Comments

2
I hope you kids vote. Especially for city council. Especially against Jean Godden.
3
What does Jean Godden have to do with this?
4
Thank you for posting these! I'd seen the livestreams of some of it, but these are much better filmed. The protesters seemed to get a lot out of the experience.
5
Poor Occupy protesters can only afford Macbook Airs to record their videos. So sad.
6
@3: Because Jean Godden doesn't give a damn about police accountability.
7
Is some dude iChating that?
8
And more importantly, that Thai place is still there?!
9
The cop with the sunglasses on his head sure took a lot of shit from the guy in the orange vest without losing it.

Also, if you try to shove a cop up against a vehicle by pushing on his bike, you're lucky if you only get pepper sprayed.
10
Way to go, Occupy Seattle. Good work on confronting cops and completely losing sight on the greater issue of finances running our government.

How much support are you going to need to lose before you realize that you all have become a mockery of the Occupy Movement?
11
@10 Implying the whole Occupy Movement wasn't a mockery of itself from day one?
12
Are our outrage-o-meters expected to hit the red zone over supposed 'police brutality' here?
13
Actually the Occupy movement is driven by real, serious concerns.

The fact that it seems to be taken over by hipsters looking to cause trouble is troubling. However, even though the current incarnation in Seattle seems to be doomed to devour itself, the anger and underlying injustices driving the movement aren't going anywhere soon. Expect more of this.
14
"The whole world is watching!"

Heh, that made me laugh. Seriously, the protesters are doing more to improve the image of the police than if they hired a PR team. Last year, it was all hate stemmed from John T. Williams murder, but now, geeze I almost feel sorry for these guys in blue. These protesters are way out of line and the cops held considerable restraint.
15
@13 When every Occupy protester is running around with brand new smartphones, Macbooks, and other expensive trappings, their rantings about wall street carry little weight. In debt? Surely all that fancy, expensive Apple equipment isn't to blame, right? I mean, it's not like you can be expected to survive with a voice/text-only dumbphone and a cheap, older PC, right? Shit, you went to college? Why didn't somebody give you a job already!?

The problems Occupiers have were brought on by themselves. You blame Wall Street for pushing commercialism, but look who was buying. Want change? Take a look in the mirror and start there. Nobody else is forcing you to live beyond your means.
16
@15 - Exactly. Protesting with North Face backpacks and iPhones. Cute.
17
Occupy Seattle has now firmly put me on the side of SPD. Good work, guys!
18

How awesome to have the SPD kicks the fuck outa' the Milk Monitor in the orange vest, and put it on pay-per-view.

Budget deficit: Solved.
19
Not easy to portray the SPD in a sympathetic light, but these OS idiots have done it.
20
Except for the hotheads, I thought it was a good action. I also think that if the police continue to use the restraint they have been that, ironically, it will improve their standing with the public.
21
I would really like to know who instigated the pushing between the guy in the construction vest and SPD. Sure seems like he was instigating the police by going on back to them and the police were really making sure to NOT cause any 'brutal force'. The police, I see, are now really trying to be patient with us and just have crowd control. We need to respect that.
22
ToddO and McNutt- totally do not know what Occupy is, then. If you are not involved, you do not know. Occupy is not just out protesting. And we are entitled to own technology that helps us in everyday life. It doesn't mean that a protester/occupier has to be poor-ass broke. This is where people like you, still part of the 99% as well, don't take initiative to even do your research before you judge. Most of the 99% are middle-class citizens. And we are fighting for EVERYONE- from the homeless, to the jobless, to the sick and dying, to the uninsured. Not just ourselves. Because we aren't selfish and greedy like the 1%. And, we will have those few who fuel off of adrenaline and rage and push it too far (like the guy in the orange vest). Like prothe113 said, we will always have those few to make the movement look bad. The rest of the protesters were on a mission and successfully following through with it.

Just remember, again, those protesters are fighting for all of us.
23
Someone needs to keep the young hotheads under control or they'll blow it and make us all losers. If all the peeps in New York can maintain a peaceful, organized protest, then what's it say about Seattle, if we can't?
24
I'd just like to point out to you inconsiderate fucks that the police were turning a peaceful, non-violent protest into a very angry, violent one. I was doing nothing, and trying to leave when I got pepper sprayed. The canister was pointed directly at ME. The officer had targeted me, someone who was not only just being pushed around the crowd of people like it was the mosh pit at a Nirvana concert, but was making his way to the street to leave, since someone screamed "Mace is coming!". "Supposed police brutality" my ass.
25
I was completely behind the occupy movement, but this video is disgusting. People flat out assaulting police repeatedly, like the guy in the orange vest. Only in seattle would cops be told they have to put up with that abuse with an absolute minimum of mace. The cops should have maced the holy hell out of the entire crowd. That was disgusting to watch.
26
So, the police get congratulated because they carried out acts of oppression in a fairly diplomatic manner? Seems like you guys are missing the point. What the police are doing is wrong, no matter how much "restraint" they show while doing it. They are supposed to protect and serve the people, not violate their rights in order to protect and serve their corporate masters.

