.
Chalk one up for the people who wanted to see arrests over chalking
One continuing disagreement that we’ve had within Occupy Orange County is over the extent to which Occupy should focus on defending our First Amendment rights to free speech and free assembly versus trying to rally people to support our substantive critique of money and power in government. Almost everyone in the movement agrees that we want to focus on matters such as the destruction of the middle class, the ability of the financial sector to destroy the economy without punishment, the role of money in politics, etc. How, though, do we do it? We are fighting to get people’s attention — and people rarely give sympathetic attention to opposition politics willingly, especially when (unlike with Tea Partiers) people get arrested.
That was the fundamental problem we had to solve with Occupy Orange County. We knew quite well that getting arrested in a civil disobedience First Amendment protest would alienate most observers around us, at a substantial personal cost to people in the movement, without likely gaining much support for our movement. So, we cooperated with Irvine, Fullerton, and (with less success after five fatiguing months) Huntington Beach to be able to exercise our First Amendment rights to their limit without breaking the law. We got some decent publicity, etc.
Some anarchist-tending folks within the broad and heterogeneous Occupy movement (not, by and large, originally from OC) wanted to provoke confrontation with the authorities for its radicalizing and attention-getting effect. The idea is that by overreacting, the police look really bad to the viewing public, and then mumble mumble mumble and then capitalism falls and is replaced with anarcho-syndicalism. (Or with neo-feudalism. These things can be hard to predict.) I don’t agree with the point, largely because I don’t think that a true revolution in the U.S. would point us in the direction of social justice, and I think that it detracts from achievable goals like reversing Citizens United, repealing Glass-Steagall, etc.
That said, it’s easier to provoke confrontation than thought, so I understand why this view has its appeal. Particularly, if one can provoke the police to do something really stupid and extreme, there’s the chance that the public could turn in one’s favor. But the question is: how can one get the police to do something so stupid?
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Los Angeles Police Department!
Based on Twitter reports, it seems like OccupyLA members handed out chalk at the regular monthly ‘Artwalk’ event, after recent arrests at OLA for chalkupy actions. Many non-occupiers began using chalk and creating their own art, which is when riot police attacked.
An initial arrest of a woman for chalking, shown in this picture, drove the crowd (most of them non-occupiers or activists) into the streets.
Facebook post from Occupy Austin
I’m having a hard time confirming exactly what happened, but I do know that there have been recent arrests prior to this in Downtown LA for chalking. I don’t know whether they’ve been for chalking “on sidewalks” (which I understand to be legal) or chalking on the grounds of public property (which I understand not to be legal.) To me, the right to chalk on sidewalks is a First Amendment right mildly worth defending and the right to chalk where it’s illegal is hardly worth asserting — but the right to be free of violent and disproportionate police responses is worth fighting for (even though I think that it detracts from a focus on the core concerns of Occupy.) And, sure enough, the LAPD has apparently provided the overreaction.
This is from a Facebook post from 3 a.m. or so from the Occupy Orange County page:
Congratulations to the LAPD — unless something really important has been left out of the story (which is always a possibility), YOU win the “Stupid Overreaction Award” of the day. You’ve radicalized a bunch of people who were not part of Occupy but instead just part of an ArtWalk, you’ve given the anarchists within Occupy a bloody shirt to wave, and chances are that you’re going to lose a lawsuit or two (or more) over this as well.
A smart city government, rather than sending out police with guns shooting rubber bullets, would have send out janitors with push brooms and buckets of soapy water. The people who want Occupy to be about “chalking” win this round — who can defend the needless violent attacks on something as minor as easily-cleaned chalking? I don’t think that this helps us get money out of politics, but if the police want Occupy to be about opposing police brutality, it looks like they’re going to get their wish.
Here’s a great song for the occasion from 1973 by 10cc that some smart band will no doubt cover soon:
“Load up, load up, load up the rubber bullets!”
I’m otherwise occupied — heh-heh — for most of the day with both work and family commitments, but I invite Occupiers and others who are following the events to include links to other reports that may shed light on events. Vern (or me later) can update the story with them later.
