#occupyphoenix

[ramsesja]

[faraillichradio]

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Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011

The Occupy movement that started on New York’s Wall Street has gone international, with protesters demonstrating against social and economic inequality around the world. About 1000 people showed up to Occupy Phoenix on Friday, demonstrating against social and economic inequalities. One single-mother explains her reasons for joining the movement.

[bringupthesun]

Per the Occupy Phoenix Twitter, and my friends on Facebook, Joe Arpaio is speaking at the Wells Fargo building downtown right across the street from our encampment at 3 today.  And we're going to mic check him.  Crossing fingers this happens! Oh.  Yeah.  It's.  On.

[occupyphx]

Alert

Occupy Phoenix is being Raided right now! We need help! They are taking everything! Canopy, food, people arrested!

https://www.facebook.com/occupyphoenix

[bringupthesun]

I was at work, so couldn't be downtown yesterday, but my sister was.  This was uncalled for entirely.  The sprayed innocent people who weren't even part of Occupy.  And don't dare tell me it's because of us - nothing calls for this type of force on a crowd of people that includes children.  My sister wasn't hit in the face thankfully, though she got some in her nose - and our friends were hit.

I'm afraid that now that Phoenix PD knows what they can do with pepperspray (since the ALEC protest was the first time we've had it used on us), they'll continue to use it now more frequently on our peaceful marches and protests.

Go ahead.  Make us more angry.  We're not going away.

[bringupthesun]

One word: NO.

I was there.  Nobody was wielding sticks with nails in them.  The cops broke some of our bigger signs, so yes, we had the sticks, but nobody was brandishing them as weapons  There were absolutely no warnings that we were about to be pepper sprayed - nothing.  

This isn't like UC Davis, or even the the first night Phoenix got arrested - we weren't sitting on the ground, and we quite clearly wanted to move forward.  So I can see where some people will argue that the cops didn't know what was going to happen, this was a huge group and they felt threatened (even if I don't feel that personally).  I can understand that people will argue that pepper spray in this case was justified - might even argue that it would have been okay for them to use those paintball guns they were toting around menacingly.

But screw you Phoenix New Times for putting this blame on our "bussed in" anarchists, and for saying that we attacked the cops.  No.  We didn't.  That is never the intention, even if it appears to be.  We didn't attack the cops, we hurt nobody - the only people that got hurt were the people in the area of the pepper spray; only us.

Anarchy is a school of thought - that's it.  We don't live in a world of anarchy now, and believing in this doesn't make you a terrible person.  So implying that it just had to be the anarchists that made our protest violent is wrong.  It's wrong.

If anything, I commend everyone who came out today - even if they are anarchists.  Because while you, Phoenix New Times, may have an absolutely skewed view of what anarchy is, at least our so-called anarchists have the right sense to know what ALEC is and what it's doing to our country, and have the courage to stand up in the face of cops in riot gear and pepper spray to try and change that.

I am absolutely exhausted and running on three hours of sleep and am physically tired and mentally drained from witnessing what happened this morning. I still have 3 hours left of work.  This may not be entirely coherent, but what have you.  The only thing keeping me awake right now is this rage. 

[bringupthesun]

"Get a job."

Listen, jerk that the cops let through the barricade even when they wouldn't let us through because god forbid we cross the twelve feet gap too slowly or something, I have a job.  I've had a job since I was 16 years old.  I was unemployed for two months when I moved here last year, and that is the longest stretch of time I have been unemployed in my working life (also I didn't get unemployment checks, not that I think that matters, but since you seem to think that I'm a jobless hippie who freeloads off the government, maybe I should just throw that out there for you).

And guess what asshole, even if I didn't have a job (which is the real goddamn point), that still wouldn't make me less of a human being.  And maybe you've been living in a cozy cocoon up here in fancy, everyone get a free Segway when you move in Scottsdale, but finding a job isn't very easy anymore.  Stay classy, man.