Protest Crowds Flood Streets, Shut 880

[Starry Messenger]

Source: KPIX Channel 5 News

Millions of students, teachers and parents rallied in schools and college campuses across California to protest deep spending cuts to schools and universities. Bay Area protests flooded streets and plazas, and temporarily shut down 880 in Oakland.

Demonstrations, marches, teach-ins and walkouts occurred nationwide Thursday in what is being called the "March 4th National Day of Action for Public Education."

Among the major Bay Aera demonstrations were a march down Telegraph Ave. from Berkeley to Oakland. Demonstrators later climbed onto I-880 in near Broadway, where they blocked the evening commute for much of the 5 p.m. hour. Officers in riot gear were seen pulling handcuffed protesters from the freeway. At the same time, thousands converged on San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza for a 5 p.m. rally featuring dozens of speakers.

Students, teachers and school employees also converged in Sacramento to convince lawmakers to restore funding to public schools.

Events were being held on most of California's public colleges and universities to protest budget cuts that have led to canceled classes, faculty furloughs and steep fee hikes.

Read more: http://cbs5.com/education/California.students.protest.2.1537092.html

---

Go Oakland! The video footage on TV was pretty dramatic.

[gimama]

1. "officers in riot gear"..

to protect and serve..
the status quo!


Keep us posted, will Ya?:hi:

[Starry Messenger]

6. I will, I'll post replies to the OP

No problemo. :)

[paulsby]

25. yes, to protect and serve

they should just let people block the freeway?

[mike_c]

30. why not-- it belongs to the people, after all....

eom

[paulsby]

32. and there are time, place, manner, use

restrictions as there should be.

because it belongs to the people does that mean it's ok to drive drunk on them?

how about allowing 12 yr olds to drive on them?
that's a ridiculous argument.

the public libraries belong to the people, too.

so. it's ok for protestors (for whatever reason) to enter a library and prohibit others from using the stacks?

the cops are doing their jobs so to speak, and that's a good thing. heck, it's a good thing people are protesting. but when you protest AND you break the law, you should be willing to face the arrest and consequences.

who says that? not just me. mlk said it. it's a fundamental element of conscientious objection

furthermore, only a ridiculous ninny would claim that it should be ok to block the freeway with pedestrian traffic to make a protest

would you be ok with teabaggers doing so to protest obama?

i suggest you would not

so, is your support of blocking the freeway contingent on whether you AGREE withthe subject of the protest?

clearly, that;s absurd

[arcadian]

40. A cop using MLK as a shield

Now THAT's ironic.

[paulsby]

48. a person named arcadian who doesn't understand what MLK stood for

now THAT's ironic

hth

[arcadian]

50. Yeah MLK really stood for cops.

Crack a history book. :eyes:

[paulsby]

54. he stood for justice

which you have no comprehension of

try reading some of what he wrote

he wasn't against or for cops.

he was against cops, just like he was against anybody who was acting unjust

and he was for cops, like he was for anybody, who was acting to further justice

hth

[Goldstein1984]

45. Shutting things down--it's a beautiful thing

Get used to it. Agree or disagree, it's going to be a big part of the future.

Orderly protests don't threaten order; they don't challenge the status quo; and so they change nothing.

[paulsby]

49. i agree

like i said, if they think their cause is just and they want to shut down the freeway, then so be it.

that's THEIR job so to speak

with the understanding that they be willing to face arrest for doing so.

like i said, the OP wouldn't support blocking people using the freeway if teabaggers did it.

the law has to be viewpoint neutral in this regards.

iow, the cops or the PD don't get to choose which protests are "just" and thus do not subject the freeway blockers to arrest, and which protests are "unjust" and thus don't.

should cops selectively only arrest teabaggers who block the freeway and not these protestors?

of course not

the reverse also holds true

disorderly protests are a strong tool. and like MLK said, those who break the law to protest should be willing to submit to arrest

[Goldstein1984]

51. Absolutely

Living in Alaska, we're far from most meaningful demonstrations, but we support those who are close enough to participate by contributing to legal defense funds for those who do get themselves arrested. I admire and support those who are willing and able to push those limits.

[paulsby]

57. exactly

it is not at all oxymoronic to support BOTH the protesters AND the cops

the protesters who are blocking the freeway should be given a warning, and if they refuse to clear the freeway - arrested.

i support their cause and their decision to do what they do, and i ALSO support the cops for doing the right thing by arresting them.

as long as the cops make the arrests in a restrained manner, and the protestors submit to arrest w/o violence, i support both sides

[Goldstein1984]

61. What I don't support is the evolving police state

Police are becoming increasingly militarized in their tactics and equipment. The suppression of peaceful demonstrations in Pittsburgh during the G20 Summit was completely unjustified. As civil unrest grows, expect to see the actions of the police become more aggressive and less about "to serve and protect."

