in misconduct during the response to Occupy Oakland does not excuse the OPD, the monitors wrote. Oakland requested officers from at least 17 agencies to help evict Occupy protesters from Oakland's Frank H. Ogawa Plaza on Oct. 25. Many of those agencies also participated in the police response to a protest later that night that turned bloody.
Scott Olsen, an Iraq war veteran, suffered a fractured skull during clashes between officers and protesters that night.
The unusual policing challenges posed by the protests “do not relieve the Department, in any way, of any of the requirements” of the negotiated settlement agreement, or NSA, the monitors wrote. “Instead, it is precisely in such times that the reforms agreed upon in the NSA are at their point of greatest significance, as they govern the behavior of the Department and its officers.”
Warshaw wrote: “The events around Occupy Oakland appear to raise some serious concerns about the capacity of the Department to, on its own, adopt and hold true to the best practices in American policing.”
"For the moment, we find ourselves facing an uncomfortable reality: The path forward is not clear," he continued.
The monitors were first brought on in 2003 as part of the settlement agreement in the Riders case, in which four Oakland police officers were accused of planting drug evidence on suspects in East Oakland. The agreement requires the department to make a series of reforms related to misconduct, and the monitors are tasked with auditing the department’s progress.
“Overall, I found the report very disturbing in the sense that so little progress has been made,” said Jim Chanin, one of the attorneys whose lawsuit against the department led to the reforms. “There really is no sign that this is ever going to come to an end.”
In addition to Occupy Oakland, the monitors raised concerns about the department’s parole and probation searches.
The monitors reviewed 400 records of police stops, 70 arrest reports and 16 closed Internal Affairs investigations, and found that the overwhelming majority of parole and probation stops and arrests involved individuals who are black. The monitors also wrote that officers routinely ask people if they are on parole or probation, “even when there is no independent justification for the inquiry.”
“This practice can have a chilling effect on police-community relations, and resentment over these inquiries can — and does — result in citizen complaints,” the monitors wrote.
Chanin said he and co-attorney John Burris were working on a response to the report Tuesday. Sue Piper, spokeswoman for Mayor Jean Quan, said her office was still reviewing the report. A police department spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
The police department's next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 26.
Quarterly Report
2012-01-16 "Why Fuck the Police?” by Zachary Running Wolf
[http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/01/16/18704804.php]
Occupy Oakland's Tactical Action Committee hosts a weekly Fuck the Police march on Saturdays at 7:00 p.m.
Any time a civilian population identifies a problem and starts a protest, the police department (the Arab Spring for example), the movement has moved into successful revolutionary actions.
The Fuck the Police March needs both militant and non-violent participation with each person fully respecting the St. Paul Principles, i.e. diversity of tactics with separation of time and place. The police department has acted extremely violently towards protestors in the commons area of Oakland, refusing First Amendment rights to assembly and protest, targeting and snatching particular participants, planting evidence, conflating charges, etc.
The weekly protest will only grow and the more participation we have the more people will see how abusive the police really are, along with spending a blank check of resources while closing libraries, schools, and laying off massive numbers of city employees.
We march in solidarity with Tahrir Square, who advise us to give the police twice as much as they give us. Remember the concussion grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas, as well as the kidnapping of innocent participants in Occupy Oakland and the poor and color communities at large, and stealing possessions and resources while destroying and refusing to return them including sleeping bags, medical supplies, children’s toys, food, transportation, clothing, and more.
And finally, the native community is enraged by the theft of the vigil tipi and refusal to give it back much less explain where it was taken to.
The Fuck the Police march is held weekly on Saturday nights, 7 p.m. rally at Oscar Grant Plaza in downtown Oakland, march at 9 p.m. Each march has a list of tactical parameters that are called for by the march organizers. These parameters need to be read and understood fully before participating and the rules must be respected. If you cannot respect the rules and parameters this is not the march for you. It is meant to be a thorn in the police paw, it may have militant break away actions, and may not necessarily be what is traditionally known as a “peaceful protest.”
It is a solidarity building, community building and trust building exercise. Other US Occupy groups have begun to march or are planning marches in solidarity including Seattle, LA, Davis, San Jose, and Philadelphia.
2012-01-16 "Reportback from Jan 14th anti-police demonstration" From Puget Sound Anarchists
[http://anarchistnews.org/node/21412]
On Saturday, January 14th, approximately one hundred people gathered at 23rd Avenue and Union in Seattle's Central District. This corner was once the site of a police substation that was attacked numerous times until it ceased operation in mid 2011. [Read more at:] [http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2010/07/13/another-attack-on-police-drop-in-station-windows-smashed] [http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/214] [http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/615]
We fondly remembered the last anarchist demonstration that had left from this point in 2010, on the night of the verdict against Oscar Grant's murderer [http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/07/09/18653220.php].
This march, however, was called for by members of Occupy Seattle demanding the resignation of SPD Chief John Diaz. Another call-out asked for anarchists to attend the march offering up a critique of police reform [http://www.pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/1302].
The anarchist presence was small at this demonstration, but the frustration caused by standing in the square and listening to people talk on the bullhorns of justice and reform for over an hour in the cold had our small group riled up. As the sun started to set and the temperature dropped into the 30s, we were elated to see the rally finally teeter from a platform calling for better-trained cops into shouts of 'get into the fucking street!'
A banner was seen with the words: "Solidarity with Oakland (A) Fuck the Cops," and fliers were handed out calling attention to our friends who had participated in the January 7th 'Fuck OPD' march in Oakland [http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/1302]. After Oakland cops were paint-bombed, cruiser windows mashed, a news van attacked and several small fires lit, one person was hit in the head by cops and booked on a number of charges. The arrestee's bail was initially set at $595,000, based on the claim that he had a quarter-stick of dynamite, and then lowered to $250,000 at arraignment.
Much like Amelia Nicol’s case in Denver, this move smacks of an attempt by the courts and the cops to neutralize the embers that have spewn from the Oakland Commune. But instead of relinquishing Oscar Grant Plaza and the momentum that has been building, weekly Saturday demonstrations are now taking place in Oakland against the OPD.
