(no subject)
I watched a very interesting documentary on the SLA (Symbionese
Liberation Army) and the kidnapping of Patricia Hearst last
night. Got me thinking, and reading.
The SLA was like the Black Panthers for fuck ups. It was
basically 6 white people that viewed the California prison system as
concentration camps for African-Americans. The real problem was
that many African-Americans couldn't afford or find good counsel and
thus got locked away for crimes they didn't commit.
Judicial/welfare problem, not prisons.
In 1973 the SLA assassinated the superintendent for Oakland, California schools because the system was to institute an ID card program that the SLA viewed as "fascist." Ironic that the superintendent was the one shot, because he was against the system and worked to water it down before introducing it. Two members of the SLA were arrested and detained for the assassination.
In 1974 the SLA kidnapped Patricia Hearst, daughter of the owners of the Hearst Publishing firm (which I believe owns the Hearst tower downtown). They planned on using her to negotiate a prisoner swap to free their imprisoned members. The whole time she was held hostage, the SLA claimed they were holding her in accordance to the Geneva Convention guidelines, funny because the guidelines only apply to prisoners of war, and Patricia Hearst was obviously not a soldier so they really didn't apply at all. Eventually they indoctrinated Hearst until she joined the SLA, which was now resorting to bank robbery. At one bank robbery Hearst was given a rifle, and though she was being watched by the other members, she probably could have done something about her "kidnapping" if she wanted to, after all, she had a fucking machine gun...
In the robbery two people were accidentally shot. Whoops. The SLA moved their base of operations from San Fransisco to Los Angeles, Inglewood to be exact. While occupying a small house in a low income housing area, the SLA continued to operate. One day two members went to a sporting goods store to get some supplies. One of them attempted to steal some socks, socks, and was stopped by a security guard. The wise and well trained SLA member proceeded to brandish a revolver at the guard, at which point Patricia Hearst, the damsel in distress, opened fire on the store with her semi-automatic from her position waiting in their van outside. The SLA members made a getaway, however their ghetto hideout was soon raided by the LAPD and SWAT team.
The LAPD and the SLA had a massive gun battle, resulting in the deaths of all but three SLA members (surviving were Patricia Hearst and the married couple that originally kidnapped her). The LAPD basically forgot to negotiate, except for bullhorning for the SLA's surrender twice, and ended the battle by shooting so much tear gas into the house that it caught fire.
Patricia Hearst and her captors went on to find shelter elsewhere, recruiting a few more members. They held up a bank in LA and accidentally fatally shot a bank employee. Double whoops. They were all eventually apprehended and served 6-10 years of jail time, although President Jimmy Carter signed a paper commuting Hearst's sentence to just over a few months.
The reason this is so interesting to me is that the documentary portrayed these people as well organized, thorough and just plain scary. I had never heard of them before, so researched them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbionese_Liberation_Army and found out how silly they actually were.
On the other hand, I went on to read some very interesting stuff about the Black Panthers and an FBI agency called COINTELPRO that assassinated Panthers and foraged documents to create rifts within the party as well as animosity with other parties.
Sorry for the long and educational entry. I'll try and find some angst later.
In 1973 the SLA assassinated the superintendent for Oakland, California schools because the system was to institute an ID card program that the SLA viewed as "fascist." Ironic that the superintendent was the one shot, because he was against the system and worked to water it down before introducing it. Two members of the SLA were arrested and detained for the assassination.
In 1974 the SLA kidnapped Patricia Hearst, daughter of the owners of the Hearst Publishing firm (which I believe owns the Hearst tower downtown). They planned on using her to negotiate a prisoner swap to free their imprisoned members. The whole time she was held hostage, the SLA claimed they were holding her in accordance to the Geneva Convention guidelines, funny because the guidelines only apply to prisoners of war, and Patricia Hearst was obviously not a soldier so they really didn't apply at all. Eventually they indoctrinated Hearst until she joined the SLA, which was now resorting to bank robbery. At one bank robbery Hearst was given a rifle, and though she was being watched by the other members, she probably could have done something about her "kidnapping" if she wanted to, after all, she had a fucking machine gun...
In the robbery two people were accidentally shot. Whoops. The SLA moved their base of operations from San Fransisco to Los Angeles, Inglewood to be exact. While occupying a small house in a low income housing area, the SLA continued to operate. One day two members went to a sporting goods store to get some supplies. One of them attempted to steal some socks, socks, and was stopped by a security guard. The wise and well trained SLA member proceeded to brandish a revolver at the guard, at which point Patricia Hearst, the damsel in distress, opened fire on the store with her semi-automatic from her position waiting in their van outside. The SLA members made a getaway, however their ghetto hideout was soon raided by the LAPD and SWAT team.
The LAPD and the SLA had a massive gun battle, resulting in the deaths of all but three SLA members (surviving were Patricia Hearst and the married couple that originally kidnapped her). The LAPD basically forgot to negotiate, except for bullhorning for the SLA's surrender twice, and ended the battle by shooting so much tear gas into the house that it caught fire.
Patricia Hearst and her captors went on to find shelter elsewhere, recruiting a few more members. They held up a bank in LA and accidentally fatally shot a bank employee. Double whoops. They were all eventually apprehended and served 6-10 years of jail time, although President Jimmy Carter signed a paper commuting Hearst's sentence to just over a few months.
The reason this is so interesting to me is that the documentary portrayed these people as well organized, thorough and just plain scary. I had never heard of them before, so researched them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbionese_Liberation_Army and found out how silly they actually were.
On the other hand, I went on to read some very interesting stuff about the Black Panthers and an FBI agency called COINTELPRO that assassinated Panthers and foraged documents to create rifts within the party as well as animosity with other parties.
Sorry for the long and educational entry. I'll try and find some angst later.