Save the Troy Library “Adventures In Reverse Psychology”
Creative activism changed the topic to what was really at stake:
June 20th, 2012
Posts filed under 'Free Speech'
Red Square Revolt in Quebec by Nate Lavey
May 30th, 2012
Occupy Livestream staff arrested
Word comes that the NYPD has arrested those in the GlobalRevolution headquarters responsible for providing live feeds of Occupy events. Thyis action is not that surprising. After the encampments were crushed in most major cities around the country, the powers that be will likely move to destroy the infrastructure that supported the movement to prevent future protests. As the reaction to the Occupy protests demonstrated, free speech by dissidents is only tolerated when it is ineffective.
1 comment January 4th, 2012
Music: Miley Cyrus Rock Mafia – It’s a Liberty Walk
This is Dedicated to the thousands of people who are standing up for what they believe in.
Miley Cyrus
December 15th, 2011
Menino’s Day of Infamy
Boston’s Mayor Menino is proud of his police’s ability to use overwhelming force to crush nonviolent protesters at Occupy Boston. He crows about the ease with which they arrested 46, as if ease in crushing dissent is what matters.
After crushing the demonstrators, Menino criticized their “leadership”:
He said that the protesters who had camped out in Dewey Square since late September had the “wrong leadership.”
“The leadership changed every hour and twice on Sunday,” he said.
Presumably he, like most leaders, is completely unable to understand people’s self-organization.
Menino has returned Dewey Square to the use of the people, so that it can remain empty and largely unused as before.
One of the persistent criticisms of the Greenway is that people just don’t use it enough. Of course now the Occupiers may have used it too much.
Better to be unused than to be used by hundreds, when the hundreds oppose the powerful. Silence is preferable to free speech, as Mayors around the country have clarified.
Menino revealed the iron fist as he pledged to crush any future occupations:
Menino said that protesters, who have scheduled another general assembly at 7 p.m. this evening on the Boston Common to discuss next steps, will not be allowed to take over any city parks.
“They’re trespassing. Any park they go into now is trespassing. The Parks Department has strict rules and regulations about sleeping in the parks,” he said.
“It’s over,” he said. “We have got to figure out how to channel their energies to be positive … I feel like they have an opportunity.”
Occupy Boston was the most important thing to happen to Boston in decades. Mayor Menino has now crushed it. The city of Boston should be ashamed of its Mayor today, just at it should be proud of the occupiers who stood up for the 1%.
The Occupiers have issued a statement:
You cannot evict an idea whose time has come. Boston’s Occupiers will persist in rejecting a world created by and for the 1%. We might have been evicted, but we shall not be moved. We remain invested in the future of our movement. We will continue to challenge Wall Street’s occupation of our government.
The crushing of occupations around the country, often by “liberal” mayors shows once again that liberal politicians, with all too few exceptions, are agents of the powerful 1% as are their “conservative” opponents. Their liberalism means they will be liberal in their use of police power to crush dissent, from Oakland to Boston, from Portland and UC Davis to DC. Phil Ochs understood liberalism decades ago.
December 10th, 2011
Music: “I’ll Occupy” Recruitment Song: The 99 is Pissed and We Will Not Be Dismissed!
Lyrics:
“I’ll Occupy”
I first was pepper sprayed
Just standing on the side
But it took me being blinded
to open up up my eyes
Cause I’d read the daily news,
and not responded actively
and I realized then and there
this revolution needed me
So here I am,
camped in a tent
Which is really so convenient
cause I can’t afford my rent
But they came with shields and mace
In the night while it was dark
A NYPD army
Sent to clear Zuccotti ParkWe’ll protest on, with catchy phases
We’re going global
From London to Uc Davis
If you think that your batons are going to get us to go home
GO on and hit me, I’ll just upload it from my phone.Until I die,
I’ll occupy
As long I know how to sit
And hold this heavy sign
cause the 99 is pissed
and we will not BE dismissed
I’ll occupy
I’ll occupy
hell yeahCall us “hippies” call us “homeless,”
yeah we’re fed it.
And we “don’t know what we want,”
to our discredit.