Sorry, but I completely disagree with your assertion that “anarchists” are the main culprits behind provoking the police to behave violently at last night’s Art Walk in downtown Los Angeles. It appears to me the clash occurred primarily because local merchants didn’t like the idea that members of the Occupy movement were coming on a weekly basis to protest gentrification and inequality by chalking up public sidewalks in the area, which is technically considered to be vandalism, a misdemeanor offense. Art Walks are gimmicks that are orchestrated by the downtown business interests to attract upper class consumers into the area to generate revenue for restaurateurs and boutique owners and inflate the real estate values of billionaire developers who own most of the properties. Now that summer time has arrived, the merchants, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Police Department, are engaging in a coordinated strategy to force the Occupiers out of the downtown area to make way for the class of wealthier folks they want to attract. I don’t condone what rock and bottle throwing that may have took place last night, but to scapegoat “anarchists” for the violence is scurrilous and ridiculous. It serves the purpose of diverting attention away from the real issue here: the downtown business interests, the cops who are beholden to them, and the Mayor and City Council–almost all Democrats–who are in the pockets of billionaire developers and have been pursuing policies that benefit the 1%.
That’s how they describe themselves, Duane. Take it up with them.
Artwalks are not Gimmicks Duane!
Art and creativity are not gimmicks!
(We have actually used Santa Ana Artwalk very successfully to spread messages of social truth. It is up for grabs. and the people need to own the Artwalks.)
Using and exploiting Artists and art for the sake of gentrification maybe the Gimmick.
but the majority of fans and patrons of art walks are not those business folks.
Anarcho-syndicalism for the win! Red and black flags everywhere, fuck the police.
If chalking the sidewalks will change the direction of politics, reverse Citizen United, restore Glass Siegal, or get Universal healthcare for all then give me a nice big piece, and I will draw all day long. I know its about free speech. But for me, I see it as losing focus. Occupy Wall Street started in Wall Street. Its still about Wall Street. So what if people are allowed to chalk anywhere they want, even spray paint; will that change things? I would like to see people brainstorm about ways to actually change things and I don’t care who they are, Occupiers, Democrats, or crazy cat ladies. I want constructive ideas. We are in serious trouble and we arguing over this? We are exactly where the 1% wants us.
When we go out to protest, is there a goal? Strategy? Any organization? If the goal of chalking the ArtWalk was to get media attention, it worked. Was it to proke the LAPD? It worked. Everyone knows the LAPD is a rough group. They always will be, but they didn’t create the mess America is in.
Business owners downtown and anywhere else will be protective of their property. This is how they earn their living. Is their some corruption? Probably. The goal of the ArtWalk is supposed to bring people there to hopefully spend money. I remember not to long ago writing about an art community that was upset a certain religious group would buy their building. Why were they upset? Yes! And in my opinion, rightfully so. They feared that this church would drive away business. They said they feared their art would be censored or replaced with religious pieces, and I am sure they did believe that but the bottom line is that people need to earn a living to buy more supplies to make more art and pay rent on their studios. All this is perfectly legitimate.
Who knows what the next step will be, with regards to chalking, but I would like to see Occupy to get back on message and focus on Wall Street.
You’re right, standing up to injustice is a terrible idea, we should stop doing that. I’ll tell you this much, no amount of sign holding is going to change anything in Wall St. It’s not JUST about Wall St, for every injustice is related. War, racism, sexism, homophobia, environmental disaster, 3rd world slave labour, workplace exploitation, police brutality, ITS ALL THE SAME FIGHT.
The police work as agents of the ruling class, they are class traders whose job is social control and protection of property. To enslave the poor at the benefit of the “1%” (terrible class analysis btw.) As long as they do their job as police, they are our enemy, and deserve to be targeted by direct action. How are we supposed to target Wall St. and ignore police, when the police are the ones that stifle our dissent? To say the police are not our enemy is foolish, irrational, and downright dangerous.
Follow the money and it always comes back to Wall Street – the 1%. And the next time someone robs you or physially hurts you or your loved one, who are you going to call? Police enforce the law, they do not create it. As long as you see things black and white you will not be able to move forward. You are using the same blanket statements that I hear when people talk about Occupy. You are the one who is foolish, irrational and downright dangerous. Why not try to be more creative and think outside the box? The tactics that are being used now are expected. They know how to respond to angry protesters. Why not come up with something they don’t expect.
“Let people know that it is necessary that we must unify on ALL levels, and all the areas of oppression we must deal with them.”
I think that these are good points. I’m bothered when Occupy turns from criticism of Wall Street &c to whether we have a First Amendment right to chalk (and, moreover, for the non-violent majority to be able to continue with a demonstration once someone else there throws a rock or bottle, if that did in fact happen here.)
