Occupy Portland Update
Tonight, the eyes of much of the world will be on downtown Portland as police have begun plans to enforce the mayor's eviction order which takes effect at 12:01 AM tonight. Occupy Boston has announced that they will project the Livestream channel from Occupy Portland tonight. Other cities are doing similar actions of solidarity, including Seattle, Oakland and many other Occupy movements. A group of members of the clergy here in Portland has announced that they will be coming to the Occupy camp beginning tonight at 10 PM to bear witness.
I have been downtown most of the day and the mood is at turns apprehensive, sad, and defiant. I've ducked into the library downtown to hop on the Internet to check news and write this post and I'll be going back to the camp after I finish. My own mood, like the mood of the camp, is conflicted. I am nervous about what might happen and about all of the uncertainty. I am angry with the unfairness of the city and the powers that be in the top 1% who are obviously trying to shut this movement down. But in the quiet moments of reflection, which are getting fewer and far between as we near 12:01 AM, I can't help looking around and feeling a profound and deep sadness.
For those who aren't veterans of other protest movements (and even for those who are), it can be difficult to describe what moments such as this are like. Most of us have seen media footage of police action and arrests against activists and protesters. One thing I can say with certainty is that actually being there is very different from what you see on TV. If you really take the time to look around Chapman and Lownsdale squares this afternoon and reflect on what you see, you can't help but be overwhelmed by the stark contrast between peaceful political protesters and the presence of legions of police officers.
The protesters either talk quietly or hold various meetings or sing songs and no matter how much confidence and bravado they try to keep up, the signs of nervousness and fear in everyone's eyes are unmistakable. These are peaceful, nonviolent people with an unshakable belief that our grossly unjust society must change so that it works for all of us. The police walk around in groups of three or four dressed in sinister looking black uniforms, many with body armor and face shields. They are all carrying those all too familiar plastic handcuffs and they are all heavily armed with guns, tasers, clubs, tear gas canisters, and who knows what else. Every corner of these public parks is starting to fill with large groups of heavily armed police and the high points are occupied by lines of armored police on horseback.
Although most of us in the movement are supportive of police officers as individuals, seeing this large armed force that looks like it's preparing for a war brings to mind various other instances of brutality committed by the Portland Police Bureau. Such incidents include the shooting of mentally ill people trying to surrender, shooting homeless people on sight, and tasering a nine year old girl.
Against this police bureau that has decided tonight to mobilize as an armed militia, those of us in the Occupy movement are completely unarmed, committed to non violence even in the face of violence directed against us, and mostly half scared to death. We have no real animosity for the police, but only for those in the top one percent who give the orders to the police, the courts, the Congress, and the elected officials of the people in violation of the principles of a democratic and just society, as well as our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
And what is all this for? It is not really about exaggerated allegations of petty shoplifting, drug overdoses, and damage to trees in public parks. All of these things happen in our society every single day all over the country without our local governments feeling the need to assemble an armed militia in response. What this is really about is fear. Specifically, the fear of a few thousand greedy oligarchs who control the resources of the entire planet and fear that they may lose their power, their control of the money supply, and their grip on the democratic processes of government that were designed to protect the rights of the people to self determination.
I would ask the police whether this fear on the part of the top 1% is really a good reason for the actions they seem to be contemplating tonight. I would ask each officer of the Portland Police Bureau whether this is what they had in mind when they took their solemn oaths of public service. I continue to believe that most police officers are good people, motivated by a deep desire to protect and serve and to look out for the rights of the people of their communities, city, and nation. In that spirit, I would ask police officers to search their hearts and ask themselves if being part of an action to trample on the rights of the people truly constitutes protecting the public.
Many would say that the police are only following orders, that they are only doing their jobs. But although there are orders, there is also such a thing as choice. History has usually given us a very dim view of those who have committed unjust actions and used the excuse that they were only following orders. Choice does exist. It is possible to say, "No sir. No sir, I will not follow that order, because doing so would be contrary to the principles of my oath of public service." Police officers must remember that what they do tonight will define who they are for a very long time. And what they do tonight will determine whether they one day have to explain to their children and their loved ones why, at a moment of truth, they came down on the wrong side of history.