The same forces have tried to quell anti-police sentiment in Seattle, but an eerie memory of the Winter of 2011 was stirred. Days before the march, federal prosecutors announced that they would not charge Ian Birk, the former SPD cop who murdered John T. Williams on August 30, 2010. Four other people were murdered that same week by Washington cops -- many by ‘less lethal’ weapons like tasers -- and anarchists in the Puget Sound came with a scathing critique of police accountability and the justice system that maintains their social control. Though the mainstream media will never be an ally, this Seattle Times article departs from the rhetoric of last winter which sought to prop up the police story of probable cause in Birk's shooting:
"Williams’ shooting resulted in a public outrage and was pivotal in uniting community groups to demand accountability from the department. There had been earlier videotaped incidents — an officer slugging a teenage jaywalker, for instance — but none reverberated in the community like the patrol-car dash-cam video of Williams ambling across the intersection in front of Birk’s car, a pocket knife and board in his hands. Birk was seen crossing in front of the car toward Williams, his weapon drawn, and then a series of shots a few seconds later. Native American and civil rights groups protested the shooting. The department’s credibility was further damaged when it had to withdraw a statement made at the scene that Williams had 'advanced on the officer.'"
Now that the Department of Justice's investigation has concluded and found several cases of excessive force, the media wastes no time in chastising the SPD. In response, the city and police have already organized a community forum [http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2012/01/12/discussion-about-race-social-justice-and-police-january-28] to discuss officer training and the City's Race and Social Justice initiative. It is important that this be revealed for exactly what it is: a public relations attempt to assuage the liberal public that frets over the myth of 'racial and social justice'. In 2011, we burnt many bridges but also found many friends.
----
Despite the rumor that cops would force us onto the sidewalk, agitated individuals pushed past those waiting for the cross signal and into the streets. The shivering mass of people followed and marched north up 23rd avenue chanting 'The revolution has begun / They say more cops! We say none!' and 'Cops and bankers, we don’t need em! / All we want is total freedom!'. Bikes and graffiti writers flanked the crowd and media scurried ahead of the banners, trying to take sensational photos of the lit flares and black masks. At a major intersection, a banner reading 'ACAB' backed with 'All your base are belong to no one! (A)' was hoisted above the street. The crowd cheered as it flapped in the cold and surged forward once more.
The march turned southwest onto Madison and trash cans, construction signs and dumpsters were rolled into the street. Unlike the anti-police demos of early 2011, many of the marchers around joined in, kicking over signs and carrying a couch into on-coming traffic lanes. Uniformed police were nowhere to be seen amongst the merriment, but Peace and Safety vultures from Occupy Seattle tried to push dumpsters back into the alleys, decrying the redecoration as 'distracting' from the issue of the police. Others threw fliers into the doors of the co-op and toppled potted trees outside a yuppie furniture store, and yes, even a newspaper box or two was thrown.
A shout rippled through the crowd as one person skateboarded past with a torch; several more were handed out in remembrance of those murdered by the police. While some torchbearers chanted 'Justice for Sean Bell, Justice for John T, Justice for Oscar' others yelled for 'vengeance.' The glow of fire hovered overhead as the march turned down Pine and finally to the police barricades surrounding the East Precinct. Traffic had been diverted for several blocks since 4 p.m., and firetrucks were stationed nearby.
Many people scattered off into the night, while others stayed and argued with the cops lining the barricades. No arrests or injuries were reported but perhaps more important is the giddy feeling that lingers. The first signs of snow in Seattle dominate the news today, but another demonstration has already been called for on Monday, January 16th, leaving the recently evicted Turritopsis Nutricula squat and joining the Seattle MLK march. To the friends we have made in Seattle and our comrades in the Oakland Commune, let's warm by the hearth of another fiery year.
2012-01-15 posted by Oh Snap to "FTP" facebook
last nights march was interesting. it was declared a victory after hours of cat and mouse. the marchers didnt block many streets, even. the police facilitated by blocking traffic, and lazily trailed the march with the vans. but thats from a "tactical" point of view.
on the other hand, police did not interfere with first amendment rights, demonstrating, assembling, redressing, what have you.
2012-01-15 posted by Kerie Campbell to "FTP" facebook
Critique of FTP 2.
Last night was pretty good. I had a couple of issues. I wasn't too happy at the change of venue, but I understand why it happened. I think we may have lost some folks who cruised by the plaza looking for us and didn't catch that we were actually meeting at 19th & Telegraph. We also didn't have our pre-march drumming extravaganza, which may have been an unconscious expression of respect for the neighbors in the surrounding apartments.
The one big problem I had was that certain NV identified people did not follow the parameters. Perhaps they didn't see them. This will be addressed by reading the parameters immediately before the next march via megaphone. There were people removing barriers that comrades had put in the streets to slow the cops down and protect our rear guard for the idiotic reason that they didn't want someone to have to clean the streets. The cops will do it. That's what the barriers are FOR.
Secondly, someone was trying to follow the rules and light a dead xmas tree on fire in the street, likewiase as a barricade. Despite being told that it was within the parameters, several people took it upon themselves to stop it. Disrespectful of their comrades and of the march itself. This is not acceptable. You don't get to pick and chose which tactics you will follow. The proper response would have been to MOVE AWAY FROM WHAT WAS MAKING YOU UNCOMFORTABLE.
It was joked about last week that we need to police the peace police, but maybe we need to look at that idea in a serious light. Not with physical assault, of course, but by blocking the peace police from the other comrade with a line of bodies.
All in all, we did well. I am VERY proud of our bloc, who did good work in the face of the obstacles presented by other protestors, and who fully respected the parameters. Thank you all for your dedicated service to the cause.
2012-01-15 "OPD press statement on tonight’s Fuck the Police march #2"
[http://susie-c.tumblr.com/post/15877618613/on-january-14-2012-at-8-00-p-m-a-crowd-of]
“On January 14, 2012, at 8:00 p.m. a crowd of approximately 125 persons peacefully assembled at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Oakland Police facilitated a circuitous march through the downtown streets of Oakland between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 11:00p.m. Although social media sites had indicated that individuals or groups planned to target police personnel, police vehicles, property, and media vans, there were no reports of violence, arson, vandalism, or injury. A total of two arrests were made – one for an individual observed blocking the roadway with a garbage dumpster, and the other for interfering in that arrest. Objects, debris, and barricades have been set on fire during past marches.”
