As complaints rise over mass arrests by Boston police in the Occupy Boston protests, Mayor Thomas Menino decided to add a rather draconian note by announcing ” “Civil disobedience will not be tolerated.” It was a moment reminiscent of former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley announcing in the 1968 Democratic Convention protests that “the policeman isn’t there to create disorder; the policeman is there to preserve disorder.”
Of course, civil disobedience has long been a respected form of protest from Henry David Thoreau to Martin Luther King. The framers seemed keen on such rights when including in the first amendment that “Congress shall make no law…abridging…the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
It is painful to watch the reaction to these protests. I remain co-lead counsel in the World Bank case (Chang) where we are still litigating the mass arrest of hundreds of innocent citizens without probable cause in Freedom Plaza and Pershing Park.
While offering passing sympathy for protester, Menino draw a bright line regarding any exercise of free speech that crosses the line into civil disobedience: “when it comes to civil disobedience, I will not tolerate civil disobedience in the city of Boston.”
Menino’s comment will only serve to heighten tensions and could be viewed as an encouragement for harsher treatment of protesters. As the home of the Boston Tea Party and John Adams, the comments seem tragically misplaced in both location and time.
Source: Think Progress
Blouise
rubber bullets for teamsters, live ammo for collage kids.
i was only ten at the time, i guess i never realized how scared the government was of students.
wonder what will happen if they get that scared again?
sugary drinks won’t be tolerated either
http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/08/boston-mayor-takes-on-sugary-drinks/
raff,
The kids were throwing stuff at the Guard but you have to know the layout of “blanket hill”. The Guard was at the top of the hill looking down at the kids and the kids were throwing things uphill … naturally the stuff they were throwing wasn’t getting anywhere near the Guard.
It was a full fledged riot but the Guard was in no danger. Also, my brother in law, who was a student there at the time, had been making beer runs all night the night before and guess who was paying him and his buddies to go get the beer all night … the Guard. A lot of beer was consumed by the Guard that night … the next day they gunned down four kids.
Civil disobedience is not creating havoc, stopping traffic, interfering with the business of the day. It is peaceful disobedience, knowing if arrested you will pay the consequence of the law – something the Professor expounds daily. Remember? You have laws (made by law makers and twisted into a living form by lawyers) and they are made to obey – or get arrested and speak to the judge and jury. maybe just pay a fine.
Are there permits for these demos?
I’ve been in protest marches and the like. Have a point, make it, keep making it with civil consistency, and work with and in the system to work for the change one desires. Or prepare to be disappointed. These people of late have not done it right as of yet. And it will be cold soon in most USA climates. It will help subdue the stench. A lot of the curious and the joiners will dissipate. The lemmings who parrot the chants of the “professional organizers” aka “outside agitators” will have less visitors to rely on for direction as they have hardly any now (other than capitalism hasn’t worked for them because of … x reasons). They have the weird idea that they are the 99% of USA? Really? Disillusioned is a mild moniker for them if that’s the case. They should be complaining about all the social engineering that was the major cause of all the financial troubles – Fanny Freddie and all their minions (including Wall St) that were enabled by rotten legislation. Let us succeed or fail by ourselves, OK Washington?
“if you talk about destruction, don’t you know that you can count me out”, but it will be alright.
It seems that our superior system; of the people, by the people and for the people has decided to take the Chinese, Syrian, Ejyption, Iraqi, Soviet, British Raj course and kill the people. It hasnt happened yet but you can already hear the rifles cocking.
The government has in some places chosen to attack rather than defend the rights of the people.
Only the people can take back those rights.
Peaceful civil disobedience as practiced by Mohandis Ghandi is proven to turn back the actions of oppressive regimes.
Please encourage all to maintain the non-violent stance.
They may kill us but the sacrifice is for naught if we provoke the attack.
Also alot more people will be killed.
These cops and/or soldiers are operating under orders from a government that believes we serve them. Be that a local, state or federal government.
otherwise they would acknowledge the overwheming voice of the people and stand aside.
