Acts of violence and aggression against peaceful protesters.

In light of what we have seen documented on video, most recently in Oakland where this activity seems to have stepped up a notch with the use of rubber bullets, flash-bang grenades and tear gas, I suggest we add a statement about violence being perpetrated by the state on peaceful citizens exercising their first amendment rights.

I'm afraid that this could get uglier now that this has been set as a precedent by the Oakland Police.

-Paul

Sadly, it's not just Oakland. I posted earlier in another section of this forum about police arresting 40 demonstrators last night here in Albuquerque, NM. The report I read said it was peaceful. But the local noon news showed some use of force and tear gas, apparently against peaceful, nonviolent demonstrators.

Arrests around the country yesterday, and last night, seem to me to have been coordinated.
Who's calling the shots on these nationwide arrests?

Doesn't the US Constitution give us permission to demonstrate peacefully,
and how can cities, universities, police forces deny us our Constitutional rights?

Acts against Occupiers are increasing because they're antagonizing their neighbors:

Fed up with petty crime, the all-night racket of beating drums, the smell of human waste and the sight of trampled flowers and grass, police and neighbors are losing patience with some of the anti-Wall Street protests around the U.S.

Occupy' protesters wear on their neighbors

We should take a lesson. The Occupations are likely to be very short-lived.

We should take a lesson. The Occupations are likely to be very short-lived.[/quote]

My feeling is that these arrests and violence against peaceful demonstrators only strengthen the resolve of the protesters. My fear is that something like Kent State will happen again, or that a group of protesters may react with force to the repeated trampling of their rights by police and thereby tarnish what so many people have tried to hard to create. We need to spread the word among the protesters that there is a growing political movement behind them. In order to bring about the dramatic change needed in this country we need to work with and in the current system.

-Be it that our government(s) and (or) government agencies have repeatedly used force and violent means to disrupt and disallow our first amendment right to assemble and address said government(s), in order to voice our grievances with same government, we hereby call for an immediate end to such tactics, and peacefully demand that those who are responsible for such acts be held accountable for any and all criminal behavior.

This is just a rough. If anyone can define this in more "legal" terms, please do.

Joe Steel wrote: The Occupations are likely to be very short-lived.

But, I hope the movement will be long lived. Maybe it can progress from an occupation of space into volunteer staff acquiring donated office space, computers, printers, etc.

The following link is from the UK Guardian. Not much being said about this in our media. He is currently in critical condition.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/26/occupy-oakland-veteran-critical-condition

Note: Graphic Images

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/25/18695124.php?show_comments=1#18695296

And here is the video, I believe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqNOPZLw03Q&feature=player_embedded

PDT wrote: Not much being said about this in our media. He is currently in critical condition.

Actually I posted a story on this from Huffington Post.

https://the99delegation.forumotion.com/t449-oakland-police-critically-injure-iraq-war-vet-during-occupy-march