Let us all continue to hope that the police will search their hearts and their conscience and do the right thing tonight: Stand down.
I have been downtown most of the day and the mood is at turns apprehensive, sad, and defiant. I've ducked into the library downtown to hop on the Internet to check news and write this post and I'll be going back to the camp after I finish. My own mood, like the mood of the camp, is conflicted. I am nervous about what might happen and about all of the uncertainty. I am angry with the unfairness of the city and the powers that be in the top 1% who are obviously trying to shut this movement down. But in the quiet moments of reflection, which are getting fewer and far between as we near 12:01 AM, I can't help looking around and feeling a profound and deep sadness.
For those who aren't veterans of other protest movements (and even for those who are), it can be difficult to describe what moments such as this are like. Most of us have seen media footage of police action and arrests against activists and protesters. One thing I can say with certainty is that actually being there is very different from what you see on TV. If you really take the time to look around Chapman and Lownsdale squares this afternoon and reflect on what you see, you can't help but be overwhelmed by the stark contrast between peaceful political protesters and the presence of legions of police officers.
The protesters either talk quietly or hold various meetings or sing songs and no matter how much confidence and bravado they try to keep up, the signs of nervousness and fear in everyone's eyes are unmistakable. These are peaceful, nonviolent people with an unshakable belief that our grossly unjust society must change so that it works for all of us. The police walk around in groups of three or four dressed in sinister looking black uniforms, many with body armor and face shields. They are all carrying those all too familiar plastic handcuffs and they are all heavily armed with guns, tasers, clubs, tear gas canisters, and who knows what else. Every corner of these public parks is starting to fill with large groups of heavily armed police and the high points are occupied by lines of armored police on horseback.
Although most of us in the movement are supportive of police officers as individuals, seeing this large armed force that looks like it's preparing for a war brings to mind various other instances of brutality committed by the Portland Police Bureau. Such incidents include the shooting of mentally ill people trying to surrender, shooting homeless people on sight, and tasering a nine year old girl.
Against this police bureau that has decided tonight to mobilize as an armed militia, those of us in the Occupy movement are completely unarmed, committed to non violence even in the face of violence directed against us, and mostly half scared to death. We have no real animosity for the police, but only for those in the top one percent who give the orders to the police, the courts, the Congress, and the elected officials of the people in violation of the principles of a democratic and just society, as well as our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
And what is all this for? It is not really about exaggerated allegations of petty shoplifting, drug overdoses, and damage to trees in public parks. All of these things happen in our society every single day all over the country without our local governments feeling the need to assemble an armed militia in response. What this is really about is fear. Specifically, the fear of a few thousand greedy oligarchs who control the resources of the entire planet and fear that they may lose their power, their control of the money supply, and their grip on the democratic processes of government that were designed to protect the rights of the people to self determination.
I would ask the police whether this fear on the part of the top 1% is really a good reason for the actions they seem to be contemplating tonight. I would ask each officer of the Portland Police Bureau whether this is what they had in mind when they took their solemn oaths of public service. I continue to believe that most police officers are good people, motivated by a deep desire to protect and serve and to look out for the rights of the people of their communities, city, and nation. In that spirit, I would ask police officers to search their hearts and ask themselves if being part of an action to trample on the rights of the people truly constitutes protecting the public.
Many would say that the police are only following orders, that they are only doing their jobs. But although there are orders, there is also such a thing as choice. History has usually given us a very dim view of those who have committed unjust actions and used the excuse that they were only following orders. Choice does exist. It is possible to say, "No sir. No sir, I will not follow that order, because doing so would be contrary to the principles of my oath of public service." Police officers must remember that what they do tonight will define who they are for a very long time. And what they do tonight will determine whether they one day have to explain to their children and their loved ones why, at a moment of truth, they came down on the wrong side of history.
Let us all continue to hope that the police will search their hearts and their conscience and do the right thing tonight: Stand down.