Also, being a college town there will be college students. SO some of them have expensive phones and backpacks? So what? Those phones and backpacks and attending college are going to leave them saddled with tremendous debt in the form of school loans. They have valid complaints.

In case you didn't realize this, the Occupy movement is made up of a wide variety of demographics. Not all occupiers are rich trust fund kids. I am homeless, and I have been involved in these protests. Several of my friends are involved, and their statuses vary. One is a single mother who works for Microsoft (I know, major corporation, seems hypocritical, but her child has to eat and our system doesn't leave us many options), another is a high school teacher, and a few are college students. Perhaps if you are going to criticize this movement you should get out there and meet some of the protestors and learn their stories. Or, continue sit at home, get your info from mainstream media clips, and bitch about, and judge people and situations that you really don't know anything about.
27
I was completely behind the occupy movement, but this video is disgusting. People flat out assaulting police repeatedly, like the guy in the orange vest. Only in seattle would cops be told they have to put up with that abuse with an absolute minimum of mace. The cops should have maced the holy hell out of the entire crowd. That was disgusting to watch and massively endangered the cops. Anyone could have grabbed a weapon from one of them with no 3 foot rule enforced. Way to go, Occupy Seattle. Good work on confronting cops and completely losing sight on the greater issue of finances running our government. You're going to ruin this movement just like you ruined WTO. Don't you think the 1% WANTS you to make this about battling cops? Jesus.

28
So, the police get congratulated because they carried out acts of oppression in a fairly diplomatic manner? Seems like you guys are missing the point. What the police are doing is wrong, no matter how much "restraint" they show while doing it. They are supposed to protect and serve the people, not violate their rights in order to protect and serve their corporate masters.

Also, being a college town there will be college students. SO some of them have expensive phones and backpacks? So what? Those phones and backpacks and attending college are going to leave them saddled with tremendous debt in the form of school loans. They have valid complaints.

In case you didn't realize this, the Occupy movement is made up of a wide variety of demographics. Not all occupiers are rich trust fund kids. I am homeless, and I have been involved in these protests. Several of my friends are involved, and their statuses vary. One is a single mother who works for Microsoft (I know, major corporation, seems hypocritical, but her child has to eat and our system doesn't leave us many options), another is a high school teacher, and a few are college students. Perhaps if you are going to criticize this movement you should get out there and meet some of the protestors and learn their stories. Or, continue sit at home, get your info from mainstream media clips, and bitch about, and judge people and situations that you really don't know anything about.
29
I feel for the SPD too. They were provoked. They are behaving admorably. Occupy is going to loose credibility if they don't stop looking for a fight with police.
30
Yup. I agree with most of the posts here. OS does not look good. The SPD were provoked. They are behaving admorably. Occupy is going to loose credibility if they don't stop looking for a fight with police. I agree that this is a great video for SPD PR. I'm very proud of them. The trouble makers need to get out.
31
@22 FYI, you're not entitled to shit. If you can afford technology, great. Buy it. If you've already bought it (and own it outright, not on a credit payment plan) nobody should be able to take it away from you.

Next, "if you are not involved, you do not know," is bullshit. Nothing more needs to be said about that.

Third, the 99% and 1% are arbitrarily designated. Supposedly that refers to the 1% wealthiest people vs. everybody else, but that doesn't work. Nobody would say Warren Buffet was not in the 1%, but he's for higher taxes on the rich. That's what Occupy wants, right? Better distribution of wealth? Well, here's a rich guy saying, "Take my money, please!" but he gets lumped into the 1% because you defined it poorly. Personally, I like to believe that the 99%/1% refer to people who accept responsibility for their lot in life and work to change it on their own (the 1%) and people who want to blame anything and everything other than themselves for the state they're in (the 99%).

Fourth, Occupytards don't even understand basic economics. Based on chants from the video, they're against bank bailouts (hello, Tea Baggers!), but do they know what would've happened if the banks didn't get bailed out? It isn't pretty. They're against people having their houses repossessed because they can no longer afford the mortgages, but did they read the mortgage papers? The house is collateral for a loan. You agreed to pay the loan. If you can't pay the loan, the bank gets the collateral instead (the house). Change that and you fundamentally change contract law, and not for the better. Is it the owners' fault? Yes, absolutely. They spent beyond their means, buying houses at ridiculous prices that they couldn't afford even if they hadn't been laid off (assuming they have been laid off, which they probably haven't -- unemployment is somewhere between 9% and 13% depending on what number you're looking at, which means 87-91% of people still have jobs).