They are Machiavellian in their deadly focus and have no respect for your rights
But let’s spread the word. Let’s get inspired by these truly brave and patriotic Occupiers of Wall St. and anywhere else the movement arises
Blouise,
I remember the Kent State protests and killings all too well. I was a freshmen at Southern Illinois University and after the killings our campus was shut down after protests. I spent the early morning of my 19th birthday in the county jail after getting arrested at one of the protests. A day or two later our semester ended early. The Guardsmen killed those kids without provocation. Sad.
did they really pull the Darth Vader out of thier butts????
they did that in Miami too.
stinkers!
the problem as I see it is that Wall St. is only part of the problem. The other part is a government willing to give bail-outs to Wall St.
That government is controlled by Democrats who were more than willing to give money to Wall St and who are continuing the failed policies which are holding the economy down. Bush started this mess but Obama has continued it.
I say the protesters should be protesting in DC as well as every state capital to change business as usual as conducted by various local and state governments and the federal government.
Sometimes a picture (or two) is worth a thousand words.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6167/6233236517_523e9ee7a9_z.jpg
Ben Franklin would be appalled that someone like Menino is the mayor of
Boston…if it weren’t for civil disobedience in 1775, we wouldn’t be the United States…Menino apparently isn’t educated enough to understand the history of this country…he’s a dumb-ass.
They will try to provoke you … just read the words of Cantor and Menino … don’t fall for it.
The Kent State Massacre involved Ohio National Guard troops called to the campus by the Republican Gov. Rhodes. The troops came straight from the Cleveland area where they had been deployed the week immediately preceding that weekend escorting trucks in an attempt to break the Teamster’s strike. They had been given no down time but more importantly, during the Teamster’s strike they had been issued rubber bullets which had been reported by the news media. (This is why the kids thought the troops were shooting rubber bullets.) On the way to Kent State the troops were issued live ammo.
The suits on Wall Street and in Washington are very nervous … and guys like Eric Cantor and Thomas Menino are setting the stage … a word to the wise … use restraint and give them no excuse to shoot at you, no matter what the provocation.
Can OWS be turned into a Democratic Party movement?
by Glenn Greenwald
Tuesday, Oct 11, 2011
http://politics.salon.com/2011/10/11/can_ows_be_turned_into_a_democratic_party_movement/singleton/
Excerpt:
When I first wrote in defense of the Occupy Wall Street protests a couple of weeks ago, I suggested that much of the scorn then being expressed by many progressives was “grounded in the belief that the only valid form of political activism is support for Democratic Party candidates.” Since then, even the most establishment Democrats have fundamentally changed how they talk about the protests — from condescension and hostility to respect and even support — and The New York Times today makes clear one significant factor accounting for this change:
Leading Democratic figures, including party fund-raisers and a top ally of President Obama, are embracing the spread of the anti-Wall Street protests in a clear sign that members of the Democratic establishment see the movement as a way to align disenchanted Americans with their party.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the party’s powerful House fund-raising arm, is circulating a petition seeking 100,000 party supporters to declare that “I stand with the Occupy Wall Street protests.”
The Center for American Progress, a liberal organization run by John D. Podesta, who helped lead Mr. Obama’s 2008 transition, credits the protests with tapping into pent-up anger over a political system that it says rewards the rich over the working class — a populist theme now being emphasized by the White House and the party. The center has encouraged and sought to help coordinate protests in different cities.
Judd Legum, a spokesman for the center, said that its direct contacts with the protests have been limited, but that “we’ve definitely been publicizing it and supporting it.”
He said Democrats are already looking for ways to mobilize protesters in get-out-the-vote drives for 2012.
Politico similarly noted today that “the White House wants to make it clear that President Barack Obama is on the same side as the Occupy Wall Street protesters.” (end of excerpt)
I also remember the 68 Chicago demonstrations and the infamous comments by Mayor Daley. It is obvious that these protests are having an impact or the suits would not be taking such harsh action. This is the start of something important and big.
