Protest Actions

Facebook Post Friday, September 25, 2009 at 12:26am

It has been an emotional week so far with ups and downs. I can't report on it all. Here is a sampling, whatever comes to mind at the moment. This is long. The more tired I am, the wordier I get!
I am not a media junkie, so have not taken time to check out news websites or listen to more than a few brief public radio reports. Much of what I tell you is hearsay from others, and my perceptions of what I've heard, as well as my own interactions with others. Please be aware that there are many perceptions and many different reactions here, so mine alone can't give you a full picture.
I'll start with some challenges with "law enforcement," keeping in mind that in general I am feeling rather positive about overall police behavior so far. I credit Pittsburgh police influence for much restraint in security officials, and see harassment and arrests as lowkey compared to what many (including myself) have feared.
On Monday I mentioned the harassment of the Seeds Of Peace and Everybody's Kitchen volunteers who came to provide food and medical aid. The harassment continued and increased, but these amazingly organized and caring people have been preparing food on the run. I've talked with some very tired volunteers who keep searching for yet another place to park. The police have chased them out of private church lots, harassed neighbors so much that the neighbors asked them to leave, etc., and they keep on managing to come up with food. Their good-natured perseverence seems to have impressed the media. At first, I had conversations in a number of different contexts in which people were receiving misleading and sometimes very inaccurate information. Then the local paper printed a nice article, harrassment of other groups and individuals stepped up, and suddenly the public seems to be realizing one does not have to be doing something wrong and can actually try to jump through all of the correct legal hoops (like apply for permits way in advance, follow police directions, etc.) and still have trouble. You can read the Pittsburgh article : http://postgazette.com/pg/09266/1000175-482.stm
This evening at a meeting I attended, a man came in from the neighborhood to report on an incident in his neighborhood during the day. A group of people were arrested. He said there was no real warning or chance for people to comply with the police wishes, and people who tried to leave were arrested anyway. He watched one man go two blocks away to get away from the area and avoid arrest, and was still arrested. What I heard was an observer siding with the people being arrested. I heard other reports of Thursday's events which indicated an increasing level of support from Pittsburghers for the protestors.
In terms of actions, Thursday was the day scheduled for the G-20 Resistance Project, an action happening without a permit. Some called it illegal, some simply non-permitted. The plan was to gather in the neighborhood where I live, and take their message to the G-20 downtown. This was what many, many people in Pittsburgh have been scared about, and what people have been talking about for months. Some buildings downtown such as a large bank boarded up their buildings in fear of what would happen today.
The group was about twice the size expected. From organizers, I heard an estimate of about 1,000. I heard that both the media and the police were surprised. The marchers actually got much further than they expected, and went through several neighborhoods. One theory is that the police had to alter plans and figure out a different strategy since they weren't expecting that many. In general, the march was peaceful, nonviolent, respectful of Pittsburghers, and got quite a bit of support from people they passed by. They heard more complaints from bystanders about the excess reaction of the security, than about the marchers. The vocal support, cheering them on, may not get reported, but it was felt and appreciated by some in the march. Eventually, the police managed to divide the mass of people into small groups and disperse the crowd. One person reported that the demonstrators and police played "a cat and mouse" game for several more hours.
There was use of tear gas. I have not heard of any injuries. There were some windows broken, at a restaurant a few blocks from my house, at a bank downtown, and I think somewhere else. These were not group-coordinated actions, but individual acts. They might get the media attention. (Well, them and the Greenpeace folks who bungeejumped off a bridge over the Ohio River to hold a banner on climate change, or something like that.) I am told the destructive acts were isolated incidents and that just because a few people did something stupid does not mean the bulk of people were involved. Some demonstrators who might have supported a coordinated, symbolic group act of destruction were quite clear in their opposition to these attacks on local property. People are protesting the G20 policies, not Pittsburgh. My impression is that most demonstrators are clear about this distinction.
Over the past few months, I've heard news reports and rumors about questions of responsibility and authority regarding G20 security, G20 funding, and G20 planning. Recently, the radio reported good cooperation between federal officials and the local police. Today I heard that local police won out on who the national guard answers to. The national guard are under the jurisdiction of the local police. They were deployed today withOUT weapons. This is really good news!
As I said, the general report I heard this evening from three different sources is that all of the security officers showed great restraint. One person credited it to the fact that they don't want the world to see them beating up on peaceful protestors, with so many reporters present. One person credited it to the influence of local police who are generally good people. One person credited it to the positive power of the demonstrators. Whatever the reason, I thank God! I credit the many prayers for all of the players involved in this drama.
Some expect a small demonstration tomorrow. Some expect that the intense fear of many leading up to the G-20 summit will keep people away from the large legal (permitted) march tomorrow (Friday). I expect it to be large. It will be an international march. I've heard of contingents from Tibet, Ethiopia, Canada, and China, and I'm guessing there will be more countries' peoples involved. Several organizations are bussing in groups in the morning. The United Steelworkers will have a contingent, and I assume other unions will also be involved. (Unions have been very vocal this week in opposing many economic and labor policies of the 19 countries and the European Union meeting here.) Then there are the groups feeding into the rally and march from various points. The fact that things went comparatively well today (much calmer than anticipated) will, I think, increase the amount of local/regional involvement.
We'll see who's right tomorrow.