But you're right, maybe I don't know what Occupy is about. What I do know is that the poster child for the 99% is a girl whining because she graduated from college like she was "supposed to" and wasn't handed a job afterward. The poster child is a kid in North Face gear sporting an iPhone, iPad, and Macbook Air who has probably never worked a day in his life and is living off of mommy and daddy's money, yelling "Fuck the police!" and trespassing in parks and banks.

They're fighting for me? I fucking hope not. I want nothing to do with them.
32
@31 Your comments!! I'm in love! Not everyone out there is a hippie dippy, raging moron!
33
I am an Occupier in another city. If this movement is to survive, we have to train people in nonviolent confrontation. The guy in orange vest completely violated the rules of nonviolent engagement. He never should have kept physically coming at the officer. That was just wrong. And it is completely counterproductive to the movement. Younger people need to look at history. Look at WHY the movements by Gandhi and King were successful. Nonviolence gains support. Hooliganism loses it. This movement more than most will depend on influencing the general population. This will not convince anyone to join us (unless they, too are interested in being there for the wrong reasons - harassing the police, looking like they have been victimized in order to tell their buddies they got sprayed.) Seriously, we have too many problems to solve to sacrifice all of this work to those who are sabotaging us! If you are a legit protester and you see someone around you doing this kind of stuff - correct them; stop them! We have to police ourselves first.
34
So anyone with a smart phone or some decent gear doesn't have a right to be angry at the state of affairs in this country? Hope you have a nice North Face sleeping bag to pull over your head and shield you from the light of day.
35
@31, word up.
36
SPD, you guys showed amazing restraint in the videos that i saw. hard day to be on duty, good on ya guys

you protesters? go die in a fire. you're just being fucking trouble makers more than anything at this point
37
@34 What do you want to change? How have you constructively tried to change it? How does this protest do anything to move forward a conversation about what needs to change and how?

Also, you don't get to have it both ways. Occupytards are bitching about student loans, debt, joblessness, etc, and then they show up in expensive gear. Which is it? Are you poor? Or do you have surplus income to spend on luxuries (and yes, those are luxuries)? Or are you an idiot who had to have the latest iWhatever and were willing to go into debt to get it, and then want to bitch about that debt? If you're in the first category, okay. Let's hear what you have to say. Why is your situation the way it is, what have you done to try to make it better, and what's holding you back? How can we help? If you're in the second category, shut up. You're doing fine, there's no beef there. If you're worried about people worse off than you are, stop buying iShit and donate to local charities or volunteer your time. Do something constructive, not destructive. If you're in the third (idiot) category, that's your own damn fault.

Obviously these categories are not exhaustive, and there may be people with legitimate debt issues (reasonable mortgages that are within your means are "good debt"), though often that's just not the case. How the fuck do you get $100k into student loan debt? You obviously couldn't afford the school you chose, you couldn't find or didn't try to get scholarships, and you didn't search out any alternative funding like the military or "saving fucking money". Schools will pay you to attend grad school, and if no school is willing to do so then maybe you ought to think twice about what you're studying.

There are legitimate ways and means of creating change, and then there's "row row fight the powa!". Occupy is the latter.
38
@ToddO. Occupies don't necessarily want to tax the rich, they want to know why they are being taxed, where their tax money is going...etc. Having rich help out doesn't solve the more basic problem of government spending, and I know this probably sounds too "Tea Bagger" for you. Our country spends way too much on wars that profit private interest, for example. One of the main goals of the Occupy movement is to regulate private corporation's ability to indirectly channel tax money to themselves. You have some valid points, but that doesn't mean that the people at Occupy Seattle don't have any. You've been commenting here for nearly 6 hours now, but you're pretty much in a conversation with yourself and what's more unfortunate is that there is a discussion for all of what you're complaining about-at Occupy Seattle.
39
The only person that kept the peace in this video is that red-headed guy! SPD was just as unprofessional as the protestors, considering the expectations for the two. There could have been many ways to handle this, and clearly, the best way was for people to speak to people like they were human beings!
40
If anyone is judging Occupy Seattle or the Occupy movement solely on these videos then they are doing themselves a disservice. If indeed you believe you have effective strategies for improving society please come to OS and share them. There are many working groups to join, or start a new one, or just come and engage some people. Find out for yourself.

