Video: Police Beat UC Berkeley Students at Occupy Cal Rally [UPDATED]

peaceful losers

Miles: do you understand the definition of the word 'violent'?  Linking arms with other people is not violence...  On the other hand, jabbing batons into another persons gut is violent.

The video is disgusting.  We as Americans have no right to call out human rights abuses in other countries when we do this to our own, peacefully protesting children.  Disgusting.

Nope, sorry, they weren't peacefully protesting.

"The individuals who linked arms and actively resisted, that in itself is an act of violence. I understand that many students may not think that, but linking arms in a human chain when ordered to step aside is not a nonviolence protest"

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/...

I could say Miles_Long is a serial killer.  That doesn't make it true.  A University Police Captain made the statement you're quoting. UCP don't create law, they enforce it.  Please cite the law which states that standing with your arms linked is a violent act.  I can wait.

When you're finished searching, here's the answer: They are guilty of trespass and obstructing an officer, both misdemeanor, non-violent crimes.  The only violence here was on the part of those paid to enforce, not create, law.

My point was that these protests are not peaceful. Weather linking arm is a violent act is debatable.

Once you stepped into the realm of civil disobedience you have stopped being peaceful. They are therefore not peacefully assembling.

Whenever I hear these protesters screaming that what they are doing is peaceful, I and every rational thinking person just sits back and laughs at their misconception of the meaning of peaceful.

You have a message to bring to the public, OK don't break the law or city ordnance to do so. Respect the authorities and they won't have to put you in check. Real simple, these kids are bringing this apon themselves when they don't have too.

Both General Colin Powell and the Supreme Court disagree with you.

By your logic, Martin Luther King was a violent protester.  

The long and short of it is this: Citizens have the right to peaceful assembly.  They also have the right, if  arrested for refusal to comply or obstruction, to be free from physical abuse at the hands of police.  Saying "they brought it on themselves" is not justifiable under the law.  It's merely your opinion.

Miles, in what part of the video are they not peaceful? They are standing, arms together, being beaten in the stomach with batons and not fighting back.  Much as Martin Luther King's folks did at lunch counters.  Again, the supreme court and Colin Powell both disagree with you that standing alone warrants being beaten.  You're missing the point - police can arrest trespassers, but not beat them.  The beating part is punishment, and punishment is not the job of the police, nor is this Iran where our laws include beatings as punishment for a crime.  And it's students on their own campus, not OWS folks being beaten to boot.  Teapartiers, since you brought them up, arrived with guns.  Equal treatment? Hardly.

Wrong, let me clarify. The lot of these protesters an not being violent but they aren't being peaceful either. It goes like this

Peaceful protest
Civil disobedience
Uncivil disobedience
Violent protest

Once you start to violate laws and police orders then the protesters have ended being peaceful.

They do have a right to peacefully assemble, but once they break that peace, they give up their protected rights. The cops then have to come in and keep the peace

Don't break the peace, and you won't have to deal with the cops. Super simple. All those knuckle dragging tea partiers were able to remain civil and peaceful, why can't you guys?

11 November 2011

I was encouraged when Jerry Brown took governorship of our state, California.

No encouragement anymore, with the likes of Gov. Brown and Atty. Gen. Harris, we suffer even more injustice.

When police officers brutally attacked citizens, and the brutalization is public knowledge, and Gov. Brown as well as Atty. Gen. Harris brazenly both do nothing, they are criminals; this is identical to Gov. of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, blatantly breaking the law, and instead of demanding custody of the man, the community of Wisconsin suffers him until a recall is permitted; really!

These political criminals would have us believe, because they are connected, they can do anything. This problem is the same when we, the United States people, except that Pres. Obama's authority grants him an arbitrary ability to ignore Bush's criminality. Who promises to go to work, does not work, and is paid?

These criminal elements in our police force, from their chief's, to our representatives that do nothing about them, to legislature and governors who pass anti-constitutional measures, which are actually illegal, must not be tolerated.

They are the arm of the corporations. The police who beat on us, they do it at the call of corporations, overthrowing freedom. Read the Constitution and understand what these criminals are doing. They genuinely hate our freedom, they use their power to usurp authority over the document that governs them, and they are unlawful servants who have no regard for the citizenry.

Sincerely,
Joseph C. Carbone III

yawn... hippies taunt police, police poke them with night stick, police are now evil. repeat this same horseshit ad nauseam at every ,,protest".

it gets old people, it really does.

