Another day, another white Seattle radical appropriating black outrage for anticapitalist propaganda.

@1 Yep, that is about the extent of it.

Is there any connection between Caffe VIta on Capital Hill and Caffe VIta in Olympia?

#1 not propaganda...anticapitalist reality...the current economic system uses racial paranoia to keep white and black workers divided.

The fight against racism has to include a fight against austerity and neoliberalism, because the chronic unemployment and economic uncertainty caused by market austerity economics makes it impossible to create a non-racist society. Market economics guarantees that a large faction of white workers will embrace race hatred out of the belief(nurtured by the uncertainty)that ANY gains for workers of color are going to be losses for white workers.

Want a non-racist society? For that, you've got to have a full-employment economy, decent wages, and workers winning a real say in what happens in their workplace. That's how we end racism and that's how we build genuine democracy.

If we stay with market values, we are doomed to a racist society forever. The market economy only survives by keeping working people at war with each other, and cannot tolerate feelings of fraterity/sorority or any sense of the greater common good.

The last thirty-three years of unrelenting theft from those below by those above proves this.

@3. It's the same company.

"The man we arrested kicked and damaged an officer's bicycle."

Was the officer and buddies using the bikes as a battering ram against the protesters because that's like ruining the officer's uniform by bleeding on it.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/15…

#5: thanks. I actually realized that once I saw the sign.

Doesn't our state use sales tax revenue to fund schools and other programs that these protesters want more of? Why yes...according to this site, 68%-75% of school funding comes from sales and property taxes:





http://www.fundingwaschools.org/index_fi…





The only impact this will make is that the people shopping today in brick and mortar stores will shop online - TAX FREE - next Black Friday, thus more revenue for Amazon etc.... Its a win-win all around for Amazon and other on line retailers.





Not enough brain cells to go around in that crowd to make the connection between sales tax and how shopping funnels revenue to social programs.





Way to go kids - you probably lowered the overall sales tax haul for the state with this protest. GOOD JOB!

@1 There could be any number of reasons for Seattle's fruit basket of leftists to be down there, not just evil capitalism. They could be there to show solidarity with the latest

Palestinian bus bomber. Others may be demanding the release of a cop killer like Mumia, Monfort, or Peltier. These are always diverse crowds with well thought out demands.

AinWA dear, calm down. There's plenty of stores in Washington State outside of downtown Seattle.

But really - protesting a Christmas Tree lighting?

Josh Trujilio reported on Twitter that the protesters surrounded a large group of 7 year old carolers and protests at/toward them, leaving them in tears. Way to grow allies, idiots. You target anyone BUT kids.

@ #8: The fact that we use a regressive sales tax to fund basic state services is part of the problem. Our poorest citizens pay a far higher proportion of their income (via sales tax) to taxes than our wealthiest members. Washington State is one of the least fair when it comes to taxing our citizens.

Marching with the Revolutionary Communist Party to stop a Christmas tree lighting. What's not to love?

The cops are protecting Westlake Mall? What's the point? The most civic minded thing the protesters could do would be to was cause irreparable damage to that dump.

Re: "Hands up, don't shop" / "People over profit Black lives matter" . .

Well I don't know if the far left of Seattle can possibly be more confusing. If I was one of these people shopping with kids in downtown Seattle or watching the tree lighting ceremony I'd just be thinking what the fuck does Michael Brown's murder have to do with my shopping, my being downtown, my freedom to walk into whatever building is open for business, my freedom to enjoy a classic tree lighting ceremony with my kids for a memorable moment. "Great, traffic and everything down here was already crazy now you protesters are jamming everything up worse." "Fuck you if you and your white privilege are inconvenienced, at least you're not dead at 18 . . " is what I figure a protester might want to shout back. Sigh.
At least with WTO '99 downtown was getting shut down to disrupt a governing body unaccountable to any of us, while at the same time leading a global economic system we're all at the mercy of. This though? I can't even tell what the fuck the goal of this is, or how shopping or a christmas tree lighting has anything to do with Michael Brown. It just seems like an unfocused tantrum or something. If there's a connection it's probably a hell of a stretch.
How is it that the focus isn't set squarely on the police in this country? With a goal such as radical reform of our police departments from the top down? Because if that doesn't happen we're just going to have the same shit go on and on, nothing getting done but more outrage for each wrongful death, assault, etc by police