On the other hand, I am confident that there was a better way to handle this than with rubber bullets.
Occupy LA is involved in criticizing gentrification and the way it’s creating a huge push to harass and kick out the homeless and others in the community. They’re doing awesome work for people who suffer even more than they – and make no mistake, a lot of OLA people are in financial dire straits too because the economy has been rough. Chalkers have been arrested for exercising their (court approved) free speech rights. So they organized a very smart protest against these arrests, gentrification, and LAPD.
Well, they found the nexus of all these forces. Art is being used to attract people to the businesses, to gentrify the area. Business operators use the police to force out non-customers. Criticize this change, and the force of police is used to enforce control, exposing the gentrification zone as a class-war zone.
I can’t accept the notion that Art Patrons are the enemy. For one thing, Double Eye would kill me.
Allon, if you think chalking will solve our problems, chalk away.
Btw, of course it’s the anarchists who are to blame. Always is. Sometimes I really wish liberals lived a day in Greece, or anywhere else besides the US where people actually PROTEST, not just hold signs. That’s not protest, that’s just complaining. US is way too pacified. It’s probably the white privilege, liberal self-righteousness. Pacifism is not something to be praised, it’s a dangerous mindset that will achieve nothing, and just leave even more dead and injured along the way.
That anarchists wanted a confrontation does not mean that they were “to blame.” Try reading the post again.
This is what happens when some people at a protest want it to be non-confrontational and a few want it to be confrontational — if the police want a confrontation, then the “few” get their way.
As for the rest — “thanks for your opinion.”
If the police want a confrontation, it’s going to happen, no matter what. There’s some sort of idiocracy in getting attacked and doing ABSOLUTLY NOTHING about it. It’s defeatist, and it steers people away from the movement. People want to see us stand up for ourselves, not just get our asses kicked. If the police want a conflict, then it’s going to happen, so might as well fight the fuck back, and in all honesty, if you don’t agree, then you, and everyone else who thinks the same way are the cancer of Occupy, not the autonomous individuals who say “We’ve had enough” and defend themselves. I’m sick of this anarchist defamation. We, including myself, have bent over backwards to please you Occupiers, and still you give us shit, as if we, the ones who actually will fight for our freedom, and take fucking batons and risk our freedoms, are treated as if we don’t belong…in a movement that accepts virtually fucking everyone. Btw, anarchism is the ideology that favors working class revolution the most, I don’t mean to sound pretentious, but if there was a vangaurd for the working class, we are it. We’re an asset you can’t afford to lose if want to win. You liberals can have fun with your little parade. As far as I’m concerned, I’m done with this Occupy shit, at least in OC. You guys are accomplishing nothing, and condemning people who are more willing then your privileged asses to actually do something about it. Occupy is dead, but you can go right on ahead feeling accomplished for holding signs and walking a little bit, and go home feeling proud of yourselves, but in the meantime, we’ll be doing our thing, and you better stay out of our way, because if you collaborate with the system, you are the system.
I don’t know who you are; I have no idea whether you have even been involved in Occupy OC at all. If you’re “done with” us, adios.
If no one threw rocks and bottles at the cops, then the cops were fully in the wrong. I don’t know what the truth is about that and it’s conceivable that people who were there wouldn’t even know the truth because they would not necessarily see a bottle hurled at police from elsewhere in the crowd. That doesn’t mean that I conclude that bottles, etc., were thrown. I hope not. But would you have even been opposed to it if they were? Looks like you’re trying to say “we were justified in doing it, but we didn’t do it.”
I’m glad that you didn’t mean to sound pretentious. If you think that the cops are not going to fight back when you fight back, you’re an idiot. Most people I’ve seen who took that “forceful resistance” position, though, were not actually willing (let alone eager) to get arrested, so spare me your revolutionary slogans. I and others have real political work to do in changing people’s minds and activating them on these money and power issues — and you’re not going to help us “win.”
The people throwing the bottles and rocks were not Occupy. They were just residents who didn’t like what they saw, and were angry at the police. The Occupy activists are battle hardened and know not to throw things. They seem to take arrests and beatings weekly for their heroic work. Only one Occupy activist was arrested – the rest were regular people who saw the police going too far, and fought back. Hundreds of regular people at Art Walk experienced their turning point, and became radicalized.