Residents of California pay $7,300 per semester. A Berkeley education for $15,000 a year.
What a rip off!

tuition goes up ....

too bad motherfuckers

along with salaries, what's the fuss about?

America used to work The people had work. The system worked. Hey, EVEN the Congress used to work...(sometimes). God knows, it was far, far, far from perfect - but at least we all had some share in the struggles AND the rewards. But somewhere along the way, we lost our way. And now we seem to have an economy and a political system that works only for the rich. And what they call "trickle down economics"... just leaves most of us out in the cold cold rain. We need to get back to what America was, and what it should be, and what it can be.  Occupy Wall Street is no longer just  a place called  Zuccotti Park -  Zuccotti Park is everywhere. You can try to pen us in, you can beat us and arrest us, you can mace and tear-gas us , and you can try to "permit" us to death....but you can't kill an idea. You can't keep down a people’s hopes and dreams for a better life.....a life with dignity and freedom....for us... for our kids. More power to Occupy Wall Street, as it spreads to every town and city - because  OWS is us, and for us, and by us. It comes up from the grassroots, and it lifts us up in turn. With OWS America has found it’s voice, and that voice demands fairness and justice. This land IS our land! AND WE WANT IT BACK! ...We want our lives back!... We want our future back! ....So why not take some time, find a quiet place somewhere, and consider this:  Each of us has only one brief life...one chance...and many choices. It’s time to choose...and to act.  If not now...then when?  If not you... then who? You DO have the power, my friend....and the choice is yours. 

americans have had an unjustifiably high standard of living since about 1973, they're just falling in line with global standards. unemployment in america is also among the lowest in the world. sure, the system isn't ,,perfect", yet it's better than the vast majority of nations out there.

the ows crowd sounds like a bunch of whiny little cunts to me.

join the Tea Party

Democratize the UC Regents!
http://ucdemocracy.org/

The University of California is an autonomous zone that basically answers to no one except the regents, who mostly look like central casting for the 1%.

My favorite flavor of reform is this one from back in '93:
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~...
9 regents elected statewide and 9 appointed by campus councils and confirmed by the Assembly. Hot.

Have you seen how much those guys get paid? They don't work for the 1%, they ARE the 1%.

Edit: n/m, I'm thinking of the chancellors, not the regents. (Their salaries are set by the regents, and they get upwards of $400k.)

Looks to me like the students need to set up stationary pikes to prevent forward movement of officers into them.  If the officers impale themselves on spears/pikes, that is still peaceful protest. Nobody forced the officers to move forward.

That didn't work when The Others overran the Black Watch camp at The Fist.*

*Please ignore this comment if you haven't read the second Game of Thrones book.

Motherfucker!  I'm actually reading it right now.  about 20% of the way through it.  Glad to know something at least happens with the wall in this book.  (But please, no more spoilers)

The wall gets mad fucked-up. And it's the Night's Watch not the Black Watch. Rookie mistake on my part.

Now reverse it. Is that an appropriate police tactic? Police using spears/pikes to prevent forward movement of a march and if they impale themselves it would really the protesters fault, right?

This from YOU!?!  Really? I think what really scares you about the idea is that it is a peaceful means by which to prevent protestors from being beat. The difference is that the police would be present on public property.  Or in this case, on a school campus where students actually have the right to be because they are students there.

I had some other ideas for defense based shields for protestors that only activate when the protestors is holding it, and somebody "completes the circuit" on the other side by touching it with, for example, a baton. At that point once the circuit is complete it could send electricity, or pepper spray, or god knows what.

That aside, either side impaling themselves on stationary pikes would not really be the fault of the ones who put the pikes in place.

Occupy managed to get hit by the cops again? ANOTHER SUCCESS!

will the police brutality at cal sway public (and media) opinion to favor the Occupiers?
http://littlebiggy.org/4660547

"An organizer must stir up dissatisfaction and discontent... He must create a mechanism that can drain off the underlying guilt for having accepted the previous situation for so long a time. Out of this mechanism, a new community organization arises.... The job then is getting the people to move, to act, to participate; in short, to develop and harness the necessary power to effectively conflict with the prevailing patterns and change them. When those prominent in the status quo turn and label you an 'agitator' they are completely correct, for that is, in one word, your function—to agitate to the point of conflict."

-Saul Alinsky

Bringing up "Saul Alinsky" is like dropping Wayne's World references in 2001.- Patton Oswalt

How many times in the past month have you read about police brutality rather than the message of the protest itself?