You anti-cop folks, your passion is amusing (I don't mean that in a snarky way) but I don't even understand why you're still living in Seattle. A city like Seattle will always have a solid police presence. You might want to try a small town. I read about a protester saying more cops on the hill leads to more confrontations. There's a lot of crime and assault and gay bashing on capitol hill so if you want less cops there maybe come up with a plan to keep more people safe without them. This talk of these businesses on the hill asking police to help keep black people away or whatever, how the hell do we even know that's true? Could easily be nothing but a bullshit rumor, or a wild extrapolation

@12

Do you believe him?

what @1 said. for the first (and hopefully last) time ever, I hope the cops crack some skulls down there. What a clusterfuck of misplaced fake suburban white rage. Fucking dipshit fiesta.

What a bunch of fucking jackasses.

Throwing fits, excuse me protests, has been the lefts go to strategy for as long as I can remember. Meanwhile the Tea Party, despite being massively unpopular, has accomplished more in 4 years than the left has in 40 by focusing on the one thing that really matters, winning elected office. While we build puppets and block traffic, they field candidates and move legislation.

All this has done is to ruin a whole lot of people's day so a bunch of self righteous activists can feel like they are doing something. Maybe even get arrested! No laws will change, no real battles will be won, no more than after the last hundred rallies.

Protests have their place, like Sawant's protest at Alaska, but if you're going to fuck with people at least fuck with the ones who actually deserve it.

Threatening and bullying 7 year olds. Way to go anarchists, way to go.

@21 Glad to know that you approve of picking on and threatening children.

whatever happened with the racist westlake mall cop assaulting and kidnapping that guy? Nothing I assume?

@21

Indeed! Clearly, the best way to make sure the lives of black children matter is to prevent adults from buying them christmas presents.

@8,



Washington residents do not shop tax-free from Amazon.

Shop Bellevue.
Free parking, and you won't have to put up with this bullshit.

Ok I get some of this, the Mike Brown racial part. After all cops really do treat Blacks differently than Whites even as a WASP male I've seen it up close personal and in action.



I get the economic side, Reagan FUCKED the middle class up the ass using sand as lube on behalf of extreme wealth and the country has been slowly bleeding to death out of a split anus ever since.



I even get the umbrellas at a protest though visually it is really weird, then again... Seattle. Still where else in the world would you see umbrellas at a protest? Its like a Monty Python skit.



But what really puzzles me is why the fuck are police trying to use cops on bicycles for crowd control? WTF! Horses people horses. A well trained mounted police detail can control a crowd and when need clear a path to move in foot patrols and other support remarkably well. A guy on a bicycle one shove and he's worthless.



Oh and when not being used for crowd control mounted cops can be great PR props.

About time someone protested Meinert.

I still have not seen ONE SINGLE PICTURE of a child of any color crying!?? With the several hundred cameras this is shocking, especially given the numerous pics of the caroling children huddled just a few feet away from the peaceful protesters -not a tear. I don't want kids to cry, I'm just saying don't make that statement if its simply not true.

Wow hundreds of cameras and not a single pic of a single kid crying? Not one parent's account of their child crying at this event? Could that simply be an untrue statement?

Reading the comments led me to one conclusion: never fuck with American's ability to purchase cheap shit made in China at discount prices or they will cry and bitch like a bunch of spoiled brats that they are.



Seriously, you lost three hours of shopping at Westlake. Get the fuck over yourselves.

@31: exactly.

"i hope they crack some skulls", "shop bellevue", "you approve of picking on and threatening children".

heaven forfend a parent had to explain to a child why all those people are mad. they might actually learn something about america besides consuming.

Yup you made children cry, you win.

@33: you know what else makes children cry? fucking everything. literally, boo hoo.

protesters shouted, "enjoy your slave labor goods!". and then also tweeted the same on their iphones.

I disagree. I think protests like that on days like Black Friday are just another sideshow attraction on a circus day. It made the participants feel righteous, but that's about it.