I was around during the Civil Rights movement and it was achieved by peaceful civil disobedience. Ever heard of Martin Luther King? Gloria Steinem? Bobby Kennedy? The rights you take for granted today were achieved dring the CR movement. Didn’t you learn that in history class? And by the way those marches were organized and they had goals, some of them planned to be arrested. There were also calculated, planned actions like when Rosa Parks was arrested. Do you think a photographer just happened to be sitting on the same bus? Thats what I mean by thinking outside the bus.
Ahahahahahaha noooooo, not the regurgitated MLK and Ghandi bullshit. Yes, you’re right, MLK and Ghandi’s pacifist movements did it all. The Black Panthers and the militants in the Indian independence movement didn’t put any pressure on the ruling class at all. You’re right, letting cops beat the shit out of you will totally work. That’s like saying you defeated a bully by giving him your lunch money. No, the guy who walks up to save your ass from getting beat is the one that stopped the bully. But please, resume your white privileged liberal rhetoric, violence is always bad! Even when used to break the chains of oppression. That is the most arrogant shit I’ve ever heard, especially coming from people who have never experience true struggle, and NEEDED violence to protect themselves in their lives.
Chalk one up for the anarchists.
Allon,
I find you hilarious. You act like you know all about me, but it just shows how naive you really are. If it makes you feel better about yourself then thats ok by me. You are young and you think you know it all. You think you have gone through struggle? You haven’t even started. You will have a whole lifetime of disappointments. Its called life! You think chalking is acting like a revolutionary go ahead, be a part of history.
Allonblack, your last reply says it all. Kudos! You win the reality prize!
Greg, maybe it is time for an updated post. Considering that it appears as though most of the arrested and angry and confrontational were not the occupiers that brought chalk but the night life peeps that were really shocked to find the LAPD storm the Art Hood like they did. Did anybody see any Red and Black Anarchists in any flicks from any YouTube or media sites? If Occupy actually orchestrated a physical hand off of responsibilty to the general public then that was a brilliant tactic, but it probably was more organic than that. But let’s add it to the playbook anyway.
I’ve been away from my computer since around 5:00 (due to a visit from relatives.) I suggested in the original piece that people should offer updates in comments.
When I wrote about “anarchists” (I didn’t want to write “self-described anarchists,” because I didn’t want to insult anyone, but that might be a more appropriate term) I was talking about those who have been pushing “right to protest” issues because they want a confrontation with police.
If you as a protester know that chalking is likely to provoke a police response — assuming here for a moment that the police weren’t responding to actual rocks and bottles, about which there are conflicting reports — you have two choices: (1) promote chalking or (2) avoid chalking.
Promoting chalking leads to a confrontation, a casus belli, and maybe a successful lawsuit (if you can afford it.) The confrontation changes the subject away from Occupy’s substantive critique of money and power and turns it to “right to protest” issues.
Not promoting chalking in such a situation makes it more likely that the topic can remain on the substantive critique. It is a tactical decision not to press one’s point about one’s right to engage in actions that may (or may not) be legal because doing so is just not a top priority.
You know which of these I think is more valuable. Nevertheless, once the conflict exists, I stand with the peaceful people who were shot with rubber bullets and/or arrested and demand that the police not use such tactics — for all the good that will do.
No, let’s NOT add getting the police to arrest justifiably surprised and angry art patrons (or other people) instead of Occupiers to our playbook. I suspect that you were just being arch there. If we won some over because they got caught in the melee, that’s well and good, but if they get the idea that we dragged it into them intentionally they’d be right to despise us.
I am not sure if that was a joke or not about getting the common consumers involved. I think the most important question is, why are the police being so bold as to use rubber bullets on the innocent without fear of repercussion, especially legal repercussions. The LAPD was successfully sewed in recent years for sloppy riot handling weren’t they? On the first days of Occupy L.A, the public was allowed to own the streets, figuratively, with practically unsupervised marches in the middle. Yet, since the Occupy L.A. eviction we have seen the appearance of a different mentality. we saw 1,300 cops one night. We know of rubber bullets being used then with some severe injuries. We know of media blackouts. Is it possible that city of L.A. and LAPD has been given special green lights as to experimenting with urban riot control. Homeland Security, NDAA?
I agree that that’s the most important question now. It demands investigation.
