Occupy brings violent protesters

By Paul VanHevel
Copy Editor

The peaceful occupation of Wall Street was intended to spread awareness on the current state of the economy and the discordance of income inequality that exists in the growing disparity between the wealthy and middle class.

However, with this rise in public awareness the passive, nonviolent and diplomatic practices of the Occupy movement has become increasingly distorted as protesters and public officials shed the fundamental values of a peaceful protest.

Demonstrators and the authoritative groups responsible for regulating peaceful protests are eliciting momentary acts of violence.  With the frequency of these violent outbreaks is it possible that demonstrators have strayed from their original initiative?  Have police exceeded their own authority in their efforts to keep the peace? Where does one draw the line between what is expected and what occurs during controversial upheaval? Will the lack of leadership within the movement sacrifice direction in order to achieve the desired change?

These questions come to mind when demonstrators begin to form sub-factions that don’t always yield to the conventions of the various Occupy groups.
In Oakland, California, a group of rogue protesters, who became known as “provocateurs,” by Oakland city officials, turned a peaceful demonstration into a riot.  These individuals took advantage of the Occupy Wall Street movement and used the juncture to demonstrate their anger rather than illustrate their civility in the application of change. Some “provocateurs” were wearing dark garbs, hooded attire, and bandannas to conceal their identity as they scrimmaged with Oakland police, shattered windows, vandalized and set fire to the downtown area.

Equivalent measures are prominently seen on the authoritative level as peaceful demonstrators are subjected to the malignant repercussions of police brutality.

On Friday Nov. 18, a group of University of California Davis students associated with the Occupy movement gathered on campus with their arms locked peacefully protesting tuition increase, department cuts and layoffs.  The Chancellor of UC Davis, Linda Katehi issued the use of military grade pepper spray at pointblank range on students who refused to leave the protest site.

As a consequence of these dispersion techniques two UC Davis officers and Police Chief Annette Spicuzza were placed on administrative leave.  In the coming weeks these public officials will be held accountable for their decision to use forceful crowd control methods in their efforts to divert peaceful protesters.  The unorthodox use of the chemical irritant led to the intensive treatment of 11 students, two hospitalizations and 10 arrests.

If these acts of violence continue to exert themselves as a platform for the Occupy Wall Street movement, will this firmly establish the movement’s cause or discredit the efforts of those who are striving to implement change?  If protesters and authoritative bodies continue to clash, it will be impossible to regulate the corporate companies and governing bodies that systematically control the top one percent of the nation’s wealth.

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Posted by Ajcoop on Nov 28 2011. Filed under Editorial, Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

AJ Coop