They also know that people will not listen to them and the news won’t cover them if they follow the law and actually peacefully protest.

Instead of actually peacefully protesting to get support for their ideas, they will instead resort to this tactic that they hope will garner support for their cause by making them look like martyrs.

There are ways to peacefully protest without police confrontation. You know as well as everyone else that these protesters want to confront authority. Since the authority that they want to confront isn’t around they will do the next best thing and confront the “agents of the status quo” with mob rule.

What Saul wrote is relevant and it is being played out before our eyes, word for word.

You know the easiest way to have a peaceful protest? Don't invite the police.

Have you dealt with a cop recently? I honestly believe they train them to bark out two contradictory orders simultaneously.

One of San Francisco's Fattest pulled me over the other day and told me to produce my license AND keep my hands on the wheel. 

"Fatty, I can't do both. Pick one"
"You know I could just impound your car right here"
"Which fucking one? Hands or license"
"Do you want to be arrested?"
"WHICH FUCKING ONE? ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTION?
"Give me your license"
"FINALLY"

Fucker let me off because he was way to lazy to actually write a ticket.

Or, if you do, don't disobey their orders on purpose to provoke a clash. 

It's their strategy--clashing with the cops--and the only substantive thing they've managed to achieve.

Of course, it ain't a protest in Oakland until you clash with the cops, so I'm not sure if this is an Occupy thing as much as an Oaklander thing lol.

get the billyclubs out

Most college students stand to benefit from a little bit of beating I think.

Or anyone who doesn't respond when the DJ asks, "Y'all feeling this beat?"

Great.  Hairy palms and blindness for everyone.

I only did it until I needed glasses. 

You can also see this from another angle here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

don't beat the stoners!

Can you see the violence inherent in the system??  Can you see him oppressing me?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

As a UC Berkeley student, I find this stereotype highly offensive. This is an academic institution that supposedly prides itself on its politically active history on the fight for free speech, yet there are always these direct ways in which they try to silence us, especially if people of color are involved. This is not an exaggeration. This is our reality. 

One of the other reasons why we are out there protesting is because of the 83% tuition fee increase. 83 Effin Percent. In one semester. We have every right to be angry at an institution that has failed us in so many respects, only to keep raising the cost to attend. One of our professors is in the hospital because of police brutality. We did not provoke the police. 

If ANYONE has a better idea of how to successfully protest and bringing about change, please, we would love to hear it! 

Bibiana Areola is an awesome nom de guerre.  Kudos!

also a worthwhile google image search!

Safe for work?

If you work in a porn shop or jack shack...YES!

Want to bring about change and lower the price of college? Simple, get the government out of the tuition funding

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!  

Miles that doesn't even pass the smell test.  Probably 90% of private universities are more expensive than public universities.

Again, did you watch the video and comprehend what he said? He’s
talking about the economic factors that go into driving up the costs for the
99% and what to do to make collage more affordable for everyone.

Of course private universities are going to be more expensive, public colleges are subsidized.

Did you even watch the whole video? It addresses your reply. If you understood economics, you would understand what he's saying.

If he's totally wrong, then tell me the truth. Why is it that colleges tuitions are so high and have been growing at a higher rate than inflation? http://www.fundmasteryblog.com...

Cheaper. For. Who?  The 1%?  Fuck them.

How about...choose a different school. There are a lot better things you could be doing then stirring up stuff causing the police to get annoyed. This whole country is getting ridiculous. Spend, spend, spend so we get to the point where it costs the people so much that they are willing to take up "arms" and fight against a system that is too far gone to recover. Inflation will happen anywhere. Whether it be to meet the demands of the failing economy, or to fatten the pockets of the wealthy in preparation for the fall of the failing economy. This all started in one country, and whether it worked or not is subjective. The point is that it all became monkey see, monkey do across the world and hit us country wide. We are on a downward spiral that no amount of debate or protests can stop. Just have to wait to hit rock bottom and try again and hope the same mistakes aren't repeated. Remembering the values this country was founded on wouldn't be such a bad idea either. Sacrifice, giving back, selflessness are some terms that are lost in today's society save for few.

Yes, because our entire society is based around not annoying the police. 

We are not on a downward spiral at all. This country is full of people and innovation that will change the world AGAIN. We just don't like the current beneficiaries of all this progress. Which I believe is WHY THIS FUCKING COUNTRY WAS FOUNDED.