I see basically four possibilities: (1) there was no reasonable provocation (such as if the “provocation” was literally about chalking), (2) there was provocation by infiltrators, (3) there was provocation (rocks and/or bottles thrown) by a small portion of the crowd, or (4) some more widespread provocation.
The first three don’t justify this massive and extreme of a response. I don’t think that the fourth one does either — but so far I see no evidence for it.
I’m going to post another story on that theme. My theme here was that by making chalking the issue, we made this a about our First Amendment right to protest rather than our substantive issues. But what’s done is done — and there’s no justification for this overreaction — so now we have to address this issue.
I wanted to hear your response before posting this, but I am going to sleep now.
check it.
http://www.kfiam640.com/pages/NEWS.html?article=9653697#ixzz1kRqP86i7
yes this lovely group of people did nothing . uh hum yeah sure they are the real 1% the far left loons that they are including their leader on this site .
one of my favorite shows on television is “whale wars”. it is the only show that can make you root for the japanese. the self styled protectors of the whales attack the japanese whaling fleet with prop fowlers, butiric acid, smoke bombs and then accuse the japanese of violence when they shoot water cannons at the zodiacs attacking them. they board ships, which i think is piracy, and then claim that the japanese have “detained” their people.
the people at the art walk, be it a small group of outsiders or instigators, did the same thing, as did my compatriots at berkeley and ucsb in the 60’s and 70’s.
at some point, these people crossed the line, by throwing things or simply failing to follow an order to disperse. they deserve what they got.
guys like greg and vern need to both separate themselves from these morons and get them under control. the tea party may be just as extreme but the revolution they are fermenting is a revolution by the rules. greg is attempting, with his candidacy, to implement revolution by the rules. the people who play outside the rules, be they anarchists or wall street fund managers, deserve to be punished
First, willie, thanks for the thoughtful comment, a complimentary part of which I must reject.
As with the Civil Rights Movement’s tactical rejection of non-violence, my rejection of civil disobedience in Orange County is merely tactical. It doesn’t work here; it alienates a populace that came here because it craves security from rule-breaking and has little compunction about seeing the rules enforced selectively and aggressively. Elsewhere I’ve favored it and participated in it. If you don’t think that there are things getting arrested for, you’ve lost the spirit of our Founding Fathers, our Civil War leaders, and our leaders of a century ago in labor rights.
To me, one of the most damning thing about the Tea Party is that I don’t think that they ever get arrested — or even risk it. That tells you that they’re on the side of power. Occupiers have risked arrest not over tossing smoke bombs, but simply over legitimate and legal passive resistance. (Show me a Tea Party sit-in, if you can. Lots of brandishing guns publicly, maybe, which goes unpunished, but no embrace of personal risk of liberty. Risk of looking silly doesn’t count.)
Here’s where I don’t think you’ve earned your conclusion:
If they threw things — if! — then they had to expect a proportionate response. They had no reason to expect this sort of disproportionate response. I don’t want Occupy to be about the right to protest; the police and those who instruct them apparently do. At some point, though, they get their wish; the Art Walk Chalk Massacree may have earned them a lawsuit and more.
By far most of the people I’ve met in Occupy aren’t “morons,” they’re pissed off and despairing over the hijacking and looting of our society and government by the wealthy and privileged. My “control” over them — which is “influence” at best — is limited to making my case for tactics that I think are best suited to the moment and place — and to argue for ruling out physical violence and property damage entirely.
The fact is that Occupiers are doing something to push for the punishment of Wall Street fund managers and their ilk — and few others are. Yet the anarchists, other Occupiers, and bystanders have paid more of a price in pain and liberty than all of the Wall Street fund managers and Tea Partiers combined. I think that that deserves some respect — tactical disagreements notwithstanding — and hope you’ll agree.
If teabaggers don’t get arrested or have police violence directed at them, it’s probably because the police don’t plant provocateurs among them.