If, on the other hand, you don't think there are any real systemic problems in this world and the only problem is college kids with too many toys, or we only have ourselves to blame for war, environmental degradation, homelessness, financial crises, epidemic under-employment, erosion of civil liberties, political corruption, and many other real issues, then I hope you enjoy the kool-aid.

If on the other other hand you just like to tear earnest people down for the fun of it...well maybe someday we can have a productive conversation.

41
Also, why does everyone seem to magically forget about CREDIT and DEBT when criticizing Occupy? Could it possibly be that students pay for all this "expensive gear" with CREDIT and LOANS?! I mean most of the 20-25 y.o. I know pays for everything with credit cards because all of their CASH goes directly to RENT. In order to get clothing, hot food, books, phones, computers, quality of living items, etc. they use credit cards because there is NO other option. These are the people WITH jobs/aid. And what cash they get is either from a part-time job or grants.

In America, we are expected to get credit cards and rack up debt in order to live because that was Capitalisms' answer to not raising the min. wage to match the cost of living. Yet, the Federal Reserve and numerous corporations have fucked with the economic system and they did it without any protection. Guess what, America got an STD from all that fucking (remember 2008?) and we're trying to get rid of it! I know it is hard to admit that maybe The Powers That Be made a mistake, but they won't be the first leaders in history to screw up and get overthrown by the people... and they won't be the last. History dictates that Occupy must happen and it must continue to grow. Choose the right side of history now and it'll save you a lot of trouble later on. No? Well, hold on to being stubborn against... the truth of the inequality of our failed economics due to the systemic risk of American capitalism... and eventually, you'll find a place in Occupy that's right for you.
42
No offense, but most of the people posting in this thread don't seem to get what is going on here. The occupy movement is broad and embraces a wide diversity of tactics. That is why it is still growing -and admittedly experiencing growing pains- at such a huge rate. And -as someone keeping up with information from a lot of the occupations- I can safely say Seattle is in no way the "laughing stock" or the "bastard child". They are all struggling for identity and tactics and they all do some things that work and some that don't. This is one of the weird but beautiful things that has enabled them to spread so quick. It may undo them as well, but I doubt it. In fact, even if the occupations die down, the movement is clearly here to stay.

Critiquing protestors for being entitled or "not really the 99%" because they have access to Macs and other relatively expensive technology is a straw man argument. It detracts attention away from the real issues and is extremely divisive. But it's also not surprising to hear in Seattle. Ironically, it's the very same people making that argument who also go after the campers for being "dirty, homeless anarchists" and the weekend protestors for not being willing to give up their day jobs. I would guess most of the folks making such criticisms have not been to any of the occupy actions and don't plan on attending them. In fact, I would guess most of them are your typical middle-of-the-road Seattle liberal who thinks making a small donation to some progressive group every so often and voting the Stranger ticket means they are a civicly-engaged person. This is an extremely popular self conception in Seattle and is totally wrong. In fact, if anything makes us the bastard child of the occupy movement, it is our city's uppity, self-righteous indignation and fear of real social action. In short, don't knock it until you've tried it, which I'm sure almost none of you have.