2012-01-13 posted by Kerie Campbell to "FTP" facebook
For all the cops and other spies reading this page:
I am not the organizer of this event. I am not the real host. I am simply the messenger as I am on fscebook and the organizers are not.
Nobody is CALLING FOR VIOLENCE. It is just understood that certain philosophies may be in attendance. Since there is a possibility that some folks may attend that feel that certain illegal activities are acceptable risks to take in their pursuit of whet they consider to be free speech, the organizers have called for these parameters in order to minimize any possible damage to the community.
A great way to forestall the anger of certain people of a particular philosophical stance, perhaps would be to stop the repression, harrassment, selective enforcement of laws and conflated charges on members of Occupy Oakland and the communities of Color and the poor in Oakland.
2012-01-13 "Important Information from Tactical Action Committee and the Organizers of the FTP March" by @hyphy_republic
[http://hellaoccupyoakland.org/important-information-from-tactical-action-committee-and-the-organizers-of-the-ftp-march/]
*** This event is being called by the Occupy Oakland Tactical Action Committee. It will continue weekly. ***
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you identify as peaceful and are likely to interfere with the actions of your fellow protestors in any way (including telling them to stop performing a particular action, grappling, assaulting or holding them for arrest), you may not want to attend this march. It is a militant action. It attracts anti-capitalists, anti-fascists and other comrades of a revolutionary bent. It is not a march intended for people who are not fully comfortable with diversity of tactics.
FTP March, Iteration 2, January 14, 2012 – Tactical Parameters
Due to the fact that most of our internal issues on each march and action to date have come from a lack of information on what the tactical parameters of a particular action are expected to be, TAC will be calling for tactical parameters on this and all future FTP marches that may change as we learn and practice our skills in the streets.
Note that these are the wishes by the callers of the march. In the interests of solidarity please respect these parameters. These are being called for this march only. This goes both ways — please be respectful enough of the event to not pursue certain actions at this time if they are being put on the “please don’t” list; likewise, if you are uncomfortable with someone performing an action that is acceptable within the march parameters DO NOT INTERFERE with them. This is respect for diversity of tactics, and also proper solidarity in the face of our common enemy. There will come a day that this practice, discipline and restraint will serve us well as a unit.
So, for this march, TAC is asking for the following:
NO DAMAGE TO PRIVATE PROPERTY of any kind — people’s cars, any Oakland businesses (especially small businesses – but the Starbucks that was hit last time actually gives free coffee and food to our vigil so we prefer to leave all of them out at this time).
PROPERTY THAT IS FAIR GAME IF YOU ARE SO INCLINED – police vehicles and equipment, Mainstream Media vehicles and equipment. The police and the MSM are not our friends, never have been, and never will be.
NO FRONTAL ASSAULTS ON THE POLICE – i.e., no bottle throwing. Defensive actions are fully accepted and encouraged. Shields, unarresting, disarming cops that are beating comrades, etc. MAKE THE POLICE STRIKE THE FIRST BLOW.
SPLIT-OFF MARCHES AND AUTONOMOUS ACTIONS ARE NOT DISCOURAGED. If you do decide to go your own route, please respect the above parameters. Large banks, huge international corporations that run this city with their money, political organization HQ such as the Democrat campaign office or the chamber of commerce are not considered private property for the purposes of the parameters. If you decide to split off, do your autonomous actions away from the main march, not right next to it.
We are not encouraging anyone to attack any property whatsoever, but some property is more acceptable than others if you really must risk your freedom by doing something of that nature.
FIRE IS FUN – if you want to burn something in the street (that isn’t somebody’s car) then more power to you.
And to repeat:
NO INTERFERING IN OTHER PEOPLE’S ACTIONS EVEN IF YOU DO NOT PERSONALLY AGREE WITH THEM. Do not yell stop. Do not grab your comrades. If you feel unsafe, move away. The parameters listed above are for our own use so that we can hold one another accountable afterwards for things that may not have gone according to plan. But in the face of the enemy WE SHOW FULL SOLIDARITY. Afterwards we can argue about stuff. Not during the action.
We are all adults. We are all comrades. We have a common enemy and we will have to learn to work as a unit. Following the action parameters on each FTP march should mitigate the fighting and problems we have consistently had after every action to date.
Thank you for your cooperation.
***
The Oakland Police Department has harassed and brutalized Occupy Oakland and participants in the vigil. Camps and liberated foreclosed buildings have been raided and shut down. OOers at the vigil have been arrested for as little as standing nearby when the police decide to raid, all the way up to the ridiculous charge of lynching. People have been physically assaulted by those supposed to protect and serve, but only do so in the interests of the 1%.
With dozens of our comrades having been arrested in the past couple of weeks, and culminating in the city’s revocation of the vigil’s permit and the immediate threat of another police raid to clear the plaza, the time has come to rise up and let them know what we think of them and that we will no longer meekly accept their violations of our civil and human rights.
This event will be held weekly. Spread the word, send the invite, join us as we march in solidarity against police repression.
Wear black
Bring donuts and marshmallows
Rally at 7:00 pm
March on OPD HQ at 9:00 pm
THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING OCCUPY OAKLAND
SOLIDARITY
[https://www.facebook.com/events/302193313157474/]
2012-01-12 posted by Kerie Campbell to "FTP" facebook
Melvin of TAC breaks down what the tactical parameters are for the FTP march, iteration 2, which will go down on Saturday January 14, 2012.