At least in part, yes. Of course, worrying too much about who is an agent provocateur can drive a protest movement crazy; I prefer to just set the limit so that any violence or illegal property damage is out of bounds, which gives the provocateurs little to do.
i have nothing but respect and admiration for people who have the conviction and courage to risk arrest, and possibly physical harm, to press a political point or grievance, be it that woman collecting signatures in costa mesa or an occupier in los angeles. what i take issue with is the dishonesty with which a small minority frame the issue in the hope of manipulating the larger group and the public. if the intent is to provoke the police and get media coverage of a police riot, then be honest about it and do not simply claim that all you want to do is make some chalk art on the sidewalk. i have been on both sides of a police line and it is not until the police are provoked beyond a point of tolerance or there is a good faith belief, from their perspective, that there is a threat to life and/or property, that they act. and yes, they do have an obligation to protect property, as offensive as that might be to some.
civil disobedience is a powerful tactic but there are consequences and those who choose to engage in civil disobedience must accept those consequences with out attempting to distort the facts. and while civil disobedience gets the headlines, guys like greg and steve young, who want to get into elected office and change the rules will, in the long run, be much more effective. i only hope that they do not become fully effective until i am able to move the rest of my holdings to the isle of mann
I basically agree. (But seriously, “Isle of Man”? You can do better than that.) However, the provocation here (handing out chalk) seems pretty mild compared to the massive response. I probably wouldn’t have done it because I’m sick of all of the chalk talk, but even so I don’t think it could reasonably be depicted as provoking the police past the point of tolerance. If it did, we need different police there.
I just posted a follow-up story that you might (or might not) enjoy.
the wife likes europe and hates the carribbean. what can i do
This isn’t about chalk or graffiti. (hate graffiti)
It is not about the free speech issue. (I for one,do not feel that hindered in my speech)
It is about Occupiers calling out Wall Street, Corrupt Capitalism, Police Forces that are bought with monied politics and the connection between all three.
It is about the fact that the Police Forces are being used as tools of movement suppression and the main stream capitalistic media is working hand in hand with them.
It is about the fact that the LAPD stupidly tried to suppress chalk writing with an over reach of force instead of managing chalk painting with a citation/ticketing effort.
They thought that they could participate in an Occupy Riot, and blame it on dirty Occupiers.(As I am sure some occupiers were more than happy to facilitate)
Instead, they scared and injured and revealed themselves to a whole lot of new Downtown patrons.
These were not the “L.A. Occupiers” taking the middle of the street. It was mostly the Art Walk patrons, now Occupy sympathizers. “O” hand signal.
That’s the story I’m getting from Occupy people, including those who were there. If true, it needs to get out. See my new story, just posted, in which I’m calling for an independent investigation. I hope that we can all get behind that.
planking, owling, chalking-all good stuff for entertainment. If you have no life, hope, or dreams go chalking and make a mess for other people. when you cried mommy held you. now you cry and no mommy so you mark up the walls. good for you.
wat
This is as good a place as any to tell this old story which I don’t believe I’ve ever told on this blog.
When I was at UT Austin getting my Master’s Degree in Music Composition, it took me a lot longer than it should have because I went all over the campus taking classes that had nothing to do with music and I didn’t need for my major.
For one thing I took all the American history courses I could from the great late activist Dr. Tom Philpott, author of “The Slum and the Ghetto.” Unfortunately Tom was manic depressive and sometimes went off his meds, and the last time he did he shot himself in the heart. (1991 or so)
Anyway, he used to tell this story from his Chicago days, which I remember well because I heard him tell it twice:
He was on the “front lines” at the famous ’68 Democratic Convention when the crowd of protestors was facing off against Mayor Daly’s cops. The situation was getting increasingly tense. Someone behind him, a well-dressed black man, kept yelling, “Rush the pigs! Rush the pigs!” Tom turned around irritated and said “Why don’t YOU rush the pigs?”
The man replied with a haughty air, “My good man, you just don’t appreciate the place of leadership in a revolutionary movement.”
A few minutes later somebody DID “rush the pigs” and from there on mayhem ensued – batons, tear gas, rubber bullets and all. Tom turned to look for the man who had been using his “leadership” to call for exactly this confrontation, and saw this “leader” running away as fast as he could.
And the man was STOKELY CARMICHAEL, soon to be a controversial, outspoken “Black Power” leader. “From that day on,” Dr. Philpott used to conclude, “I’ve referred to him as ‘Stokely MOTHERFUCKER Carmichael!” And then he would mutter under his breath to himself, with disgust, “My good man…”
And yet that’s the year he married Miriam Makeba. Life can be unfair.
Sometimes I do feel like we’re repeating the history of the Civil Rights Movement as farce. If so, then I’m with the SNCC faction, watching the would-be Panthers become tragic heroes. It’s apparently what the opponents of Occupy want to foster; they know how that worked out last time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H8N61v9Z9A