Return to the Oakland Docks -- Photos

Beautiful images-- thank you.
APL, SSA and the OPD all back off in the face of people power. How can we do this 365 days a year?

sorry... but we didn't win. APL and SSA still ship things for the DOD and the OPD stood down for one day due to political pressure.

Don't count anything as a victory until all the occupations of all the foreign lands stop and exploitation at home is yesterday's nightmare.

>OPD backs down, we win

I'm sorry, but that is just bullshit. Now I'm pissed.

Look, I know you probably don't know any better -- your daddy didn't raise you right, you got into fights in the third grade, whatever -- but the OPD et. al. didn't back off in the face of anything, and definitely not in the face of people power. They used that day to monitor and surveill us, to test out using hostage negotiators on protestors (big win there, since several people appear to be stupid enough to think that was a good thing), and to basically create a photo op for the OPD to pat y'all on the back for being "good protestors" -- you know, the ones that meet with them in closed door meetings? They were there to show force every bit as much as they did back in April, and in that, the OPD scored a home run. Don't fool yourself.

My question to you is: what will it take for you to wake up to just how fucked up things are in this country? Further, you say "what will it take to do this 365 days a year?" You can rest assured that the middle class, predominately white glad-handing that fueled the second docks protest behind the scenes will not get you that, unless you continue to ignore the real world suffering of people that were 1/2 a mile away from the docks.

All in all, y'all are lucky that you didn't get seriously hurt yesterday, and it's not because of some damn show of people power that you didn't. It's politics, pure and simple. Take some time to reflect before you go patting yourselves on the back.

anon

You have some good points anon, but give us some ideas about what to do rather than just telling us what we are doing wrong or how naive we are.

Fair enough, here's some points:

1. If you live in Oakland, make some effort to educate yourselves about the issues in your own community -- this is far from the first time that the OPD has done stuff like this.

2. consider that the real reason that the docks protest on April 7th was met with a police riot was because of economics -- in other words, April 7th was the success, not May 12th. May 12th was more or less a party with a rather curious police escort, which incindentally is what really annoys me about this. The only real winners out of this are the OPD, which managed to get more tapes for their files, a chance to look good for the papers, and test out using hostage negotiators at protests (!). More on this below.

3. pay attention to what's going on in West Oakland 1/2 mile away from the docks (in other words, don't just show up, declare "victory" and then go home). People in Oakland deal with the stuff of which April 7th was made of every day, and far worse.

4. Don't negotiate with the police in preparation for a direct action. It allows the cops to gather information, to attempt to splinter the action, and to find your weak points. If you think the police are your friends, read about COINTELPRO -- The COINTELPRO Papers by Ward Churchill is a good start.

5. Respect the communities you're doing work in. Not only is negotiating with the cops a bad idea, it also is putting your organization in the position of utilizing your privileged position viz a viz the cops. Most people in Oakland don't get to negotiate when they're in the sights of the OPD. While you're at it, if you live in poorer parts of Oakland, if you can afford to move and raise hell in more affluent neighborhoods, do. If you seriously can't, then be mindful, respectful, and loving to the people who live around you. I have seen such massive disrespect from some members of the whole East Bay activist cliques towards folks in their neighborhoods. It's kinda pathetic.

6. Check your priviledge. Do you really think that all this would have happened if DASW was a people of color led organization? And please don't bother saying "we're a consensus organization," there are obviously some folks who have lots more power in DASW than others.

7. Don't post anything where the cops may see it, because after all, they may be able to detect who you are by your computer's signature...D'oh! Excuse me, someone is knocking on my door very loudly... ;-)

anon

Thanks for the thorough reply anon. I have really no involvement in DASW so I can only claim to represent myself. I don’t have a point-by-point response but here are my thoughts/comments:

-- I don’t live in Oakland so I will have to let others comment about the communities there (I am, however, aware that the police use fully lethal bullets in West Oakland.)

-- Cops are people to—Good, bad, and more than ugly. I am sure the hostage negotiators were very nice, but I still saw some of the thuggish cops hanging out on the side-lines wishing it were April 7th all over again. An aside: If were were negotiating with hostage negotiators does that mean we were hostages or hostage takers?

--Cliquish activists are people to—Good, bad, and well maybe not quite as ugly. I wouldn’t know, though, I am not really in on the whole thing.

--Yes, some people are more equal than others (but deny it.) I am not completely convinced that this is solely a power grab by the more-than-equal people’s part.. Many, though certainly not all, activists have hidden sources of income that I don’t have (I work 60 hours a week in addition to any photography/activism I do.) People with the time and the privilege end up running things. It’s the same old story and I don’t have a good answer for it as the problems go far beyond our sectarian arguments. Of course, I am so far out of the loop how would I know.

--I should also point out that instilling fear and paranoia in people was also a COINTELPRO tactic. Not that I am paranoid or anything. ;-)

> instilling fear and paranoia in people was also a COINTELPRO tactic


That it is. But so, too, is the belittling of security concerns by calling those who raise them "paranoid." We need to strike a healthy balance here, one based on empirical data and historical context, not on gut feelings.

Yeah, we really are under surveillance. Yeah, some of us really are double agents. No, we really can't trust everyone who talks a good line.

See:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?J20211984

However, that is not going to stop us. At most, it will stop a few individuals. The movement will not, and cannot, be stopped. We are a mass movement, horizontally organized. We are immune, therefore, to decapitating strike. They may as well try to nail mercury to the floor.

-- I don’t live in Oakland so I will have to let others comment about the communities there (I am, however, aware that the police use fully lethal bullets in West Oakland.)

Thanks. :-) And yup, they sure do, not just in West Oakland either.

-- Cops are people to—Good, bad, and more than ugly. I am sure the hostage negotiators were very nice, but I still saw some of the thuggish cops hanging out on the side-lines wishing it were April 7th all over again. An aside: If were were negotiating with hostage negotiators does that mean we were hostages or hostage takers?

The hostage negotiators were nice in a "we're trained to de-escalate people who shoot up middle schools" sort of way. Our gate was pretty quiet, although they did keep driving by and video taping us. I vote for hostages, myself.

--Cliquish activists are people to—Good, bad, and well maybe not quite as ugly. I wouldn’t know, though, I am not really in on the whole thing.

Yah, it's just sad and frustrating, that's all. I've seen it before, sounds like you have too.

--Yes, some people are more equal than others (but deny it.) I am not completely convinced that this is solely a power grab by the more-than-equal people’s part.. Many, though certainly not all, activists have hidden sources of income that I don’t have (I work 60 hours a week in addition to any photography/activism I do.) People with the time and the privilege end up running things. It’s the same old story and I don’t have a good answer for it as the problems go far beyond our sectarian arguments. Of course, I am so far out of the loop how would I know. <<

Hear ya about the time plus priviledge thing -- I just don't have a life, myself. ;-) I mean, seriously -- it's a big problem, and it keeps happening. Priviledged white people should not run our movements, and the fact that it's currently in vogue in activist circles to stick an @ on your forehead just makes it worse. Flat structures without accountability give people cover to run things behind the scenes every bit as much as heirarchal ones do.

>>--I should also point out that instilling fear and paranoia in people was also a COINTELPRO tactic. Not that I am paranoid or anything. ;-) <<

Well, if you're referring to me, nah. I just pay attention, that's all. "If you're not paranoid, you're not paying attention." - Allen Ginsberg

Victory or no victory, 5 gates at 2 ports were shut down for a whole shift. That was the intent April 7 and that was the result on May 10. Unless you would only be satisfied with millions of dead pigs, what's wrong with that? And as someone else asked, "anon" how would you have done it better?

BB

>>And as someone else asked, "anon" how would you have done it better? <<

You know, this is really typical. I'm sorry, but it's not my job to figure that out, especially when I've pointed out how and why this is harmful, and things that I feel would make sense not to do in the future. Use your brain, OK? Sheesh. It's not my job to educate you -- my responsibility to have discussions, debate, listen -- sure. But unless you're paying me, I suggest you go read Saul Alinsky and learn how to organize before you try to pull this high-handed shit on me. Please. Don't try to slough off what is a collective burden off onto to me just because you don't like what I'm saying. That's just sad.

anon

In response to anon's comments about how it is not his responsibility to educate people... I fully disagree--if we want to be a more global community in the sense that we cooperate to achieve peace, then we have DIRECT responsibility to educate people who are asking for direction... In the same right, we have a direct responsibility to say "I dont know" when the situation arises... thoughts?

eustace

And as Eustace indicates, anon DOESN'T know. It's so much fucking easier to sit on the sidelines and MAKE PEOPLE WRONG. Fuck that. What a pathetic cop-out. I hope I never have to stand near anon at some demo and have to depend on her/him as a comrade. anon would probably start whining about his/her middle class life and how the police have to be nice to her/him. And what a weak, shallow critique anon has. Go back to your computer game.

Big Bill

Fuck off anon! Where do you live, Montana? If you were at the docks and have even the vaguest sense of geography or distance, you wouldn't have said some shit as stupid as this:

> >1/2 mile away from the docks (in other words, don't

anon, you fucking liar! 1/2 a mile from the docks in ALL directions is either:

1)railroad yards
2)the Alameda Channel
3)more docks
4)the fringes of Jack London Square and high-end restaurants/entertainment/retail and warehouses converted to yuppie live/work lofts.

So, check your head and don't be talking 'bout someplace you've never been.

Big Bill

I'm sorry, but that is just bullshit. Now I'm pissed.

Look, I know you probably don't know any better -- your daddy didn't raise you right, you got into fights in the third grade, whatever --anon

way to make friends there anon,
I see those charm school lessons have really paid off

stan ,

Use your brain, OK?, Sheesh. It's not my job to educate you!

yeah, seems silly to split hairs here. I mean I fully see the dangers in getting "in bed" with the police regarding antiwar activities, but this does not mean this event was a failure. This was definitely a positive action.
All i'm sayin is lets get some solidarity here. If one person's methods don't align with your strategy, swallow your pride and give them a pat on the back. Everyone has different ideas on how to go about changing this fucked up place, but we all need to recognize that shitting on each other's ideas is not going to bring us one step closer to revolution.
great work everyone who participated!

This thread is somewhat ironic in retrospect: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0729-03.htm