But if you’re reading all the news, funded by the corporations
Its no mystery
How you’ve missed our declarationWe’re armed too
Yeah, we’ve got twitter
We’re a techno savvy nation
And we’re bitter
There’s no Marie Antoinette
We’re dragging to the Guillotine
Got non-violence, you bet!
Cause we aim to keep this cleanWe will not go! Bring on the snow!
Got your faceless cooperate body
One peaceful badass foe
We’re awake, we saw Wall-e, and you know we’re organized
Did you think we’d crumble?
Did you think we’d lay down and not try?Until I die,
I’ll occupy
As long I know how to sit
And hold this heavy sign
cause the 99 is pissed
and we will not be dismissed
I’ll occupy
I’ll occupy
HELL yeah
HELL yeah!We’re off our Meds, we’re watching Ted
And we’re into Zombie culture,
But we’re not the walking dead
If you want to fight for justice join the masses, we are strong
And it wouldn’t hurt to take a
minute to repost this song!Until we die,
We’ll occupy
As long we know how to sit
And hold these heavy sign
cause the 99 is pissed
and we will not be dismissed
We’ll occupy
We’ll occupy
HELL yeah
1 comment December 4th, 2011
Video shows two cops pepper spraying nonviolent demonstrators
Due to the outrage, the Chancellor, who lauded their restrained actions earlier has now placed the two on leave. However, every cop who was there and stood by is complicit. And the Chancelor who called them in after seeing the violence by UC Berkeley police earlier had to know that such violence was a likely possibility. She is responsible. If she had ordered that violence not be used, the results might have been different. She must go as well as these brutal officers. The fish stinks from the top.
November 20th, 2011
Occupy Davis statement on UC Davis police violence
The separate Occupy Davis has issued this statement on the violence Friday toward peaceful protesters by the UC Davis administration and their hired enforcers:
At Occupy Davis relations with the democratically elected city council and local police forces have been genial and productive. The authorities have worked continuously to harmonize the occupation’s presence with the park and surrounding businesses and ensure that all aspects of the encampment remain non-violent. Those in charge of using force are aware that they are democratically elected officials that are directly accountable to the people.
Occupy UC Davis, a mere three blocks away, is under the jurisdiction of an undemocratic, appointed regime of force over which its subjects have no meaningful democratic control. The authorities there attacked non-violent protesters with indifference, and, in some cases, a clear display of sadistic pleasure. There could be no better illustration of the differences between a democratic, accountable public safety effort and a fascist, totalitarian, unaccountable police state. The students of UC Davis have no meaningful voice, and that is reflected at the very top of the administration down to the officer on the ground who can spice up his day with a confident sense of utter, unassailable impunity.
As for the message of the protest, I have no direct comment, because the police on the scene made a far more compelling case through their brutal actions than my printed words ever could.
God bless those who sat for our rights that day, submitting their bodies to be brutalized, sacrificing themselves to expose injustice. They truly are the heroes of humanity.
November 20th, 2011
The state at work: Pepper spraying nonviolent protesters at UC Davis
I read the embattled Chancellor’s claims about how threatened the police were and how pepper spraying was a humane alternative to batons. But the video makes clear that there was no threat except that the cop got his jollies off attacking eople who had the temerity to sit down and nonviolently protest. BTW, the police officer spraying the protesters has been identified as UC Davis Police Lt. John Pike. He must be fired immediately.
Therehad already been police violence against students earlier in the day [at 7:40]:
The Chancellor’s response to this unprovoked police violence:
“We deeply regret that many of the protestors today chose not to work with our campus staff and police to remove the encampment as requested. We are even more saddened by the events that subsequently transpired to facilitate their removal.”
UC Davis Assistant Professor Linda Katehi wrote the following Open Letter calling for the Chancellor’s resignation. This action is especially brave as he does not have tenure and may well suffer professionally for daring to speak out:
Open Letter to Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi
Linda P.B. Katehi,
I am a junior faculty member at UC Davis. I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, and I teach in the Program in Critical Theory and in Science & Technology Studies. I have a strong record of research, teaching, and service. I am currently a Board Member of the Davis Faculty Association. I have also taken an active role in supporting the student movement to defend public education on our campus and throughout the UC system. In a word: I am the sort of young faculty member, like many of my colleagues, this campus needs. I am an asset to the University of California at Davis.