The left needs to realize that it's not the 60's, and you don't win people over by messing with them. "Fighting the power" isn't about peasants shoving each other, it's about storming the castle.

I'm amazed how many people bitched about Kirk Cameron's movie that supports the materialism and gluttony of the holidays and then on this thread end up supporting his fucked up thesis. Seattle Liberals = Hypocritical Assholes

#1 called it correctly.

@ 37, keep on being pure, and ineffective too.

@1 and @16, yep. White anarchist 20-somethings have a lot of unfocused and self-righteous energy that in this case has nothing to do with the racist bullshit in Missouri. I was in Wednesday's march, and what I appreciate is that it was coordinated and led by black folks. Yesterday's bullshit is privileged straight white self-identified anarchists who will grow up to make more money than the rest of us. Fuck. You.

Damn, I bet the Stranger is kicking itself for reporting from Alderwood instead of Westlake this week.

@29

Try the King 5 video footage. The relevant shots start around 1:30.

"I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the Ku Klux Klaner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice"
Dr. Martin Luther King JR

@44

And yet he didn't smash windows, or even prevent parents from buying christmas presents for their children.

Do you think buying christmas presents for children is not a part of black lives?

Or do you just think it's not a part of black lives that matters?

"4:18 PM: Eli reports there's a "loud argument about tactics as men dressed in black, with bandanas on, start to roll out a dumpster for use in confronting police." He says "a woman of color yells at them to stop. They do, but she and her friends leave the protest saying they don't want to be blamed for this, which will reflect badly on everyone.""



I respect the role of street protests in accomplishing what cannot be done at the ballot box and am sympathetic to a lot of the shit the Professional Capitol Hill Protest Clan is pushing against (erosion of civil liberties and police militarization in this country) but there's nothing less respectful to the plight of the black community than a bunch of white Evergreen grads hijacking a peaceful protest and committing acts of violence, thereby reinforcing terrible stereotypes about black protests. How is this not a Portlandia sketch yet?

I was working at one of the Capitol Hill establishments that was targeted by (I'm sure just a select few of) the protesters on Friday, and was seriously disappointed and dismayed at their actions. I marched on Tuesday, and when I saw the protesters line up outside I gave them a peace sign, only to have a woman come in with a megaphone, telling our customers that our owner is a racist, and suggesting they walk out on their tab (as if that shows justice to Mike Brown and his family). She harassed one of our regulars who expressed support for the protesters, saying something along the lines of, "if you feel that way walk out right now." THEN the same megaphone woman, with some friends, had the audacity to come back in, sit at our largest table and order food, paid with a Chase bank card and left no tip. Way to show "the man", guys.

@ 47, you know, I don't believe your story. I don't know if it's the overabundance of perfect details (you're a marcher and pro-Ferguson, the protesters weren't just obnoxious and hypocritical but also cheap assholes), your chosen screen name (just the kind of ironic handle Slog's anonymous trolls favor), or the fact that you just registered to share this story, but it all adds up to a huge pile of bullshit.

Anyway, you can prove me wrong by contacting Eli Sanders and telling your story on the record. Until then...

All of these lively discussions about the protests are extremely useful, guys! I can just FEEL the country moving forwards. Just so I make sure I'm understanding everyone.... for the next protest:



- No white people, cause it's a black-people-stuff protest.

- Not ENTIRELY black people, cause it's not JUST a black-people-stuff protest.

- No protesting about anything EXCEPT for Ferguson stuff.

- No acknowledgement of anything else problematic in the world, in fact.

- Protest cannot interrupt shopping.

- Protest cannot interrupt anything.

- Protesters should not be visible to anyone.

- Protest must have a lot of people (otherwise who cares!).

- No person protesting, within one mile of the protest, or looking like a protester in another part of the city, will swear, shout, offend, break anything, or misbehave in any way (where misbehavior is anything that can be called out by a police officer, shopper, or blog commenter).

- No protester can have a bank account with chase, or any other bank.

- All protesters must have a bank account with at least enough money for their next house payment plus bills and some extra for emergencies (even if they don't have house payments).