As the interests of the people and the interests of the state diverge, as I believe they are now doing, the police will ultimately have to decide whether their loyalties are to citizens or the state. To the degree they choose the state, on the path I believe this nation is now on there will come a time when one cannot be for both the police and the people.

[paulsby]

63. i can 't speak to the g20

i can speak to the WTO because i was there on the line.

i saw REMARKABLY restrained uses of force by the cops considering the level of violence towards us and property.

i had bottle thrown at me, etc.

we also had FAR less injuries to protestors than was seen during similar protests at several european location in the past

the VAST majority of protestors were peaceful. a small cadre of anarchist shitbags and general scumbags were causing 99% of the problem and embedding themselves w/in the crowd.

i do agree that SWAT are overused. used properly they save lives, cops, and suspects alike.

used improperly, they are dangerous

[Goldstein1984]

64. At the G20...

rubber bullets, tear gas and LRAD weapons were used aggressively. A person using Twitter to help protestors maneuver around the police was arrested.

I think it was the success of the WTO protests in Seattle that resulted in more effort to prevent similar successes subsequently.

Copenhagen, with preventive arrests, is another example of a police state gone to far.

I've always suspected the anarchists were planted in an effort to discredit the peaceful protestors.

[paulsby]

65. i've dealt with way too many of these anarchists to think this

they caravened up for WTO (and N30).

there was ample evidence that they had engaged in substantial training in disruption etc. and they had a pretty good history of this kind of crap usually, when we ran their names.

i think they breed them in the Eugene OR area.

very few were from seattle.

many of the anarchists ended up flopping in an abandoned building (which is a code violation, etc) and SPD in their infinite PC stupidity refused to act to kick them out

[Starry Messenger]

52. I'm not sure why you are playing internet psychic about my support or non-support

If teabaggers came out to support teachers and public education, of course I would support their methods. But teabaggers are reactionaries who are against things, not for things, so that makes it impossible to have much common ground in this political climate.

[paulsby]

53. that wasn't my point

if teabaggers were blocking the freeway to protest, say, obama's alleged lack of citizenship would you be ok with the cops arresting them for blocking the freeway?

how long should they be able to block the freeway w./o arrest?

1 hour

2 hours?

the arrests have to be, are, and should be VIEWPOINT neutral

iow, it doesn't matter if the cause they are protesting is just or not.

the cops are, and should be arresting for the underlying act - blocking the freeway

which they are

and that's a good thing

[Starry Messenger]

55. lol, whatever. arguing with you and vadawg is like hitting yourself in the face with a brick

You'll defend law and order every time. Personally I could give a shit what the teabaggers think about Obama. If they shut down a freeway for something that stupid, that's their lookout.

[paulsby]

56. i defend the constitution and rule of law

i hardly defend "law and order" every time, since i am PRO mj legalization, against the war on drugs, etc.

but when it comes to to the authority of cops to arrest people for blocking the freeway, i will defend that authority, yes

and in a country where rule of law matters, the arrests are and should be made from a content neutral viewpoint

[LooseWilly]

2. Ahhh.... Sunny Oakland...

Way to go...

[femrap]

3. I love the

Bay Area's attitude!

[izquierdista]

4. Meanwhile in Fresno....

A dozen teabaggers will be showing their misspelled protest signs to hundreds of assembled reporters.

[No Elephants]

66. And get more coverage.

[Starry Messenger]

5. 125 protesters are being "processed" on the Jackson St. overpass

Huge amount of police cars patrolling the area seen from the helicopter footage.

[Canuckistanian]

7. There'll come a time

When all the riot-geared policemen won't be able to stop protests like these.

It's coming. Believe me.

[gimama]

10. March 20th, maybe?!? : )

DC & several Cali-cities will protest for PEACE,
March 20th, hell's anniversary..

www.march20.org
www.answercoalition.org

Hmmm..students with no classes, Peeps with no j-o-bs..
why NOT dance
& chant in the streets,
till OUR President HEARS us,
& fulfills his/our Promises?

[Canuckistanian]

11. I was thinking more long term

But Mar. 20th would be a good start....

[HughBeaumont]

37. See you there.

Cannot wait. I haven't been part of a protest there in 3 years.

