How bout that Occupy movement huh?
Oh wait, I haven't heard from them for months now. What happened to those guys,
they just fizzle out or something? Well as it turns out, throughout the last
few months Occupy Wall Street is still going and the occupation in New York as
well as many other cities has continued. Just recently though have they started
to get back into the spotlight. This weekend sure got them there. If you
haven't heard, which is quite possible, Occupy Oakland decided they hadn't had enough
action in awhile so they went on a little trip. A trip to an abandoned building so
that they could re purpose it as a "social center, convergence
center and headquarters of the Occupy Oakland movement." So sounds nice
enough right? Some hippie activists going to turn a place into a hippie
epicenter, right? Well thats not the case here, as things quickly deteriorated.
The tear gas and smoke bombs came out and joined the riot gear and batons in an
onslaught on the protestors. But this time things went somewhat
differently.
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Protestors met the police forces
with some violence of their own, with reports of protestors openly throwing
bottles, rocks, flares, and allegedly improvised explosive devices. (in other
words firecrackers) This display of violence aimed back at the police is something
that has been observed before, especially with the Oakland branch of Occupy. It
must be the Raiders fans or something, but Oakland has been a very hostile
environment for these protests.This time things seems to really take a riot-ey
turn when protestors unleashed their secret weapon: corrugated metal. Yes that's right folks, Occupy
Oakland has learned how to use shields and it is oh-so-terrifying.
“The shields are becoming stronger, larger and more mobile,” Watson said. “We’re in a dangerous area for law enforcement.... We are being assaulted, and when we react to those assaults, we can’t penetrate shields like this.”
Rocks and bottles and a
freaking bicycle these guys can handle, but a shield? No freaking way man, not
possible. Its not like they have had shields this whole time too or anythi- ...
oh wait. But seriously, this random "riot' has become somewhat of a norm
in America now. And that's something to think about. If this keeps going on,
which it has a possibility of doing, since neither side wants to give any
ground, then riots could be a bi-weekly occurrence. "You see last week’s
riot? Yeah it was a doozy." could be the new phrase at the water cooler.
Even though this would greatly liven up water cooler conversations, riots would
no doubt be detrimental to America's stability. Look at the riots in London
from last summer/fall. Those conditions aren't that different from the ones we
have here in the states. Imagine that for a second, an America so accustomed to
riots and protests that weekly occurrences are the norm. Surreal isn't it? But
maybe not for long. So right now is pretty much the make or break point.
Elections are coming up, summer is coming back. With that, occupy will gain
more strength, it’s obvious. So the battle of wills between the government and
Occupy Wall Street will commence. Who will win??? You
decide! <=(Dramatic ending)
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