2012-01-11 "Fuck the Police, Long Live the Commune" by OaklandCommune
[http://www.bayofrage.com/from-the-bay/fuck-the-police-long-live-the-commune/]
An enormous banner reading “Occupy Oakland — Fuck the Police” was unfurled at the corner of 14th and Broadway, in preparation for the first of a weekly series of marches against the police and their repression against the Oakland Commune. From the hours of 7 to 9 pm on Saturday, January 7th, the crowd kept growing – notably different than many of the largely white, activist groups that have become so predominant in the Occupy movement. This had a completely different character: a rowdy, largely young group of people pissed off about the recent police repression. The police were taking this night more seriously than other demos – whether it was because the night was the 3rd anniversary of the Oscar Grant Rebellion or simply because they knew that the pigs’ current campaign of harassment and arrests was fostering a culture of resistance and anger against them. All evening there were unmarked SUVs full of Oakland police cruising around the downtown area, as well as sheriffs and motorcycle pigs hanging around the periphery of 14th and Broadway.
The energy built up with chants, heckling of the cops standing in lines across the street, and a ferocious freestyle session. Soon after 9, the group flooded into the street, heading south on Broadway. Banners declared “Better to die on your feet than live on your knees”, “Not gay as in happy, but queer as in fuck OPD” and “Police nowhere, liberation everywhere”. People donned masks as we neared the OPD headquarters, Wiley Manuel Courthouse and Glenn Dyer detention center on 7th St. Upon arrival, it was clear the pigs weren’t going to allow a fireworks show like the New Year’s Eve noise demo. Up to 50 pigs were stationed in one-deep lines, directly in front of their headquarters, with more pigs down Washington Street defending their vehicle lot, and others near Clay St. Judging by their arrangement, they were ready to surround and arrest us, to kettle the confrontational crowd. The mood was strange, quiet as we stood before the OPD’s fortress. The gap between the rage we wanted to unleash on the police and the reality of our suddenly indecisive crowd facing off a line of armed cops was unsettling. Our lack of confidence, of memory of overt collective resistance weighed heavy on us that moment. We milled in the street, someone shoved a shopping cart towards the cops. A few bottles were thrown. The hostility towards the police was too diffuse and they were too prepared in their defensive position for the immediate situation to escalate in a way that could benefit us.
Soon the decision was made to stay mobile, and we headed back to Broadway. The crowd took a left, and as we headed up the street several black-clad hooligans attacked two police cars that were stopped on the street, slashing their tires, and bottles were thrown at the pigs once more. At this point the divide in the crowd became evident — with OakFoSho who livestreams many Occupy Oakland demonstrations shouting “I wish I could catch the motherfuckers who are throwing shit on film”, and a few others decrying the bottle throwers. While militant tactics are not above critique (and there’s definitely much tactical learning and evolution to be done), threatening or filming people fighting back against the police is doing the pigs’ work for them.
Despite the unclear intentions of the group as a whole, some agitated for the march to turn towards the cop shop again, and ultimately it took a left on 9th Street and headed back to Washington. Strolling among the holiday-light bedazzled trees of the Oldtown commercial district, the chants of “Kill Pigs” and “A.C.A.B — all cops are bastards” lent a dissonant affect to the moment. Yuppies gawked from the upscale bars and restaurants as the active minority of a discontent populace streamed past them. We can only hope they enjoyed the sound of the Starbucks plate glass window shattering as much as we did. A few blocks down a Wells Fargo received an equally warm embrace. Shortly after that we passed a KTVU news van. It was swarmed by several people, some puncturing the tires, some scrawling a circle-A on the façade and others tearing the cables from the exposed switch board. This gesture should illuminate our relationship towards the media – they will never be our allies, we are not interested in pandering to them. This is war, and they are on the wrong side.
On this second approach, riot cops had formed a line blocking the way down Washington to the court. This was their technique in the early days of Occupy Oakland, when there was often almost no police presence at marches, until they approached 7th and Washington. But at this point we had more momentum than before, there was no way we would simply turn back. The “Fuck the Police” banner-carriers stepped up directly to the line, behind them a small bonfire was lit, and people let fly more bottles. But even though the energy had been high, there was no solid black bloc and those who were more confrontational were vulnerable to identification. Soon, the cops advanced, pushing the banner back and stomping out the fire. After they advanced, they began clearly pointing out and shining lights at those they wanted to target for arrest. Whether because of the fire or having sensed the tactical weakness of the group, the pigs suddenly charged.
It was a flurry of huge men moving faster than one would think possible. They clearly went after specific individuals, as well as those who were trampled or fell behind. They beat a few people badly with batons, and shot others with rubber bullets and bean bags that left a colored mark on clothing. The crowd was generally pushed north, and many escaped, but a group was kettled on 9th Street between Washington and Broadway. This kettle was eventually given a dispersal order and allowed to leave, although there was another police charge as people were walking north on Broadway. After this, the night ended uneventfully, though there were still cops posted up en masse at the North end of the plaza for some time. 6 people were arrested, 3 of whom were released without charges, and one of whom who is facing five felonies and one misdemeanor. Saturday night was a change of tactics for the OPD. In keeping with the intensifying direct repression of the Oakland Commune, this was the first time they had relied on snatching and kettling. Their sudden charges also seemed out of character, as though our stubborn resistance enraged or unnerved them. The OPD also tailed one person as they were leaving the march, and pulled them over to harass and search them.
The apparatus of the police is what holds us back from so many of our dreams. It is only logical that occupiers and other rebels have made a habit of marching between the plaza and the bastion of law and order: the former a hotbed of subversive conversation and anti-capitalist scheming, the latter the organizational center of a reactionary, murderous force and a node in the network of confinement and criminalization. By establishing a circulation between the radical social center of our city and the compound where the attack on that dangerous sociality is staged, the occupation has expanded on territorial battles that were already present in Oakland. In dead urban space, Occupy Oakland created a flourishing social space that was — is — antagonistic to the city’s control. While OPD asserts their sovereignty in East Oakland by murdering and beating people of color, in downtown they do it with tear gas and rubber bullets.
