HELP. FRIENDS AT PROP 8 PROTEST ARRESTED
This is bad, this is really fucking bad.
My friends Mark and Richard, ALC Riders on my team, committed partners, and excellent friends of mine have been arrested while participating in a protest against PROP 8 outside the Mormon church in West LA. They were demonstrating against a proposition that made them second class citizens. They were exercising their right to free speech and were FUCKING ARRESTED AND BEATEN FOR THEIR TROUBLE. LA Times coverage, midnightridazz.com discussion.
These are photos of my friends being beaten down by cops for demanding equality. To add insult to injury they were also harassed in some unspecified way by some guy in a truck.
It sickened me to watch this video. THESE ARE MY FRIENDS, GETTING BEATEN DOWN BY THUGS ACTING (presumably) IN THE INTERESTS OF A CHURCH.
I am stuck in New Orleans until tomorrow. I am cancelling my subsequent travel plans following that and getting back to LA as soon as possible to do whatever I can to help my friends. And going to this protest.
THIS SITUATION IS BULLSHIT AND WILL NOT STAND.
Please help me spread the word about this. I am pissed and if you respect anything about equality and free speech, you should be too. Help me spread the word. Please link to this. Please post this everywhere. This is not a drill.
-ben
UPDATE: Various ALC riders are also helping shed light on this and are going to talk to the ACLU (of which I am a member, why didn't I think of that?) - anyway - since this is a civil rights issue and a free speech issue, hopefully they can help too, but I still would appreciate it if YOU, dear reader, would help me get the word out as to what is going on here in Los Angeles. Well-monied religious interests just paid well to scare the majority of the state into taking away rights. TAKING AWAY RIGHTS. IN AMERICA. Don't be quiet and let it just happen.
UPDATE 2: they're both out on (ridiculous amounts of) bail. Not sure what happens from this point.
UPDATE 3 FRIDAY MORNING: They were initially arrested for "unruly behavior" but it "magically changed to battery on an officer". Yeah. That looks real likely to me from the video. Jeez.
UPDATE 4 FRIDAY NIGHT: Richard and Mark have written about their experiences. Firsthand account is better than anything I've written here. Mark's writeup here and Richard's writeup here.
BIG ASS ANTI PROP 8 PROTEST ON SATURDAY: via facebook sunset junction 6pm to 9pm. bikes meet at bicycle district (heliotrope and melrose) 5pm for 5.30 rollout.
My friends Mark and Richard, ALC Riders on my team, committed partners, and excellent friends of mine have been arrested while participating in a protest against PROP 8 outside the Mormon church in West LA. They were demonstrating against a proposition that made them second class citizens. They were exercising their right to free speech and were FUCKING ARRESTED AND BEATEN FOR THEIR TROUBLE. LA Times coverage, midnightridazz.com discussion.
These are photos of my friends being beaten down by cops for demanding equality. To add insult to injury they were also harassed in some unspecified way by some guy in a truck.
It sickened me to watch this video. THESE ARE MY FRIENDS, GETTING BEATEN DOWN BY THUGS ACTING (presumably) IN THE INTERESTS OF A CHURCH.
Click to viewI am stuck in New Orleans until tomorrow. I am cancelling my subsequent travel plans following that and getting back to LA as soon as possible to do whatever I can to help my friends. And going to this protest.
THIS SITUATION IS BULLSHIT AND WILL NOT STAND.
Please help me spread the word about this. I am pissed and if you respect anything about equality and free speech, you should be too. Help me spread the word. Please link to this. Please post this everywhere. This is not a drill.
-ben
UPDATE: Various ALC riders are also helping shed light on this and are going to talk to the ACLU (of which I am a member, why didn't I think of that?) - anyway - since this is a civil rights issue and a free speech issue, hopefully they can help too, but I still would appreciate it if YOU, dear reader, would help me get the word out as to what is going on here in Los Angeles. Well-monied religious interests just paid well to scare the majority of the state into taking away rights. TAKING AWAY RIGHTS. IN AMERICA. Don't be quiet and let it just happen.
UPDATE 2: they're both out on (ridiculous amounts of) bail. Not sure what happens from this point.
UPDATE 3 FRIDAY MORNING: They were initially arrested for "unruly behavior" but it "magically changed to battery on an officer". Yeah. That looks real likely to me from the video. Jeez.
UPDATE 4 FRIDAY NIGHT: Richard and Mark have written about their experiences. Firsthand account is better than anything I've written here. Mark's writeup here and Richard's writeup here.
BIG ASS ANTI PROP 8 PROTEST ON SATURDAY: via facebook sunset junction 6pm to 9pm. bikes meet at bicycle district (heliotrope and melrose) 5pm for 5.30 rollout.