From a friends FBpage.
Victory in Berkeley
I am very proud to be part of a community that mobilized an incredibly diverse 5,000 people yesterday (8/27) to demonstrate against white supremacy and genocide and to demand that there be no room for fascists in our community. Contrary to many establishment media reports, the day cannot accurately be described as a series of brawls between fascists and anarchists. On the contrary it was a day of spirited, militant and determined peaceful demonstrations, punctuated by a tiny number of direct confrontations with a handful of jeering fascists protected by the police and then chased away by the crowd.
Truthfully, the police were a bigger problem that the handful of right wingers who came to be Berkeley. The University of California Police Department reneged on its agreement to allow the Rally Against Hate to go forward on the grassy area on the west side of the campus. Overnight they surrounded the area with concrete barriers and demanded that anyone wishing to enter go through a single, narrow passageway and decreed that no backpacks would be allowed. Then, when we decided to rally on Oxford Street instead, a Berkeley Police lieutenant on a motorcycle showed up and threatened to arrest the driver of the flatbed truck we using as a stage for blocking the street - contradicting BPD's earlier agreement to facilitate the rally.
Fortunately - and I hate to admit this - the Oakland cops showed up and saved the day. Captain Holmgren and his crew blocked off Oxford so the rally of 2500-3000 could proceed in peace. Just after 12, the rally ended and most participants headed down Addison to MLK park, where the Berkeley police had set up barricades and check points.
Other groups mobilized elsewhere. On Hearst a coalition that included SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice), the Anti Police Terror Project, the Catalyst Project, and many others rallied and then started marching toward MLK park. After a few blocks we were joined by about 100 antifa activists dressed in black to create an inspiring demonstration of unity and determination to make Berkeley and the entire East Bay a fascist-free zone.
Once at MLK park people prepared to defend themselves against the kind of attack that left at least seven people suffering from knife wounds in Sacramento last June. Instead, the handful of fascists stayed behind the police barriers, some literally kneeling at the cops' feet as they hurled racist jibes and gave the finger to the anti-fascist protestors. People became predictably angry. I wanted to dismember one of the junior Nazis myself.
The police finally made the smart decision to deescalate the confrontation and leave the park. The anti-fascists, black clad and many others, chased away the few fascists who were stupid enough to remain. Remarkably, and contrary to some of the media narratives, the fascists escaped with their lives and without serious injury.
The successful mobilization demonstrated that the East Bay community, like Boston, will not tolerate fascists and their advocacy of genocide in our community. We demand that local politicians follow our leadership and urge communities throughout the country to unite against the alt-right.
~ Dan Siegel
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