Oh, and btw, I agree that the cops were behaving pretty well during parts of these situations (although I think pepper spray is obviously uncalled for here and in most other situations)... but this does not mean they should be applauded or the protestors vilified. If anything, we should point out that cops should be keeping their cool ALL THE TIME, which they obviously have not been during a majority of the actions here and elsewhere. And, speaking as an activist who has been pepper sprayed a number of times, I can tell you it is rarely called for and always torturous.
43
It's good it didn't totally break out, but there were some rowdy moments. I would have liked to have seen less pushing and shoving, and more organized chanting. The people laying down in front of the van were fantastic. There should have been hundreds of people laying down completely surrounding the cops and the vans and then just ...laying there, maybe singing a song or something! That's non-violent civil disobedience.
But I wasn't there (this time, although I have been at some of the other marches) and I understand that when the energy starts getting high and the possibility of confronts becomes real, it can get hard to keep a lid on things.
Overall both SPD and the protesters could have responded to the situation a bit better, but they also both deserve to be lauded for not letting it really break out because there were some moments when it could have, and they avoided it.
It's a bit sloppy,no doubt, but this is how change comes and history gets made. If people were not willing to push the envelope, get out there, and in some cases, die, we wouldn't have a lot of the rights we take for granted today. So I'm still 100% in solidarity with Occupy Seattle.
44
CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE. Who are you? Call yourself a journalist? Your only comments on posting this are PEPPERSPRAY!!?
45
It's good it didn't totally break out, but there were some rowdy moments. I would have liked to have seen less pushing and shoving, and more organized chanting. The people laying down in front of the van were fantastic. There should have been hundreds of people laying down completely surrounding the cops and the vans and then just ...laying there, maybe singing a song or something! That's non-violent civil disobedience.
But I wasn't there (this time, although I have been at some of the other marches) and I understand that when the energy starts getting high and the possibility of confronts becomes real, it can get hard to keep a lid on things.
Overall both SPD and the protesters could have responded to the situation a bit better, but they also both deserve to be lauded for not letting it really break out because there were some moments when it could have, and they avoided it.
It's a bit sloppy,no doubt, but this is how change comes and history gets made. If people were not willing to push the envelope, get out there, and in some cases, die, we wouldn't have a lot of the rights we take for granted today. So I'm still 100% in solidarity with Occupy Seattle.
46
I've been to a few of the occupy seattle events and i honestly have to say i'm done in seattle. if they were more organized like oakland or had a remote direction i'd join back up. i feel like most people go down there to yell at cops now, not stand up against corporations. i keep tabs on occupy oakland on a day to day basis because they are actually doing something. sad to say it but seattles occupy is becoming a joke. no direction, not leadership, just a bunch of angry people being angry. compared to the rest of the country the SPD has been beyond respectful and if i were them i'd start to lose my nerve as well. if there was more organization maybe they'd sympathize with protesters, but after watching this.. jesus, i'd buy a cop a beer. it's not WTO, the cops still haven't shot rubber bullets or tear gas like in other parts of the country. focus on the cause and not the cops and maybe occupy seattle has a chance. otherwise it's just an anti authority movement that appeals to no one other than radicals.
47
It's easy to make myopic judgments from just a few short videos. These kids are at least being brave and doing something. None of us know who they are or how they acquired laptops or ski jackets, there are various ways of getting that stuff cheap. And that isn't the issue, it is in fact, nothing, compared to the damage being done to our environment, our economy, our education system, and at war due to the relentless pathology of greed ruining our country. Leave these kids alone. Turn of the abstract safe-haven of your computer and hit the streets...show us how it's done.
48
Police is instigating the violence as always... Pulling people from the crowd and arresting them just to show off their enormous powers that they have over citizens. Of course these protesters will be angry at police after this! Old way of scaring Americans who are following the constitution are less and less effective. American police unions are mobs, there can not be any sympathy for absolute powers, regardless what they do!
Make sure you vote this elections! ALL council incumbents are endorsed(bought) by the Seattle Police Guild. An absolute power doesn't need so much voice on the city council!!! People have no rights when it comes to police unless they have money to hire a $20k lawyer?! This is freedom and democracy?! The world is laughing at us!
Vote for radical police reformers like Dian Ferguson, David Schraer, and Dale Pusey! Get rid of police guild endorsed incumbents like Sally Clark and other police union darlings!
49
Protesting, standing up to the police, camping out together for a common cause... it's an adrenaline rush, it makes you feel a part of something, it's a moment in your life you will always remember. And there's also a chance it will serve no greater purpose than memories.

I agree with many of the arguments of the Occupy movement as well as the frustrations, but I don't see the how protesting at this point in time ultimately changes anything. To me, this is a battle the lower and middle class will have to win with their wallets and ballots, not with picket signs and tents. If Occupy can harness the energy of the movement into changing how people spend their money and vote, then maybe this will have been worth it.
50
I have protested since #occupyseattle beginning, and we come off looking real stupid here. The five people who entered the back of the bank were participating in Nonviolent Protest, but they knew they would be arrested. What was the point of blocking the police? What was the point of shoving the cops back?
I'm sick of hearing "The cops are the 1%" "All cops are murderers" Our focus was the bank. If you choose to be arrested, accept that responsibility. Learn something about Non Violent Civil Disobedience. We made our point. There was NO reason to block the van, begin banging and rock the van (which happened near the front), messing with the tree? WTF?
Notice that most of the Police attention was on the Bandana Face Brigade and the Anarchist Flag Guy. The movement is nonviolent, no matter how much you want to disagree. It was voted on. Anarchy accomplishes nothing, except make you all feel like "Fight the Pigs" tough guys. You will destroy support for this movement if you continue your "Circle A" Revolution.
Enough.
51
@15 @16

You're totally missing the point. Is that on purpose...or are you just incapable of understanding?
52
@50 Chris, can't agree with you more.
53
PS, to all...@15 is obviously a troll. Would advise not wasting your time responding.
54
Not sure if Occupy is really about anti-consumerism. I thought it was about getting government out of the financial business?
55
Incredible: all those people out there in the rain.

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