"Sacrifice, giving back, selflessness" This is EXACTLY what the protesters are exhibiting. They are risking arrest, violence and all sorts of other hassles so that ALL students can stop paying for the inflated salaries of the administrators and all the other golden parachute bullshit that the 1% just don't understand they have to give up.

It isn't selfless to continue to impede the lives of of uninvolved citizens or good-faith businessmen. Now is it selfless to continue to drain public resources with all these silly police confrontations.

It's self-aggrandizing theatrics, and that's all it is. If they wanted to achieve the goals they claim, they would have already recognized this method ain't working and moved on to something more productive. Instead, I hear they're planning another clash with the police tonight. Great work!

You know, most people said the same thing when people began stirring up trouble with the King. The Revolutionary War inconvenienced quite a few uninvolved citizens and wasn't exactly popular with many people until it was won. Even then you had British loyalists.I'm fairly certain that if you'd asked many people back then that were having their towns burned to the ground by British soldiers (as opposed to not being able to get into your classroom right on time) they would have told you they wanted nothing to do with the war, they;d rather just pay their tea tax, and there was no way this could work anyway because England was just too powerful.

To be concerned that the police were annoyed is a rather pathetic position. Selflessness and giving back are great but that is not what this country wasn't founded on. It was found on questioning those in power and not assuming that they were untouchable when they screwed you over and implemented policies that step on your liberties.

How is that a reasonable suggest when you are in your 3rd year at an institution and need to just finish of your degree?  Not to mention they RETROACTIVELY raised the tuition 83%. In other words, you've already started the semester and suddenly find you owe more money than you agreed to when the semester started.

Please don't feed the automated trolling script.

Stage a recall for your local politicians and elect in someone that doesn't want to beat you, or someone who will take a strong stand for you. Civil disobedience has its place, but why do that when you have a stronger tool?

Protest is not the only form of change. In fact, it often changes little in today's environments. This is especially true in San Francisco and Berkeley. How many protests have you seen and ignored? How many protests have changed anything here? I'm not talking about having a bank close for a day. I'm talking about real change, not just a pause in the status quo.

You are a dumb ass. Plain and simple. Maybe Barack Obama will "Save" you... hopeless.

If you trust others completely to solve your problems, I'll agree that it is hopeless because that takes the individual impact out of any movement. Hopefully, people will do more than just vote or rant on SFist.com.

Oh come on.  It's not tuition it's a fee.

Bollocks. Did politicians raise the tuition? Are politicians deploying the police to remove fucking tents on a college campus?

I bet you're suggesting that voting will somehow change the behavior of Wall Street. You don't seem to understand the disconnect.

Like I said before, I spend half my work day with bankers, and all they are talking about is Occupy. 

Q: Did politicians increase the tuition?
A: Well, by my view, yes.

http://www.universityofcalifor...

(18) regents appointed by the Governer -- you could argue that these are political appointments, but whatever
(1) is a student appointed by regents - skip
(7) Seven are ex officio members -- the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the Assembly, Superintendent of Public Instruction, president and vice president of the Alumni Associations of UC and the UC president.
---
7 are definitely elected officials and the other 18 are directly appointed by an elected official. elect the right governer, get what you want.

Pitching tents on the campus lawn is only going to a) create more work for the maintenance staff and b) generate more revenue from REI/Target or wherever you picked up your tent from. It may feel good but it's merely childish and doesn't exactly get what you want long term.
-mm

OH SNAP! FACED!

You bothered to find the quango who upped the tuition +10 points.

You place inconveniencing the maintenance staff over free speech -100 points.

Okay, they are talking about it. And? That second step is the tough part, going from attention to influence. I have no idea what will change Wall Street's behavior (well, maybe regulation, but implementation takes time and people find ways around regulation). I thought we were talking about tuition for UCs and police beating students.

Who do you think deploys the police force? Do you think stuff like this happens without interacting with county officials? Those police were Alameda County sheriffs. The county sheriff was informed and consulted on something like this. In California, county sheriffs are elected. They may not authorize beating students explicitly, but they know problems will arise. Last I checked, politicians cut the funding for UCs because of budget problems. Budget problems were caused for a whole mess of reasons, but mostly because people didn't understand what they were voting for.

Change isn't about creating a huge show. It's about getting the work done that is messy, long, and complex. No protest will fix the problems with the state budget. However, your informed, coherent, and directed political action can.