- All protesters must have 9-5 jobs and no criminal record.

- All protesters must be in possession of ONLY clothing, jewelry, cell phones, computing devices, and other items, that were constructed in a way that reflect each of their highest utopian ideals, as well as the highest utopian ideals of all other protesters. And any blog commenters.

- No young people.

- Certainly not "alternative" seeming young people, that are involved in any cultural activities or clique that isn't embraced by 100% of the population of Seattle, possible the country.

- Protesters must be in the 1960's.

- Protesters must be a black man, in a nice suit, in the 1960's, being sprayed with a firehose, and be projected on the wall of your forth grade class, during Mrs. Kennicks unit on civil rights, pretty much.

- Protesters must do everything the police say.

- Protest must generate positive tax revenue for the state.

- Protesters can only say / do things explicitly spoken about or advocated by Martin Luther King.

- Protesters must present all 4000 pages of evidence from Ferguson grand jury case as part of protest.

- Protesters should be outraged.

- Protesters should be calm.

- Protesters must entertain children.

- Protesters should most DEFINITELY not be anarchists.

- Protesters are not allowed to know what an "anarchist" or "anarchism" is.

- If a protester gets blood on an officers uniform or equipment, protester must clean said item for officer.

- Protest must be effective.



Annnnnnnnnd BREAK!

@48, all true, wanted to post anonymously and I truly believe that black lives matter, hence the screen name. Believe me if you'd like, but that's exactly what happened from my vantage point and I'm sure you could get the same story from anyone else that was there. Not sure why anyone would make up that story, especially because I side with the protesters but strongly feel this was a misinformed, immature, and seriously hypocritical (aka we'll buy food that goes to the business we're telling everyone not to support but we won't tip the people who served us) approach that makes all the other protesters look bad, and honestly, shocked me so much i felt the need to submit this to the slog commenters abyss.

@ 50, again, if it's true and that important, contact Eli (or Paul Constant) and tell them.

@Matt from Denver, inre. to @47...what's with the instant disbelief and the strong shove towards Eli (or Paul Constant)? Are you super-tight with them? 47's story isn't ghastly enough to warrant a full story, it is just a surprising encounter with protesters who were inadvertently hypocritical and a bit misinformed about a very specific topic regarding that establishment. This person said they were in the restauant when this happened, clearly within earshot of the bull-horned protester and then saw the same protesters come in to order food and overhead them talking about walking out on their bill. Seems worthy of posting and contacting Eli, or not, isn't relevant. But hey that's just me.

@ 52, it's not believable, that's why. Read @48 for my detailed case which explains my fair conclusion. If it's flawed, explain why.

But sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, which is why @47 should tell a Stranger reporter who can corroborate the story. Because if it's true, it should be in the news.

Matt from Denver, were you there? If you were and think I've told the story wrong please correct me. Otherwise respect that someone can post anonymously and not be a liar, and I will respect that blog comments are ridiculous and ineffective. Just wanted to let people know what happened inside.

@53, fair enough but I would not call your response 'detailed.' The overabundance of specific facts could be made-up in this scenario, but since we can only take the person at their word, it is also just as reasonable to suspect these specific facts to be true given that this person claims they were actually there (thus the specificity). Also, I don't think a persons screen name is a good enough point to use as calling them out as bogus, even in the Slog world. Trolls do make appearances, but 47's post didn't seem troll'ish...it just seemed new to this world, if that makes sense. Anyway, I would love to see a metric that showed a tangible result of credibility vs. screen handles, excluding trolls . And finally, it's probably me, but I don't understand why you think the commenter is a fake because they registered in order to publish the post. Isn't that how you have to do it? Register and then write? Also, if something is true, you are right...it should be in the news. But, just because something is in the news doesn't make it true.

@ 54, no. Too much of your story stinks, for the reasons given @48.

@ 55, political interest groups of various kinds are known to have people comment in forums like this for the purpose of pushing their agenda or to spread false reports with the purpose of making some people look bad.

Is that what @47 is doing? I can't say with certainty. But it's foolish to give new commenters the benefit of the doubt given the existence of such agenda-pushing groups.