Well, well, well... A cop's view of the 1st Amendment and #OWS ouster in Zucotti Park:

[Are_grits_groceries]

Shannyn Moore (@shannynmoore)
11/15/11 3:04 AM
RT @jamiekilstein: For fucks sake. RT @C0d3Fr0sty: RT @mpoppel:
RT @_rosiegray: Me: "I'm press!" Lady cop: "not tonight" #ows

It seems that the 1st Amendment, Freedom of the Press, Right to Peaceable Assembly, and a whooooooole of other rights are now optional and at the mercy of somebody's whim.
I believe that the PTB are worried about the #OWS movement or there would not be such force used. They don't just want to clear Zucotti Park. They want to scare anybody who is protesting or thinking of protesting. They are also making a huge effort in the media to portray the encampments as huge areas where heinous crimes are the norm 24/7.

They are also using the 'Counter Terrorism' units. Why? They want to label OWS and it's supporters as terrorists. If they can make that stick, that will not only lower public opinion, it will also give prosecutors the power to press punitive charges on the protesters. If you are accused under the terrorist statutes, the punishment is much harsher.

One last reason for using them s that it will give them practice. I fully believe that part of the reason we are seeing such over the top tactics is that those drawing up the raids want to test their maneuvers and their new 'toys.' It's like watching an army test plans for dDay on unarmed opposition. Even if the enemy is defeated in 5 minutes or on the run, that won't stop them from going the whole 9 yards.

[FirstLight]

1. it's going to get narly

i am so proud of the peacful tactics, and those who are willing to put their bodies in harm's way...

they are turning around a garbage truck by chanting!

[Tx4obama]

2. I know that no one wants to hear it BUT ...

Zuccotti Park is private property and the police did give legal notice for everyone to leave.

[Modern_Matthew]

4. Protect the property owner's rights at all costs. Fuck everyone else? nt

[Tx4obama]

6. So you want to just disregard the rule of law?

You want to only pick and chose which laws you want?
That isn't going to work out very well.

[Are_grits_groceries]

7. What does that have to do

with allowing the press to cover the story?

In addition, I repeat, they are in many cases using tactics and weapons that are not justified. They are not trying to use reasonable force as a first step. They start at the highest level.

[Tx4obama]

8. I agree that the weapons and tactics they are using are not justified ...

but the protesters need to move off of PRIVATE property and move their encampment to PUBLIC property.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. Be sure to share that information with OWS.

Telling US is not going to be effective.

[fasttense]

19. What rule of law? What are the rules of Law?

When was the last time a banker or CEO went to jail for fraud or murder?

When was the last time anti-trust laws were enforced? They are still on the books.

When was the last time the buy America act was enforced? It wasn't repealed.

When were the bushes jailed for torture? Hell, W himself bragged about authorizing torture. I remember a law somewhere that provides for prosecution, hard labor or hanging for torture.

You can't pick and choose what laws to follow and what laws to ignore? It seems to work for the 1%.

This nation stopped being ruled by laws and switched back to the rule of the whim of rich white men when the Dancing Supremes picked our President for us.

A handful of greedy rich men can only rule millions of Americans if they let them.

[WillowTree]

30. Ah, the tried & true "Two Wrongs Make a Right" rationale, That didn't take long!

[Leftist Agitator]

23. Not an exact quote, but...

The law, in its magnificent equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor from sleeping under bridges.

Oh, and let's clarify which law you're speaking of, the law that applies to the 1%, or the law that applies to everybody else?

[aquart]

11. And you still have it wrong.

[shraby]

12. Private property that is supposed to be open to the public

24/7 because they made a sweet deal with the city.

[Tx4obama]

13. Please post a copy of the agreement. I'm sure there is nothing in there about ...

folks being able to set up tent cities and live there 24/7.

[Fumesucker]

15. The cops just threw five thousand books in the dumpster..

Books are about as close a thing to sacred as I have, this outrages me.

What about that private property, eh?

I know, "it shouldn't have been there"..

[Fire Walk With Me]

18. The white reflections in the first pic are policemen dumping property into compactors:

[MFrohike]

14. This is disingenuous

It's private property that is required to be open to the public 24/7. While it may be owned privately, it is actually more public than just about any other public space in the city.