But while it is useful to encroach on the pigs’ territory as much as we can, there’s a danger of falling into an unthinking pattern. 7th and Washington isn’t the only place that crystallizes the relationship of power between us and the state — what we’re up against not only goes far beyond those buildings, it’s more than the police. It remains to be seen if these weekly marches will become something else entirely or fizzle out, but either way we need to think through our tactics and strategies. We cannot take on a fully armed counter-insurgency force directly. If we want to keep our commune alive in the streets and foster rebellion in the metropolis of the Bay Area, it will take some serious discipline and creativity. Our demonstrations must shift in form and content, and be able to adapt to contemporary circumstances. The time has already come to attack what represses us, seize what we need, and strike in unexpected ways. If we cannot provide for ourselves and create new forms of living in Oscar Grant Plaza, we will do it elsewhere. Now that we have tasted the joy of gathering defiantly in the open air and molding our own worlds, we can’t go back. In the words of some Spanish comrades, “the greatest violence would be returning to normality”. The police intend to enforce that normality. We, however, refuse to accept it, and wager instead on the rebels of Oakland.
Long live the Oakland Commune, freedom to our comrades and all prisoners!
2012-01-09 posted by Kerie Campbell to "FTP" facebook
Every week! No rest for the pigs! We can go home and go to bed, or go party and they have to go back to HQ and write reports, especially if they shot us or used tear gas. They have to ride around all night and make sure we aren't burning the city down. Their families will be pissed at them having to work overtime like this and their budget can't keep it up forever.
March this week and every week! Bigger and better! Stronger and better organized and disciplined!
Fuck the motherfucking police!
2012-01-08 "#FTP Anti-Repression March: OPD Uses Excessive Force Again" by Benjamin Phillips
[http://hellaoccupyoakland.org/important-information-from-tactical-action-committee-and-the-organizers-of-the-ftp-march/]
Have video, photos, or comments about the march? Contact Occupy Oakland Media:
media@occupyoakland.org
On January 7, 2012, Occupy Oakland supporters participated in an “Anti-repression / Fuck the Police” march to the Oakland police station in order to condemn the series of outrageous and violent arrests committed by the Oakland Police Department during the past week.
Also referred to as “Occububbles”, the march was attended by people who brought out mini-teepees, blew bubbles, and played drums.
At the police station protesters were met by a large group of police in riot gear. Police began advancing toward the protesters, and, failing to follow their own “use of force” guidelines, gave no warning to disperse before they began beating protesters who could not run away fast enough. It was not until 16 minutes after the OPD began beating protesters that the first dispersal was given.
A medic reported treating one protester with a broken leg, who had also been shot in the face with a “non-lethal” round. A young woman was clubbed. There were reports that a police officer threw a bike at a medic who was giving medical attention to an injured protester. According to police reports, not a single officer was injured. The total number of injured protesters is unknown.
This week, the National Lawyers Guild issued a statement demanding that the Oakland Police and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Departments end harassment of Occupy Oakland protesters. Members of Occupy Oakland call on the city and the DA to release political prisoners who are facing felony charges for “crimes” no more severe than sitting peacefully in a public space.
Tonight’s protest was also called “Film the Police” march. Numerous community citizens livestreamed the protest and confrontation. Livestreamers who tweet as @OakFoSho @punkboyinsf @BellaEiko @Eyeslam and @JeffKloy provided live coverage of the rally, as no mainstream media were present. Livestream viewers numbered in the thousands.
2012-01-06 "Operation Occububbles: Saturday Night OPD Bubble Brigade March"
[http://spiritualmonkey.livejournal.com/672509.html]
This Saturday night, Occupy Oakland is marching from Oscar Grant Plaza to OPD headquarters to protest the arrest of our comrades through targeting arrests of activists, as well as mistreatment in custody because of their political activity.
I'm calling on those participating to leave the "Occupy Aggro" at home and, instead, bring BUBBLES. We for a Bubble Bloc and show our contempt for their abuse with bubbles.
Lemme 'splain.
More and more Americans are coming to see that when dealing with Occupy, the police have no law. They will arrest you standing in the middle of the street with your hands in your pockets. They will arrest you while retreating with your hands up, asking "Where do I go to comply with your orders, officer?"
And they expect us to come with a "Fuck The Police" march, all hootin' and hollerin' and acting hostile.
Rather, I say we fuck WITH the police. Clown their asses by blowing bubbles. Dozens of people blowing bubbles down 7th will be fucking cool. Drivers will honk in support. And then we get video uploaded to the net of #OO engaging in nonviolent protest.
Make no mistake, we blow bubbles at them because of our contempt for their abusive thuggery and trampling on the first amendment. But the video can be of an angry mob hurling shit, or a contemptuous assembly of free people peacefully blowing bubbles at OPD HQ.
And when people ask us why, we can break out the "Free our comrades" info and school them.
Either OPD hunkers down and lets #OO bubble, or they come out in their riot gear and get caught on video being violent, anti-bubble fascists. This is all about PR War and perceptions. What middle America sees matters. Fuck the MSM, we gotta "Be The Media". And if #OO is the ones on video being peacefully contemptuous, THAT MATTERS.
We are part of a larger movement, and a particularly high-profile one at that. Let's leverage that profile creatively.
Let's not over-estimate how much public sympathy OO has. We could use some good press, and the message Occupy Oakland responds to Abusive Police Repression With Bubbles will get more people on our side than Yet another "Fuck The Police March from OO, must be Saturday.
But what if they say bubbles are chemical warfare or littering and arrest people then? Let them. Get it on film. Don't forget, they're ALREADY arresting activists on bullshit charges. What we are trying to do is force them into an absolutely ABSURD position. If they choose to engage, then we make them look like absolute fools on in internet, and we gain sympathy.
We are in the age of indefinite detention and terrorism charges. We need to be smart and only offer OPD the opportunities WE want them to have.
They wanna act the clown, we will clown them. And we will show the world the thuggery under the greasepaint. Personally I'm practicing shouting Help, help, I'm being repressed, come witness the violence inherent in the system!
Saturday night, meet at Oscar Grant Plaza. Bring bubbles and CAMERAS! AS MANY CAMERAS AS YOU CAN! LIVESTREAM, DSL, SMARTPHONES, Film the police!
And this is Oakland; what, are we NOT gonna make this a dance party somehow?
