I remember when Hedges wrote that piece of trash. The irony that Hedges was supporting the people in Greece to fight back the austerity measures after the rich collapsed the world economy in 2008! I read articles/heard him cheering on the people who were homeless living in the streets due to the corruption of the Greek govt. and supporting their courage to fight back against the repression of the state. But....Hedges who never bothered to travel to Occupy Oakland to see what was actually happening there decided that the people there had no right to stand up against the repression of the City govt. incl. the OPD which was SO corrupt it was facing federal receivership control -which eventually happened.
And what IS violence? According to Black's Law 4th Ed. dictionary, "Unjust or unwarranted exercise of force usually withe the accompaniment of vehemence, outrage or fury." Smashing a window is not violence, it is property damage. And someone who has a tear gas canister thrown at them and the item thrown back to the owner is not engaged in violence. 1st- he/she is a good person for returning the item and 2nd- he/she is acting in self-defense.
Hedges can't have it both ways. Undoubtedly, he has a family to feed and he is not going to shit where he eats. However, he didn't have to comment on the matter in Oakland at all. I think he should shut the fuck up on topics he has no proper knowledge of (black bloc) and/or first hand, on the ground awareness of (Occupy Oakland). We had a child-care (tents or an area), free clothes, gardening area, arts/crafts area, free food (24 hours a day), media tent, retired professors or educated people were giving talks on various topics in the plaza on any given day, GA's every night. It was truly amazing. Too bad Hedges didn't see it for himself.
Since I was in Oakland participating in the occupy daily activities on the plaza until the cops kicked out the occupiers out of the plaza the second time. The people living in and around Oakland, the working class, were actually attracted to OO and came out to evening GA's, actions like the port shutdowns and "Move In Day" (which failed and was extremely violent by OPD....who launched tear gas onto parents with children - some in strollers who were in the midst of young people some anarchists, some students, and many people over 40, 50 yrs of age who were used to police tactics over the decades). It was the police that destroyed OO with backing of both the City Council and Chamber of Commerce.
Chris Hedges can't think outside the box because he can't risk losing his connections to well-paid gigs.
Occupy Oakland was still going strong well into 2012 until the stupid selection (Hobama's re-election).
We had all kinds of undercover cops trolling the plaza or events -agent provocateurs and I knew when one was approaching me....stranger calling me by my first name and asking me questions during a march down the streets (WTF?). Until you have taken part in something as big and well-organized as OO, you'll never understand the complexities or appreciate the heart and soul of such a mass organized movement and stop focusing on "violence" especially when the state is well armed and well funded and the media has their back!
I remember watching the debate you shared back when this event happened. It still makes my blood boil. And clearly B. Traven won the debate!
I remember when Hedges wrote that piece of trash. The irony that Hedges was supporting the people in Greece to fight back the austerity measures after the rich collapsed the world economy in 2008! I read articles/heard him cheering on the people who were homeless living in the streets due to the corruption of the Greek govt. and supporting their courage to fight back against the repression of the state. But....Hedges who never bothered to travel to Occupy Oakland to see what was actually happening there decided that the people there had no right to stand up against the repression of the City govt. incl. the OPD which was SO corrupt it was facing federal receivership control -which eventually happened.
And what IS violence? According to Black's Law 4th Ed. dictionary, "Unjust or unwarranted exercise of force usually withe the accompaniment of vehemence, outrage or fury." Smashing a window is not violence, it is property damage. And someone who has a tear gas canister thrown at them and the item thrown back to the owner is not engaged in violence. 1st- he/she is a good person for returning the item and 2nd- he/she is acting in self-defense.
Hedges can't have it both ways. Undoubtedly, he has a family to feed and he is not going to shit where he eats. However, he didn't have to comment on the matter in Oakland at all. I think he should shut the fuck up on topics he has no proper knowledge of (black bloc) and/or first hand, on the ground awareness of (Occupy Oakland). We had a child-care (tents or an area), free clothes, gardening area, arts/crafts area, free food (24 hours a day), media tent, retired professors or educated people were giving talks on various topics in the plaza on any given day, GA's every night. It was truly amazing. Too bad Hedges didn't see it for himself.
Since I was in Oakland participating in the occupy daily activities on the plaza until the cops kicked out the occupiers out of the plaza the second time. The people living in and around Oakland, the working class, were actually attracted to OO and came out to evening GA's, actions like the port shutdowns and "Move In Day" (which failed and was extremely violent by OPD....who launched tear gas onto parents with children - some in strollers who were in the midst of young people some anarchists, some students, and many people over 40, 50 yrs of age who were used to police tactics over the decades). It was the police that destroyed OO with backing of both the City Council and Chamber of Commerce.
Chris Hedges can't think outside the box because he can't risk losing his connections to well-paid gigs.
Occupy Oakland was still going strong well into 2012 until the stupid selection (Hobama's re-election).
We had all kinds of undercover cops trolling the plaza or events -agent provocateurs and I knew when one was approaching me....stranger calling me by my first name and asking me questions during a march down the streets (WTF?). Until you have taken part in something as big and well-organized as OO, you'll never understand the complexities or appreciate the heart and soul of such a mass organized movement and stop focusing on "violence" especially when the state is well armed and well funded and the media has their back!
I remember watching the debate you shared back when this event happened. It still makes my blood boil. And clearly B. Traven won the debate!