[bitchkitty]

58. True - hunger has a way of energizing people. n/t

[stray cat]

8. Maybe they will at least accomplish police officers not getting laid off?

[azul]

34. Lay off police to fund education? nt

[scentopine]

9. kudos to the leadership that organized this! Real grass roots! -nt

[my2sense]

12. So students protesting for

reasonable tuition rates get beatdowns and freepers with signs with veiled threats of violence get excessive news coverage? ::shakes head::

[EFerrari]

13. I know. It's insane.

And, go Cal! :woohoo:

[Starry Messenger]

15. Yep, it's insane

The footage showed the riot cops shoving everyone on their knees in the asphalt in neat little rows. The local news is treating this like they are covering a terrorist action.

[wordpix]

14. that's right---give teachers who are responsible for 125-150 students/day

more students with these cuts, and cut social workers, art, music, etc., and watch our schools and society crumble for good.

geesh

[Starry Messenger]

16. video of overpass arrests

http://cbs5.com/video/?id=[e-mail]

Sorry for the ad.

[Starry Messenger]

17. From KCRA Sacramento

http://www.kcra.com/news/22747288/detail.html

OAKLAND, Calif. --
Interstate 880 was closed in both directions Thursday evening after a group of protesters blocked the road, forcing authorities to shut down the freeway in both directions.

CHP Officer Kevin Kroncke said the protesters had entered the highway near its junction with Interstate 980 just after 5 p.m., KTVU.com reported.

Between 100 and 150 people were arrested and taken to two different jails.

About 2,000 people attended the rally against education cuts at Frank Ogawa Plaza near 14th Street and Broadway.

[NOLALady]

18. Day Um.

I miss the Bay area! :applause:

[Starry Messenger]

20. NOLALady, you are here in spirit

:) Nothing like a good Bay Area protest action. Looks like things got kicked up a notch. I'm loving it.

[truedelphi]

42. Add my spirit to the list.

Oral surgery on Wed prevented me from being there.

Thank you for the updates on this.

[Kievan Rus]

19. There's protests even in other states, too

[CreekDog]

21. It wouldn't hurt our economy or our defense and would help our schools if:

we took $50 billion from defense and used it to shore up education spending in this country.

teachers don't earn enough to not spend it, and students earn even less.

and for soldiers who we can't support in a defense capacity after this, i say we support them in furthering their education.

:)

[Starry Messenger]

22. Excellent ideas CreekPuppy.

:D

[CreekDog]

23. If the country voted like the Bay Area, we would have done it and then some

dare to dream. :D

[Unvanguard]

31. If the country voted like the Bay Area, we wouldn't have had all these problems over the years.

:)

[Blue_Tires]

39. it would hurt the profit margins of some

incredibly powerful and influential people...The type of people who can make anything happen with just a phone call (that's why they keep getting it)

[NYC_SKP]

24. Damn. Glad I got out of SF early and took 580. n/t

[quakerboy]

26. Heres my question

How many people can they arrest? They can manage 100. If a thousand people get arrested at once, even in as large a metro as the Bay area, that's got to stretch the official capacity. If 10,000 were willing to sit down and block the way and refuse to be ignored, while remaining peaceful(!), we might see some results. If there were 1% in every metro who refused to be ignored or shunted aside, who were not afraid to go to jail, I think we would see our government sit up and take notice.

But it appears that only .0017% are there. Many are angry and want to be heard, but either are not willing to do what it takes to get past the societal structures built up to make them ignorable, or are unaware that a protest that doesn't have corporate support no longer is seen by anyone else.

[Hannah Bell]

27. k/r

[alcibiades_mystery]

28. Raise taxes on the top earners. Fucking period.

In any case, so many DUers complain that "nobody is in the streets." Well, there you go. The students are in the streets, kicking it off as usual.

Workers and students unite!

[yorgatron]

29. K&R

[No Elephants]

67. +1 (to "Workers and students unite!")

[northofdenali]

33. Good for these students!

But beware.

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio.

Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been done long ago.
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know?

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Written by Neil Young

[defendandprotect]

35. Tax cuts for the rich have to be ended. . . increase corporate taxes . . .

re-regulate capitalism --

and let's start state and Federal pools so that EVERYONE can go to college --

this battle to keep that "piece of paper" only in the hands of the elites is quite

obvious -- so is the corporatization of our colleges/universities --

if not the militarization!

[fascisthunter]

36. officers in riot gear for students protesting... where the fuck were they when the

right wingers were carrying guns to town hall meetings? Unfucking real... still think we don't live in a fascist country?

[HughBeaumont]

38. Whistling and turning a blind eye.

Cahoots. ALL of them. Don't even think for one second they wouldn't turn guns on the Democratic and liberal. It's why I'm skeptical of Oath Keepers (which some law enforcement officers are part of) . . . which citizens would they deem worthy of protecting?