EDIT: Rally at Oscar Grant Plaza 7pm, Bubble march on #OPD… a little while after that. Operation Occububbles is an AUTONOMOUS NONVIOLENT BUBBLE ACTION not sanctioned by the 510 clusterfuck Occupy Oakland General Assembly. HANDLE IT, BIZZLES! ;-)
FREE KHALI & ALL NONVIOLENT PROTESTERS
2012-01-0 posted by Haruined Everythang to "FTP" facebook"
Jan. 7 marks three year anniversary of #OscarGrant Rebellion (2009 Oakland Riots)
2012-01-03 "OccupyOakland rings in the new year with protests against police" by Yael Chanoff from "San Francisco Bay Guardian"
[http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2012/01/03/occupyoakland-rings-new-year-protests-against-police]
Occupy Oakland kicked off the year with two marches protesting police and prisons. A march to the Oakland City Jail on New Year’s Eve was followed by a march against police brutality on New Year’s Day, ending with a rally against police violence. Speakers at the rally indicated that the Bay’s most radicalized Occupy group may focus on an anti-police repression theme in the new year.
About 300 people attended a nighttime demonstration in Oakland City Center on Dec. 31. Protesters left Oscar Grant/Frank Ogawa Plaza at 9:45 and marched to the city jail. About 20 Occupy Oakland protesters remain in jail after several different incidents of arrest in the past weeks.
At the jail, protesters spoke about police repression, set off fireworks, and chanted “inside or outside, we’re all on the same side.” Many reported seeing solidarity fists sticking out from between bars on the jail’s windows.
The demonstration was part of a national call for New Year’s Eve jail solidarity protests, and similar “noise demonstrations,” in which protesters made noise outside jails to show solidarity with inmates. Similar protests took place in 25 cities around the world.
The march featured a giant banner stating “Fuck the police.”
Around 11:30 pm, protesters marched back for a dance party on the plaza. “At midnight, we did the countdown like everyone else,” said Patrick, who has been involved in OccupySF and Occupy Oakland.
A banner dropped in the plaza read, “Out with the old. Occupy 2012.”
At 1 pm on Jan. 1, Occupy Oakland participants gathered once again. They marched to Fruitvale Bart Station in an anti-police brutality march commemorating Oscar Grant. The unarmed young Oakland man was killed on Jan. 1, 2009 by BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting and given a two-year prison sentence.
The march was followed by a rally and speak-out with about 500 in attendance. Several women with sons and grandsons who had been killed by police in San Francisco and Oakland shared their experiences. Adam Jordan, member of the Oscar Grant Committee for Justice, said that Occupy Oakland had helped unify the local community against police brutality.
Several speakers agreed that police violence against the poor and people of color and recent arrests at Occupy Oakland, as well as tear gas and other weapons used against Occupy Oakland protesters, are all connected. “It’s all systemic. It’s the same problem,” Jordan said. “The police that are attacking everyone in Occupy Oakland now have been attacking black people for centuries.”
Members of Oscar Grant’s family, including his mother, his young daughter, his fiancé, his uncle, and several cousins, were also present, and many spoke.
Gerald Smith, an organizer with Occupy Oakland and member of the Oscar Grant Committee Against Police Brutality and Repression, read aloud a message from Angela Davis, who has proposed nationwide demonstrations to free political prisoners on Feb. 20. He also talked about several proposals to continue to protest against police violence in the East Bay, including picketing the Alameda County District Attorney’s office and emergency meetings the following day every time an Oakland resident is killed by a police officer.
In a reference to the leaderless, “horizontal” structure that has defined Occupy groups around the world, Smith said to the crowd, “How much will we do this? It’s up to you. I hope you know by now, you decide everything.”
2012-01-08 "OPD, Occupy Oakland And Fuck the Police” by Sarah
[http://occupiedoaktrib.org/2012/01/08/opd-occupy-oakland-and-fuck-the-police/]
One of the easiest ways to slant a story is to deliver a warped timeline. Case in point is the Oakland Police Department’s press release about the arrests and actions at the “Fuck the Police” march January 7. Anyone reading the release, who was not present at last night’s action, might believe it was a night of vandalism run amuck and Oakland was one stick of “dynamite” away from tragedy if the police had not stepped in.
“On January 7, 2012, at 8:00 p.m. protesters gathered at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza and marched through the downtown streets of Oakland. During the march, protesters broke patrol vehicle windows, vandalized a media van, threw bottles at the police, and lit an object on fire at the intersection of 8th Street and Washington Street.
As of 11:00 p.m., six protesters have been arrested. Offenses ranged from assaulting officers, possession of explosives, resisting/delaying officers, and vandalism. One of the protesters arrested was in possession of an explosive device described as a quarter stick of dynamite.”
Thanks to @susie_c for posting the press release
The rally, planned by the Tactical Action Committee, began at 7 p.m. with the first Oakland police officers emerging from the shadows around 7:30 p.m. across the street from Oscar Grant Plaza on 14th and Broadway. Wearing their riot gear at the hip, they stood watching from a distance as people told their stories of police brutality and harassment. When a very small fire (which burnt out in less than a couple of minutes) began on 14th, one officer came over, extinguished part of the fire, and then walked away.
Anyone watching Spencer Mills’ @OakFoSho ustream got a view of the police officers hiding around the plaza, staging for the march to OPD headquarters, schedule for 9 p.m. By the time of the march, the officers were suited up with their riot attire. This is how the police “handle” Occupy Oakland, with force and intimidation tactics. Too often, people brush aside the repeated actions of police brutality and unlawful arrests to have a conversation of the “appropriateness” of the “fuck the police” chant. Which started first: the sentiment or the actions of the police?
“Fuck the Police” can carry negative connotations, and sugar-coating the booming chants of “Kill Cops” and “Fuck the cops, We don’t need them, All we want is total freedom,” isn’t going to clear up those feelings. From the announcement of this action, the discussion from non-approvers of the march has centered around a “PR war” instead of focusing on what the police are actually doing. While public opinion is vital for Occupy Oakland, catering the message for approval by corporate media and bought politicians will not help the people of Oakland.
Going after banks, fighting against school closures, demanding jobs, calling for better public service, fighting for equality, stopping foreclosures…these are all areas that need addressing and are being addressed by Occupy Oakland. The violence oozing from Oakland Police Department is also issue. Discussing bank fraud on Monday and police brutality on Tuesday neither diminishes the weight of the topic nor its overall importance.