[lunatica]

21. You're a real cheerleader for the police

You seem to enjoy the violence. You do know that it's all coming from the cops right? Armed to the teeth in riot gear against peaceful civilians. You have noticed haven't you?

[DisgustipatedinCA]

27. you nailed it

This person needs a strong, authoritarian daddy figure to come punish the evildoers (and their evildoer tents too!). I'm filled with disgust when I think of the implications of that sort of thinking, especially by those who purport to be on the same side I'm on.

[hootinholler]

25. There's at least one Judge that disagrees with that position

Ordered the park reopened to the protestors and their equipment.

[sabrina 1]

28. We KNOW what Zuccotti's status is. Don't know why you keep

repeating this. The park's owners were able to buy it only on condition that it be available to the public 24/7. That is why Bloomberg has been unable to oust the protesters, this was made clear early on.

Your comment indicates you are not aware of the legalities involved, which are in favor of the people.

[Fire Walk With Me]

3. Pic:

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

5. She's a reporter for the Village Voice

also, CBS news helicopter forced to leave airspace by NYPD, NY TImes reporter arrested, Mother Jones reporter dragged out of park after refusing to go to the 'press pen'

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

9. another one that stood out

@JoshHarkinson Josh Harkinson
Sweaty guy in suit and neon vest ripping off signs: "I've been waiting a long time to do this."

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[malaise]

17. You are correct

but nothing they do will stop the movement - the establishment are scared.

[reggie the dog]

how can the garbage collectors union go along with this?

seriously the sanitation workers union helped the police break up ows by driving the garbage trucks that all the shit was thrown in, i am disappointed with that union big time

[reggie the dog]

20. how can the garbage collectors union go along with this?

seriously the sanitation workers union helped the police break up ows by driving the garbage trucks that all the shit was thrown in, i am disappointed with that union big time

[quaker bill]

22. Since when

was true protest ever afforded these rights as a general principle? Such rights have never been without limit. The right to peaceable assembly and freedom of the press only went so far in Selma. Then the protesters got fire hosed and I am pretty sure reporters were beaten and arrested. When you want to march across a bridge, they line up and stop you, when you want to occupy a park, they line up and evict you.

People were angry with law enforcement at Selma too. One should never undertake such actions with expecting harsh treatment and preparing for it.

When we rallied to protest Trident missle deployment the arrest procedure was negotiated with the police well in advance, folks would cross the fence, one at a time, sit down, be cuffed and hauled off to the waiting vans. Since there were 10,000 of us facing off with 50 heavily armed police and soldiers an orderly process was needed to protect lives. 450 people were intentionally arrested that day and no one was hurt. It was all planned.

The unannounced bit was that all of the 450 had no police record, carried no ID, and identified themselves as John and Jane Doe. This bottled up the courts and local jails for weeks and made plenty of news. Kind of an "occupy the jails".

[Are_grits_groceries]

24. It may never be afforded,

but it should always be demanded! At the very least, those in power should Know that people have a clue.

You are right pointing out that the protesters should be ready for harsh treatment. Remember that a lot of them are new to this. Experience may be the only teacher.

You seem to be sneering at those who are protesting and those that demand their rights. If I'm wrong, I apologize. I don't think anybody should apologize for asking others to follow our supposed ideals.

[quaker bill]

26. I have no issue I know of

with the folks on the front lines. Quakers honor a tradition of getting arrested for non-violent civil disobedience. We have been doing it here or there as the occasion arises for 350+ years. My point is that this is a serious undertaking that one goes into knowing the consequences.

It is a protest, camping out in the park "occupying" it, is an illegal act. It would not be all that much of a protest if the actions were legal and generally accepted behavior.

When you knowingly step outside the law, some of your "rights" (or as Carlin called them "temporary privledges") vanish. It is the nature of such things. There are a very large number of ways one can speak freely and gather peaceably, completely legally, so the right is not gone. However, if these legal ways were found sufficient, there would be no reason to protest. Thus the connundrum. If speech requires illegal action to be heard then the speakers will forfeit some of their rights, every time.

Non-violent civil disobedience would lose much of its power if no one ever got arrested for it.

[WillyT]

29. K & R !!!

:kick: