Northbay Uprising - Information for the liberated zones of the San Pablo Bay

2011-11-11 "Occupy Oakland needs to drop violence for words" by Chip Johnson from "San Francisco Chronicle"
[http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-11-11/bay-area/30390055_1_protesters-city-council-members-desley-brooks]
Occupy Oakland protesters shouted over the voices of City Council members the other day and succeeded in drowning out that message - as well as their own.
If protesters could contain their vitriol and temper their idealism with reason for even a moment, they might be more effective at articulating their own message and allowing others to be heard.
Many Americans, and surely a majority of Bay Area residents, are just as angered as protesters are by government bailouts, college tuition hikes, dramatic job losses and spending power.
Americans are livid about golden parachutes for corporate executives who walk away from disaster unscathed - and with enough money for five lifetimes. People are sick and tired of government undercutting programs that benefit the sick, the elderly and school children.
The working people of this country are tired of watching their tax dollars squandered to pay the tab for corporate greed instead of human need.
The message of Occupy Oakland protesters resonates far and wide, but they must separate violence and vandalism from the cause.
The tug-of-war for control of the downtown Oakland plaza has overshadowed the reasons that brought the group together - and affects every taxpayer in the nation.
And it doesn't help that some of the group's tactics are hypocritical.
Earlier this week, Occupiers deposited $20,000 in donations into Wells Fargo bank - an institution that they have targeted and vandalized for foreclosure practices that have contributed to the nation's staggering economy.
But there are plenty of contradictions to go around, including those of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, who has both supported demonstrators and pushed for them to leave. The disintegrating relationship between protesters and city officials was most evident at the news conference five City Council members held at Lake Merritt on Wednesday afternoon.
The event was reduced to a shouting match after protesters yelled, "We are the 99 percent," and drowned out Councilman Larry Reid. Council colleague Desley Brooks, who spent two nights at the camp, started her own chant: "Occupy Oakland Must Go." She was joined by a chorus of voices, from fellow council members to business and religious leaders and residents who stood with them on the steps of the park's bandstand.
The encampment outside City Hall is a symbol of a growing distrust, a balkanization of our culture and of turbulent times ahead.
What was an "Oakland" problem now has the potential to become a regional problem. It's certainly what hard-core protesters are counting on.
Nearly three dozen people - most of them UC Berkeley students - were arrested after a gnarly standoff with police, who swiftly removed a half-dozen tents pitched on Sproul Plaza. Images of police in riot gear using heavy-handed tactics on students will only strengthen the resolve and embolden Oakland protesters. It also could be used to support the call from the faction of Occupy Oakland campers who advocate "a diversity of tactics," code language at the camp for the endorsement of violent action.
If protesters could drop the rhetoric and histrionics long enough to hold a discussion with Oakland city leaders, they would find more common ground than opposition to their goals. It's reasonable for the group to demand city leaders pull city funds from corporate bank barons. It's unreasonable to demand they surrender control of the city.