One of Occupy Oakland’s strongest points is the openness to autonomous action and diversity of tactics. LHO, an Occupy Oakland supporter, says this approach is what will make the difference.
“Revolution isn’t done with nonviolence and civil disobedience, it’s done with fighting the established order, like physically and violently,” he said. “There’s a difference between reform and revolution. We need it all to happen at the same time. There’s value in nonviolence because what the nonviolence aspect of this movement does is it creates a critical mass with the regular people of the society. And they realize these motherfuckers are talking some real shit, but they’re getting brutalized for doing nothing.”
“When we fight the pigs in the street, if we are all nonviolent we will just get crushed. There has to be some motherfuckers with teeth, there has to be some Black Bloc to throw some shit back at them and there’s value in that. There’s value in both aspects of fighting.”
“As an anarchist, personally, I will not tell anybody whether you should be violent or nonviolent, like whatever strategy you choose for your personal revolution, go with that shit. We need everything.”
Cue Bubble Bloc.
While some may align themselves with the Black Bloc, last night there was a strong showing of the Bubble Bloc. As part of “occupying joy,” a group suggested that we “fuck with the police” instead. People received free bubbles using them at the plaza and again during the march.
Melvin Kelly, a member of the Occupy Oakland Tactical Action Committee, says the “fuck the police” march will happen every Saturday because “it’s time for the police violence to stop.”
“I’m here with Occupy Oakland to help feed the homeless and make sure people have affordable housing. They’ve been tearing our people up for the last 3 months now, doing hella shady shit, so now we’re revolting, we’re fighting back,” Kelly said. “When people are protesting they been arresting us for stupid shit, so now we’re revolting. We’re not stopping. We are going to do this shit for the rest of our lives.”
From December 21 to January 6, OPD arrested approximately 40 people for taking part in Occupy Oakland actions, sometimes doing nothing more than standing at the plaza. OPD placed City Hall on lockdown over an Occupy Oakland permit issue. Homeless men and women have had their food and blankets confiscated. When police arrive on the scene, they either are in riot gear or have it ready to use. Not to mention, Saturday marked the third year anniversary of the protests against the murder of Oscar Grant. The discussion of how to handle police aggravation occurs daily because the aggravation from the police occurs daily.
People did throw bottles. Anyone watching @OakFoSho ustream heard him yelling at the people throwing the objects, and he wasn’t the only person voicing dissent on that choice of action. Police ran towards the back of the march in response, but stopped short of a full chase. I did not witness any police vehicle windows being broken or any media van being vandalized, and have yet to see proof for those accusations.
As for the “dynamite,” time will most likely reveal it a M80 firecracker. Say what you will about the dangers of firecrackers, M80s in particular, but the term firecracker and dynamite are not interchangeable.
When the crowd of at least 150 reached 8th and Washington, one person proposed a sit in, an idea quickly shot down, though some people did sit down. Minutes later, a box was on fire at the intersection. For a clear image: Hold your hands the length of a piece of paper. At one hand stands 60+ riot cops glaring; the other hand is where the fire was burning. Now place in the middle a group of protesters holding an Occupy Oakland banner.
After a tense few minutes, police charge towards the banner and shouts of “Run!” come from all over the crowd. The chase splits the group, with cops kettling 30 – 40 people while the rest run towards the plaza. While turning on Clay or Jefferson (The writer apologizes for not noting street names while being chased by riot cops) officers came from the other direction snatching a person running in the street.
Back on Broadway, five vehicles, two of which were marked as a police vehicle, came to an abrupt stop and at least 10 officers jumped out to give chase to a group of protesters walking back to the plaza.
At the kettle, protesters were sandwiched in between a large group of riot cops and a larger group of riot cops. Officers delivered the typical “unlawful assembly” announcement, giving people the option to leave or face arrest.
So here’s this writer’s timeline: protesters show up to rally, cops show up. Protesters start marching; police block the roads. Protesters arrive at the jail, approx. 60 riot cops are waiting for them. Protesters reach the next corner approx. 40 riot cops are waiting for them. Protesters continue to march; some take part in starting fires, throwing bottles and other objects, others sit down and hold up peace signs.
March again reaches 8th and Washington, someone starts a fire with approx. 60 riot cops watching. Protesters with a banner move in between the fire and police. Few minutes later, the police charge the crowd. The police give a full chase and kettle protesters. Six are arrested, one requiring medical attention. Protesters chased down Broadway back to the plaza. Officers declare the group of kettled protesters an “unlawful assembly.” Protesters take the option to leave. Police continue to harass protesters all the way to the plaza. Back at the plaza, protesters start small discussions of the march and the actions of police.
The OPD press release is lacking. It’s lacking transparency and concern for the public which it not only serves, but is a member of.
It’s “fuck the police” because the police shouldn’t be chasing protesters. It’s “fuck the police” because the decision of whether or not to protest shouldn’t center around “can you afford to be arrested.” Look at the actions of the Oakland Police Department. Could they have handled things better? Should they handle things better? How are things going to be changed?
Being outraged over people yelling, “fuck the police” when such a police state exists, seems to be missing the issue. Focusing on why people are yelling, “fuck the police” may help find it.
Video from http://www.politicalfailblog.com shows OPD hitting a woman on a bicycle during the FTP march on January 7.
2012-01-04 "Report on the #FTP Demonstration" from "Oscar Grant Plaza Gazette"
[http://hellaoccupyoakland.org/oscar-grant-plaza-gazette-report-on-the-ftp-demonstration/]
From a Comrade -
Last Saturday’s FTP demo started off well enough, with lots of good energy at the rally. The few bubble-blowers that were there were tolerated. There were some people freestyling as others drummed on those outdoor bike lockers next to the BART exit. There were maybe 10 cops lined up against Walgreens — not a very impressive showing compared to the 250-300 of us gathered across the street. A cop walked towards us once to demurely stamp out the dying embers of a burning flag.
