Tags archives: j28

422 days ago

Repression is Their Business

Repression: Keep under; quell. Suppress; prevent from sounding, rioting, or bursting out. 2) Psychology: Actively exclude (an unwelcome thought) from conscious awareness. Subject (a person) to the suppression of his or her thoughts or impulses. Paradox: A seemingly absurd or contradictory statement, even if actually well-founded. A self-contradictory or essentially absurd statement. -Oxford American Dictionary “Hatred is a concept widely underrated. We need to learn to hate the rich. To [...]

438 days ago

To stream or not to stream- Is that the question?

Without a doubt, citizen journalism has helped “The cause” considerably. Without the constant presence of cameras wielded by Ordinary Joe, we wouldn’t have seen NYPD tear gassing corralled marchers, UCDavis cops baton and pepper students, Scott Olsen laying unconscious while “Tango Timmy” lobs a flash-bang right on top of him and those coming to his aid, or the Keystone Cop and mouse chase, kettles, and 400+ arrest on January 28th. [...]

485 days ago

Occupy Oakland to Occupies Around the World

(Passed by the Occupy Oakland General Assembly 2/19/2012) Occupy Oakland, still without a home, stands in solidarity with Occupy Newark, Occupy Houston, Occupy Washington DC, Occupy Miami, Occupy Pittsburgh, Occupy Maine and all other occupations across the world that have recently been evicted or face eviction. Occupy Oakland sends a “hella shout-out” to all Occupies across the world which marched, passed solidarity statements and sent us letters of support in [...]

495 days ago

City Hall Intentionally Left Open For Vandalism

I’m a 64 year old real estate broker from Marin County. I am happily married, and have a pretty wonderful life. But, I also have a heart and a conscience, and know the diﬀerence between right and wrong. I am blessed with two grown children that I adore, and I have become very concerned about the sort of country that they are inheriting. The relentless corporatization of every aspect of [...]

497 days ago

Occupy Oakland Forum on Police Actions

Occupy Oakland is hosting a Forum on Police Actions on February 9, 6:15 pm at the Grand Lake Theater. The Citizens Police Review Board (CPRB) announced yesterday that they had indefinitely postponed a forum which had been in the works for months. This forum had been intended to allow the community to discuss the Oakland Police Department’s handling of Occupy Oakland. Police actions on January 28 show that this forum [...]

498 days ago

How a seedpod led to $400,000 bail and eight felony charges

“I always wear a rainbow-colored scarf,” said 65-year-old grandmother Sweet Grass Longhouse over the phone. “That’s how you’ll know it’s me.” It was Sweet Grass’s first time attending a General Assembly of Occupy Oakland, and as she approached the group that gathered before the Sunday afternoon GA at 19th and Telegraph, she wrapped both of her hands around a large paper pad. At the top of the pad, she had [...]

500 days ago

OPD Hunts Occupy With Guns Drawn Through YMCA While Members Work Out

Dear Mayor Quan, I would like to thank both you and the many police officers you summoned from the greater Oakland metro area for their excellent work this difficult weekend. In particular, the calming, measured presence on display by riot police while using urban warfare techniques with guns drawn to stalk me and dozens of other terrified kids at the local YMCA, while innocent civilian gym members looked on, was [...]

504 days ago

#J28: A Day of Community, a Day of Violence

On January 28th, I attended Occupy Oakland’s Move-In day, with the personal understanding that OPD would attempt to prevent us from occupying a building (an action I believe to be community-focused, and needed, while also illegal). What I did not expect was that I would experience and/or witness, tear gas, rubber bullets and flash grenades used against a primarily non-violent crowd, in full daylight, with no discretion whatsoever. I also [...]

504 days ago

Occupy Oakland Press Conference: Denounces Police Violence and City Lies

Occupy Oakland Press Conference on Police Violence On January 28, thousands of people responded to Occupy Oakland’s call for a mass mobilization to occupy a vacant building and transform it into a new home for the movement. Occupy Oakland’s new home was to be a social center, open to all who wanted to participate and contribute. We planned to work together, as we did at Oscar Grant Plaza, to provide [...]

505 days ago

Reflections on #J28: Complicit Government, Complacent Masses

Following the events of January 28, Mayor Jean Quan released a statement asking Occupy to ‘stop using Oakland as its playground.’ Well, I can assure Mayor Quan that none of us think we are playing a game. This has been very real for all of us for a long time. It got a little more real on Saturday and the violent tactics of the police, as endorsed by city hall, [...]