Occupy Wall Street What the corporate media do not want you to see!
DownEast Liberator1, October 11, 2011 at 12:01 pm
…..
BTW, Occupy Boston should advise the folks to make sure their affairs are in order and to prepare a legal will. It could be 2nd Bunker Hill.
——————————————————
That is waaaay harsh!
Thing is it’s not just Boston….or Chicago…or So.Cal….or Wall St.
It’s EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!
Australia and S
It is a tremble moment and the powder is not damp anymore.
And even if the occupyers all packed up and went home tomorrow….it would not be over. It will be a violent rape of civil liberties….and go on forever….or someone with some real brain cells and real balls will make the effort to mediate the place between the 2 extrmes. Is anyone wondering what the world will be like if everything continues to be ignored? The world is too big to be ‘owned’ by a few wealthy interests. It s an impossible balance sheet. There has to be some giveback in a real and tangible way that does not include having people wait 20-30 years to get back what it took 40-50 years to earn. We are not the last generation…….
An interesting interview with Buddy Roemer:
Tuesday, Oct 11, 2011 12:17 PM
The pro-OWS voice you won’t hear at the GOP debate
Salon talks with Republican presidential candidate Buddy Roemer about his push to make the GOP rethink Wall St.
By Steve Kornacki
http://politics.salon.com/2011/10/11/the_pro_ows_voice_you_wont_hear_at_the_gop_debate/singleton/
Excerpts:
Buddy Roemer won four races for Congress in the 1980s, was elected governor of Louisiana in 1987, and then after being defeated for reelection (by an ex-Klansman and a future convicted felon) in 1991 went into business, serving as CEO of a midsize bank. He is also running for the Republican presidential nomination — not that you’d ever know it. Even while candidates with far less substantial political experience have been invited to the debates, Roemer has been shut out, a streak that will continue when eight other GOP candidates gather in New Hampshire Tuesday night. (Instead, he’ll be watching on television and tweeting along.)
Roemer, who turned 68 a few days ago, admits that “this has been the most frustrating experience of my life,” and it’s easy to understand why: Just look at the meteoric, debate-aided rise of Herman Cain, a fellow CEO who was drubbed in a Republican Senate primary in his only previous bid for office. The case against putting him in is simple: The stage is already too crowded and time is already too limited — so why throw in another hopeless longshot if you can avoid it?
Which is why what Roemer has been doing lately is so interesting. While his fellow candidates and most Republican leaders have been jumping over one another to condemn the Wall Street protesters, Roemer has loudly endorsed the demonstrations, invoking Theodore Roosevelt and challenging the GOP to rethink its reflexive defense of the banking giants. In so doing, he has provided a strong case for a debate invitation: The stage may be packed, but there’s no one on it now who wants Glass-Steagall reimplemented. Roemer does, and he says it’s part of a broader debate the GOP needs to have. Salon spoke with him on Monday afternoon about his uphill fight.
…
Number two, I think they would hear about money and politics and what I would try to do and reform the system. I’m saying the system is corrupt because congressmen want to get reelected more than anything else. Somebody needs to stand up, and the Republican Party is a great place for it. Theodore Roosevelt said it a hundred years ago. He asked Republicans: Are we going to be the party of privilege and Wall Street or are we going to be the party of small business, plain people, and working America? I would like to ask that question in the next debate. There would be a silence so deep you could hear your heart beating.
These are questions that Obama needs to answer. And he’s not in the debate tomorrow, but we need a Republican who will stand up to him face-to-face and say, “It’s the money, Mr. President.” I would do that. Think of me as a big broom: I would sweep out the Tim Geithners, I would sweep out the Ben Bernankes, I would sweep out the president of GE, I would sweep out all the crony capitalists, all the lobbyists, all the big PACs, and I would let the American people come run America. You would be amazed at what would happen. We would be strong again.
(end of excerpts)
Crossing the Moat and Storming the Castle at the JP Morgan Chase Shareholder Meeting
Robin Hoods Take Back Chicago!