I really had no idea that OPD would be out in full force tonight. There were nearly as many of them as there were of us in front of the police station, I observed as we marched down Broadway. My stomached tightened in anxiety and my breath grew shallow, but still I yelled “Fuck the police” and “ACAB” in my thin, reedy voice.
The tires of a couple cruisers parked across the street from the police department were slashed as we turned onto 7th and Broadway a second time. A cop armed with what looked like riot gun started toward us, and some people on the sidewalk started running. Most of us kept on, and the cop retreated.
Our second trip into Old Oakland, we stopped at the intersection of 9th and Washington. At 8th and Washington a line of police formed, blocking us from 7th Street. There was a small fire between them and us. Some people sat down facing the cops. A proposal that we have a sit-in here was summarily dismissed. There aren’t enough of us, someone said. I looked around, and saw that there were only about half of us remaining. I touched my friend D’s arm. I was pretty scared at that point, but I didn’t want to leave.
Then, without warning, the police started running towards us. I don’t think I ran faster in my life. But still I wasn’t very fast, and I was worried about getting trampled. D was already yards ahead of me. I saw heard a couple of voices behind me say “That’s him! Get him!” and I saw some cops tackle someone to the ground out of the corner of my eye. Later I learned that 5 other people were arrested that night, in pretty much the same manner. I learned that people who couldn’t get away fast enough were beat and clubbed.
I met up with D on Broadway, where a group of about 60 of us walked slowly back to the Plaza debating whether or not to head back to where 20-30 people were kettled at 9th and Washington. An ambulance rushed down the street toward Washington, and some people started going in that direction, too, not about to abandon their friends to the mercy of OPD. D and I left when we heard that those in the kettle made it out safely after the long delayed dispersal order.
Vigil Raided After Permit Revoked (From OO Website) -
Jan 04, 2012 the Police did a raid of the Plaza; 60 cops came and removed the info table, and other vigil supplies and then proceeded to arrest 14 people, two of whom had been crossing the street in order to avoid police confrontation. The police brutality has reached an all-high for the movement.
As an occupier put it: “Occupy Oakland has been the victim of almost daily raids by the police in the last two weeks. Dozens of us have been arrested and detained for days – only to have the flimsy charges eventually dropped. When raid after raid results in prolonged detentions and dropped charges – that’s not law enforcement, it’s police terrorizing nonviolent protesters.”
Arraignments at the downtown Oakland courthouse took place today and Jan 6th for occupiers arrested during the vigil as well as sweeps of the plaza dating back to the middle of December. Only a few occupiers remain in jail. Toby (arrested during the vigil raid) will be arraigned tomorrow. Jack (arrested during FTP march) will be arraigned tomorrow as well, at 2pm, probably in dept 112.
Occupy Patriarchy Event (excerpted from Oakland North) -
On Sunday, Occupy Oakland’s feminist and queer bloc hosted an “Occupy Patriarchy” event that drew at least 200 people over the course of the day at the lot at 19th Street and Telegraph Avenue.
Throughout the day, several canopies hosted a number of workshops covering such topics as conflict resolution, the politics of sexual and intimate violence, empowering women and ensuring political and social equality. Artists played guitar and spoke poetry on the open-mic stage. Many families brought their children, who kicked soccer balls around and played with a large parachute.
Having safe spaces for parents to bring children is also important to the Occupy protesters, said Tess Unger, one of four women who started the children’s village at the Oakland camp. The village was a place where parents could safely leave their children in order to participate in the general assemblies.
“We wanted families to feel like the movement was accessible to them,” she said, adding that the village was safe entry point for people who were new to the camp, particularly women.
But protesters like Unger are concerned that Occupy Oakland has not necessarily been a safe place for children. During the first police raid on the Occupy Oakland camp on October 25, police officers fired tear gas into the camp after giving the protesters dispersal orders. Although the tear gas was not used until after campers were warned to leave, and many had voluntarily departed, Unger said she is concerned that children still could have been present.
“I used to think the police would respect the safety of children,” said Unger. “I don’t think so anymore.”
Many people have been waiting for something like Occupy, an outpouring of voices demanding change, said many of the participants in Sunday’s event. But it has to include everyone, Cook said. “I want to see a revolution that happens that includes everyone and is safe for everybody,” she said.
Anti-capitalist organizing and community space The Holdout holds party for grand opening of bookstore
On January 7th, I went to the grand opening of the Holdout bookstore and cafe. I had heard about various Occupy-affiliated groups meeting there for the last few months, but last I heard there weren’t any walls. When I got to the space, it was clear that a lot of people had been hard at work on the space: not only were there walls, but bookshelves, tables and chairs too! All of the above were freshly painted (doors were kept open for ventilation) and a healthy crowd mingled, looked at books and read free zines. I played gin rummy with a deck that was short ten cards.
The Holdout is an event and organizing space in the East Bay. They plan to staff the space from 11-7 at least five days a week in the (very) near future, and are looking for volunteers to help keep it open on regular hours. Interested parties should email holdoutbooks@gmail.com or find Oakland Holdout and Holdout Books on Facebook.
Regular General Assembly Schedule -
Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 6pm in the amphitheater of Oscar Grant Plaza
The Oscar Grant Plaza Gazette (oscargrantplazagazette.com) aims to be a voice & record of the historic Occupy Oakland movement, part of a national & international movement of resistance. Please consider writing your thoughts, reflections, opinions, and what you’ve seen – you are part of this movement & we want to get your words out there! Send submissions to gazette[at]oscargrantplazagazette.com– we’ll strive to publish all materials received. We reserve the right to decline to run materials which would render us legally liable.
2012-01-03 posted by Jay Sheckley to "FTP" facebook
SUPPORT OUR FRIENDS
"OPD has arrested friends of ours almost daily this past week. Tomorrow many of those jailed comrades have their arraignments. EVERYONE SHOULD PACK THE COURT ROOMS. 9am in dept. 107 and 2pm in dept 112. The anti-repression committee will be outside serving COFFEE NOT COPS. The courthouse is on washington and 7th street in downtown oakland. See ya in the morning!!!"
2012-01-03 posted by Jeremy Carney to "FTP" facebook
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