Much respect and appreciation to the organizers of Occupy Oakland. I participated in the 10/14 march. Overall, it was well-organized (really good getting two to three hundred people on a late Fri), peaceful, and very spirited. I have three issues, however, which hopefully have already come to your attention and are being addressed:
1. Before the march started, speakers used a bull-horn to pump up the crowd. Most of it was fine. One guy, however, interspersed his comments with “fuck” and “fucking” several times. I use the word in private so have no problems with profanity. Using it in public however is counterproductive and inappropriate. I was glad to see a family with several small children, but if I’m a parent and such language is used often, I don’t participate. Same is true of folks who are sensitive to such words.
2. When the march stopped in front of the police station at 7th and Clay, one of the chants was “fuck the police.” This is more problematic. Of course police brutality is a serious issue, but deliberately provoking them is not smart. These efforts must have general public support (in addition to a bunch of other stuff) to succeed. Physical confrontations with the police, especially if we start it, is the fastest way to turn the public against us. Every effort must be made to keep things peaceful.
3. Inevitably there were silly looking black block anarchists bandanas pulled above their noses marching. I overheard one saying to another “I just want to hit somebody.” Could have been pure bs, could have been sincere. As the protests get bigger these naive knuckleheads may instigate violence, happens all the time, whether it’s police provocateurs or just knuckleheads; happened in Rome last weekend, gave the action there a black eye. Perhaps outreach can be done to these groups or individuals. And in anticipation of it happening here, perhaps before every action, instructions can be announced asking folks to intervene (at least by shouting at them to stop), and by having spokespeople with agreed on talking points to do damage control with the media.
Just a few thoughts to consider. Overall, great job though.
Is occupy going to help occupy the various home foreclosure actions that are ongoing. Those homeowners sure could use the help of others to help shout down the auctioning of their homes.
excellent reporting.