Sonoma County Daily Attacks Occupy Movement
By Shepherd Bliss
03 February, 2012
Countercurrents.org
The Sonoma County daily’s Press Democrat Feb. 1 editorial “Occupy
Movement in Ashes” is wishful thinking. Our phoenix will rise during
this month. You wait. You watch. You see.
Occupy is still an infant, having been born in New York Sept. 17 with
Occupy Wall Street. It is not even five months old and already the
local daily tries to editorialize it into ashes. Rumors of our death
are premature. We have made mistakes, including in Oakland. We’re
learning and experiencing what one activist calls “growing pains.”
Provoked by police violence in Oakland, a few cornered occupiers among
the 2000 present reacted. That has not happened here. The Sonoma
County Occupy Town Hall Affinity Group--of which I am a member--
opposes violence, as do the overwhelming majority of Occupy groups and
individuals.
I do, however, respect the right of self-defense by those cornered by
the police. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Violence is the voice of
the unheard." And as President John F. Kennedy said at a 1962 speech
at the White House, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible
will make violent revolution inevitable.”
What would you do when surrounded by a large group of armed, masked,
threatening, charging, and rioting armored men? I praise the brave
souls willing to face such police violence. As one occupier wondered,
“What’s next? Live ammunition?”
Punishing people in a democracy should be the job of the courts, not
the police, which Oakland police are notorious for doing. They fan the
flames.
Court-appointed monitors, according to The Bay Citizen (http://s.tt/15t9M
), recently “wrote in their quarterly report that the police response
to Occupy Oakland protests this fall raised ‘serious concerns’ about
the department's ability to ‘hold true to the best practices in
American policing,’ and promised a thorough investigation of the
matter. Last week, a judge moved the police department closer to a
federal takeover, writing that he was in ‘disbelief’ that the
department had yet to finish a series of court-ordered reforms.”
Why did the Press Democrat not report these relevant facts? The PD
carefully selects what to report and what to exclude. A daily
newspaper should represent various voices of its community, rather
than just the status quo.
Occupy has “officially overstepped its welcome,” the PD alleges. Since
when has the PD ever welcomed Occupy or officiated over such matters?
The argument that what a few people did in one city reduces the
national Occupy movement to ashes is without merit.
The PD asks occupiers to condemn the violence in Oakland. I condemn
the police brutality and criticize the much less violent behavior of a
few activists. I have done so within our movement and publicly, as
have other Occupy co-leaders.
Now, will the Press Democrat denounce the violence of the Oakland
police, who exercise unlawful authority? Or is there a double standard
here?
Burning the American flag is an inflammatory and futile act of
frustration that dilutes the main messages of the majority of
occupiers and our many supporters, which is to bring about fundamental
changes in our economic and political systems. When I was commissioned
an officer in the U.S. Army, I swore an oath to defend my country
against external and internal threats. I have kept that vow, which is
a big reason that I am part of the Occupy movement, as are many
veterans.
Violence by occupiers is a tactical mistake. The guns, other weapons,
and media are in the hands of the protectors of the wealthy 1%.
Violence is also a strategic and moral error.
The real violence that we should oppose includes the following: banks
that gambled and foreclosed on the homes of millions; corporations
that buy politicians with their big bucks; and stripping workers’
pensions and health care benefits.
Occupy does need to mature. Young people, especially, are desperate
today. Their college debts are astronomical and their job options are
minimal. Desperation can lead to violence. Long-term organizing is
more likely to be successful.
“Ashes,” you fantasize. Yet on Feb. 9 the Sonoma County Town Hall will
host its third of ongoing monthly gatherings in a downtown Sebastopol
church; 130 to 140 people attended the previous two. On Feb. 17 the
new Occupied Press—North Bay will show the film “Battle in Seattle,”
about the l999 shut-down of the World Trade Organization. On Feb. 25
Occupy Santa Rosa will support teachers unions in a day of action in
support of public education.
These are samples of the dozens of activities lead by Sonoma County
Occupy groups as we prepare to move from a reflective winter into an
action-oriented spring. Do these indicate “ashes?” You wait. You
watch. You see.
Perhaps your editorial represents what we can expect from the new
conservative Florida owners of the Press Democrat. Perhaps we need a
new newspaper here that reflects the 99%.
(Shepherd Bliss has owned an organic farm in Sebastopol for 20 years,
teaches college, and works with military veterans, of which he is one.
He can be reached at [email protected].)
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