You are not.
I write to you and to my colleagues for three reasons:
1) to express my outrage at the police brutality which occurred against students engaged in peaceful protest on the UC Davis campus today
2) to hold you accountable for this police brutality
3) to demand your immediate resignation
Today you ordered police onto our campus to clear student protesters from the quad. These were protesters who participated in a rally speaking out against tuition increases and police brutality on UC campuses on Tuesday—a rally that I organized, and which was endorsed by the Davis Faculty Association. These students attended that rally in response to a call for solidarity from students and faculty who were bludgeoned with batons, hospitalized, and arrested at UC Berkeley last week. In the highest tradition of non-violent civil disobedience, those protesters had linked arms and held their ground in defense of tents they set up beside Sproul Hall. In a gesture of solidarity with those students and faculty, and in solidarity with the national Occupy movement, students at UC Davis set up tents on the main quad. When you ordered police outfitted with riot helmets, brandishing batons and teargas guns to remove their tents today, those students sat down on the ground in a circle and linked arms to protect them.
What happened next?
Without any provocation whatsoever, other than the bodies of these students sitting where they were on the ground, with their arms linked, police pepper-sprayed students. Students remained on the ground, now writhing in pain, with their arms linked.
What happened next?
Police used batons to try to push the students apart. Those they could separate, they arrested, kneeling on their bodies and pushing their heads into the ground. Those they could not separate, they pepper-sprayed directly in the face, holding these students as they did so. When students covered their eyes with their clothing, police forced open their mouths and pepper-sprayed down their throats. Several of these students were hospitalized. Others are seriously injured. One of them, forty-five minutes after being pepper-sprayed down his throat, was still coughing up blood.
This is what happened. You are responsible for it.
You are responsible for it because this is what happens when UC Chancellors order police onto our campuses to disperse peaceful protesters through the use of force: students get hurt. Faculty get hurt. One of the most inspiring things (inspiring for those of us who care about students who assert their rights to free speech and peaceful assembly) about the demonstration in Berkeley on November 9 is that UC Berkeley faculty stood together with students, their arms linked together. Associate Professor of English Celeste Langan was grabbed by her hair, thrown on the ground, and arrested. Associate Professor Geoffrey O’Brien was injured by baton blows. Professor Robert Hass, former Poet Laureate of the United States, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winner, was also struck with a baton. These faculty stood together with students in solidarity, and they too were beaten and arrested by the police. In writing this letter, I stand together with those faculty and with the students they supported.
One week after this happened at UC Berkeley, you ordered police to clear tents from the quad at UC Davis. When students responded in the same way—linking arms and holding their ground—police also responded in the same way: with violent force. The fact is: the administration of UC campuses systematically uses police brutality to terrorize students and faculty, to crush political dissent on our campuses, and to suppress free speech and peaceful assembly. Many people know this. Many more people are learning it very quickly.
You are responsible for the police violence directed against students on the UC Davis quad on November 18, 2011. As I said, I am writing to hold you responsible and to demand your immediate resignation on these grounds.
On Wednesday November 16, you issued a letter by email to the campus community. In this letter, you discussed a hate crime which occurred at UC Davis on Sunday November 13. In this letter, you express concern about the safety of our students. You write, “it is particularly disturbing that such an act of intolerance should occur at a time when the campus community is working to create a safe and inviting space for all our students.” You write, “while these are turbulent economic times, as a campus community, we must all be committed to a safe, welcoming environment that advances our efforts to diversity and excellence at UC Davis.”
I will leave it to my colleagues and every reader of this letter to decide what poses a greater threat to “a safe and inviting space for all our students” or “a safe, welcoming environment” at UC Davis: 1) Setting up tents on the quad in solidarity with faculty and students brutalized by police at UC Berkeley? or 2) Sending in riot police to disperse students with batons, pepper-spray, and tear-gas guns, while those students sit peacefully on the ground with their arms linked? Is this what you have in mind when you refer to creating “a safe and inviting space?” Is this what you have in mind when you express commitment to “a safe, welcoming environment?”
