Lessons From Occupy Oakland

My family went to Occupy Oakland last week to provide the protesters with food and art supplies.  It seemed like a good idea to not only explain to the kids what the anger and frustration was about, but to show them how people can get together and express that anger and frustration in a positive, hopefully meaningful, way, and also allow them to make their own small contribution to the effort. 

But now we have to explain what the police were doing days later, dispersing the very same peaceful crowd with tear gas, flash grenades, and rubber bullets. 

 

Occupy Oakland is planning to reconvene every day at 6pm at 14th & Broadway until the camp is reestablished.  Hopefully, the lesson to be drawn, when the protests and demonstrations return stronger than before, will be that bullying doesn't work. 

Or as Chris Hayes tweeted for the grownups:  “Note to police commissioners: every single time police suppress non-violent dissent with force and violence it makes #OWS stronger.”