[Starry Messenger]

41. Well that on-ramp is right next to Oakland Police Station

It would be like pouring hot water into an ant hill. I'm wondering if that was part of the protesters plan, to get the overwrought police response on camera.

[truedelphi]

43. Defintiely a fascist state.

It is just that so many citizens are subscribing to the "Good cop, Bad cop," mentality. So as long as the Dems, the "Good Cops," are in charge, many citizens pretend to see everything as being okay-dokey.

I don't want this good cop, bad cop paradigm. I want my nation to get out of the damn police station!

[No Elephants]

68. +1

[Judi Lynn]

44. Daily Californian Journalist Released From Jail Following Arrest

Daily Californian Journalist Released From Jail Following Arrest
18-Year-Old Multimedia Producer Held Overnight After Filming March 4th Protests

By Stephanie M. Lee
Daily Cal Staff Writer
Date Added Friday, March 5, 2010 | 12:17 pm
Last Updated Friday, March 5, 2010 | 2:29 pm

A student journalist from The Daily Californian was released from jail Friday after being arrested while filming Thursday's demonstrations.

Cameron Burns, an 18-year-old multimedia producer for the newspaper's Web site, was held overnight at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, Calif. Prior to his release, he was last seen by Daily Californian employees filming a rally in Oakland, where 150 protesters were reportedly arrested for blocking a freeway. He was charged with obstruction of a public place and unlawful assembly, the same charges facing most of those who were arrested, according to jail officials. The charges were later dropped.

Students, faculty and staff staged demonstrations across California on Thursday in support of funding for public education. The one Burns was following began at UC Berkeley at noon and swelled to a size of some 1,000 demonstrators marching to Oakland.

As the protest dissipated near the Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, a group branched off and sprinted onto the Interstate 980, stopping traffic in both directions. Police are said to have surrounded and arrested nearly 150 people. Among them was Burns, of Carlsbad, Calif., a freshman and intended business administration major at UC Berkeley.

Joanna Brockhouse, the multimedia coordinator of The Daily Californian, last heard from Burns around 5 p.m. while stuck in traffic in Downtown Oakland. What began as an attempt to give Burns his press pass, his wallet and new batteries for his Flip camera-all of which he had left in the newsroom-grew into a fruitless game of phone tag. As Brockhouse tried to arrange a meeting location with him, Burns seemingly became swept up in the crowd rushing onto the freeway.

More:
http://www.dailycal.org/article/108555/daily_californian_journalist_arrested_while_coveri

[Starry Messenger]

46. Thank you!

Great update. I hope he gets his charges dropped. I think everyone's charges should be dropped, but I don't know if there is any hope of that.

[Lagomorph]

47. Protesting is better experienced than...

read about.

[John Kerry VonErich]

59. I hate it when protesters do that.

Some driver will be fed up enough that he or she will just mow them down. Happened before.

[Starry Messenger]

60. Yes, those foolish creatures

How dare they inconvenience some sociopath?

[John Kerry VonErich]

70. Check these out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc1vL2QdBLw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TRCaPwzl34&feature=related

[Starry Messenger]

72. I'm not looking at your accident porn

I was speaking to your rather ruling class tone. It's not the fault of the *protesters* if some psycho with no sense of humanity mows them down. It's the fault of the fucking psycho. Blaming the victim is unseemly for a so called liberal.

[John Kerry VonErich]

75. I rather have protesters alive and making a difference than "subliminal martyrdom"

Need to look at both sides. No I am not dictatating on how they wanna do it. I just gave an opinion, like it or not. And hey, I'm not the only one here that believes that, just like you aren't the only one that believes what you have and I respect that. So I just said I hate it when they block the roads because of safety concerns. Don't give me grief over it. I respect the cause though.

[Starry Messenger]

76. Well them, next time start out your subject line with:

"I hate it when assholes run over protesters." Otherwise I will give you grief over it. Hey, I really admired Kerry's protesting of war. If something had run over him in the process of his protesting would you be blaming him?

[roamer65]

62. I would be happy to be stuck in traffic due to a protest.

So rare anymore that anyone fights back in this country. Maybe the sheeple are finally waking up.

[Lagomorph]

74. There's been a lot of protesting this last year...

Not all that rare, these days.

Winter is ending, riot season is beginning.

[No Elephants]

69. Protests really do give me hope of change. Here's to more of them.. Thanks, Starry.

[Starry Messenger]

71. You're welcome No Elephants.

They give me hope too. :thumbsup:

[FourScore]

73. YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!

Finally some outrage!!!