I am writing to tell you in no uncertain terms that there must be space for protest on our campus. There must be space for political dissent on our campus. There must be space for civil disobedience on our campus. There must be space for students to assert their right to decide on the form of their protest, their dissent, and their civil disobedience—including the simple act of setting up tents in solidarity with other students who have done so. There must be space for protest and dissent, especially, when the object of protest and dissent is police brutality itself. You may not order police to forcefully disperse student protesters peacefully protesting police brutality. You may not do so. It is not an option available to you as the Chancellor of a UC campus. That is why I am calling for your immediate resignation.
Your words express concern for the safety of our students. Your actions express no concern whatsoever for the safety of our students. I deduce from this discrepancy that you are not, in fact, concerned about the safety of our students. Your actions directly threaten the safety of our students. And I want you to know that this is clear. It is clear to anyone who reads your campus emails concerning our “Principles of Community” and who also takes the time to inform themselves about your actions. You should bear in mind that when you send emails to the UC Davis community, you address a body of faculty and students who are well trained to see through rhetoric that evinces care for students while implicitly threatening them. I see through your rhetoric very clearly. You also write to a campus community that knows how to speak truth to power. That is what I am doing.
I call for your resignation because you are unfit to do your job. You are unfit to ensure the safety of students at UC Davis. In fact: you are the primary threat to the safety of students at UC Davis. As such, I call upon you to resign immediately.
Sincerely,
Nathan Brown
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Program in Critical Theory
University of California at Davis
UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi walk of shame that night after the attacks. The students decided to greet her with total silence:
Viewing these videos I cannot fail to be impressed with the amazing dignity and self-control of these students. The university should be proud of them. Before the violence they chanted:
“You use weapons! We use our voice!”
The university administration realized how dangerous students voices can be and decided to silence them.
The UC Davis Faculty Senate has supported Professor Brown’s call Chancellor’s immediate resignation“. You can sign a petition supporting this call here.
The DFA Board calls for the immediate resignation of Chancellor Katehi. The Chancellor’s authorization of the use of police force to suppress the protests by students and community members speaking out on behalf of our university and public higher education generally represents a gross failure of leadership.
Given the recent use of excessive force by police against “occupy” protestors at UC Berkeley and elsewhere, the Chancellor must have anticipated that, by authorizing police action, she was effectively authorizing their use of excessive force against peaceful UCD student protestors. The Chancellor’s role is to enable open and free inquiry, not to suppress it.
We also call for a policy that will end the practice of forcibly removing non-violent student, faculty, staff, and community protestors by police on the UC Davis campus. The University of California should be taking a leadership role in encouraging the exercise of free speech, not in suppressing it. [Emphasis added.]
November 20th, 2011
Boston November 17 march and rally: Unity in diversity
Have just returned from the demonstration in Boston, one of hundreds planned nationwide. On the theme of Jobs not Cuts, the organizers called for public spending to fix America’s decaying infrastructure. The rally was supported by Occupy Boston, Move On, Defend the American Dream, and numerous unions and community organizations.
The rally began with a cold drizzle which did little to dampen the crowds or their enthusiasm. What was most striking was the diversity of the crowd. The usual students, young white unemployed and long-time activists were joined by many unionists and numerous individuals and groups from Boston’s diverse neighborhoods. There was even a sizeable contingent from the Chinatown Neighborhood Association, a first that I’ve ever seen. If this diversity is starting to build in other cities, I understand the intensity and desperation with which the state, coordinated by the Homeland Security and (In)Justice Departments have acted to displace, intimidate, and destroy the movement. They may sense the beginning of something uniting enough people to seriously threaten the powers that be.
The march and rally were energetic. It was fascinating to see the creative tension between the union leaders who wanted to impose structure, such as approved slogans and the Occupy Boston affiliated folks who are not used to letting leaders tell them what they can think or do. In this case, the union leaders largely gave in. At the rally, the union speakers could not be heard. Thus they good naturedly turned to the people’s mike to get the words across. Unfortunately, speaker after speaker said few the exact same things, sticking tightly to their script, so that much of the crowd, me included, decided to leave in boredom. Still, it was quite an experience to see so many people from such diverse backgrounds marching together to say “NO!” to the status quo.
November 17th, 2011