Reports of “Massive Looting.” And pics of looting a Foot Locker!
Kind of surprises me a bit (I know… nothing should surprise me) because the cop was led off in handcuffs. It wasn’t like he walked off a free man.
But then what does looting have to do with justice?
Whatever your “cause” is, looting will not help it (notable exception: you need water and food after you’re abandoned in your flooded city). And the lasting damage of looting can last decades. If you look for it, scars of looting from the 1960s is still visible in parts of Brooklyn and more so in Baltimore’s Eastern District. And it’s 30 years later. Crazy.
Enjoy the shoes. You sure stuck it to The Man!
Idiots.
Nuttin says "REVOLUTION" like looting a Foot Locker.
I saw some coffee shop owner whining that the "freedom fighters" even stole the cereal from his store.
That'll teach em'.
The Cheerios belong to the Revolution!
As much as the looters annoy me the "anarchists" abetting this really need to be dealt with harshly. Those face masked clad children of the upper middle class American dream need to be introduced to the prison system.
My suggestion. Plain clothes cops in large groups among the looters. You see one of the anarchists involved in an act of "audacity" and then grab them up and take them in.
By necessity the cops doing this are going to have to be younger, bigger and tougher than your average po po.
Remember guys, it's not just a job. It's a fucking adventure!
Good idea… except for one problem.
How many cops you think could mingle in a crowd like this without standing out like a sore thumb?
Solution 1) Anarchists need to get military hair cuts, wrap-around shades, and start sprinkling "sirs" into their conversation. A few need to grow goofy cop mustaches.
Solution 2) Police departments need to become more diverse (in every way–I'm not talking about race) so they actually recruit from and look and act like respectable members from all communities.
The only problem is neither solution is likely.
Respectable members of all communities?
Shit, in this instance they need to look like the pieces of crap looting and rioting.
In the case of the anarchists since they like to cover their faces that should make the cops job easier. You can't see the 70's gay moustache, cop moustache, if you can't see the upper lip.
Don't bathe or shave for a few days.
Ride a fixie bike.
Toss on a mask.
Plenty of younger cops could pull off the masquerade. They'd probably need to be in groups of ten though, because once they tried to arrest someone they would need to be able to defend themselves. The mere thought of a freedom fighter trying to throw a molotov cocktail on said group of undercover po po and being shot and immolated brings joy to the darker regions of my soul.
The anarchists need to fear the police. They need to be unsure if the people in their rioting midst are fellow travelers or the law enforcement tools of the capitalist running dog conspiracy.
The policeman isn't there to create disorder; the policeman is there to preserve disorder.
Richard J. Daley
Rioting is a level of disorder that canNOT be allowed.
Like Grierson's raid we must bring the battle to the enemy.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grierson%27s_Raid
To quote from the greatest Western movie ever made "The Searchers":
[preparing to lead a charge into the Comanche camp]
Reverend Clayton: Brethren, leave us go amongst 'em!
A few broken windows aren't the end of the world, I promise. And it appears that you guys have too much faith in police competence.
The cops in Toronto claimed to have infiltrated the Black Bloc and had undercovers/agent provocateurs in the crowd but it didn't do any good. 100 – 200 anarchists outflanked them and burned some cop cars and broke corporate storefronts without being touched by the cops.
After the anarchists did their thing they melted away and the police got pissed off and started cracking innocent heads and making illegal mass arrests and refusing to allow anyone to call layers or even have water in Torontonamo Prison. Along with a week of illegal searches, demands for id, and secret laws the police have pissed off a great number of people and pressure is rising for a public inquiry. If that happens the police aren't going to be able to wash the smell of shit off for a long time because there is no way they can justify their incompetence and malice. The police chief has already told so many lies that it's hard to keep track. It would be quite a sight to see him under oath.
During the Pittsburgh g20 protests/riots the cops tried to plant plain clothes cops in the crowd.
Who knows they may have been successful in some instances, but there were some pretty funny youtube videos when they were not and the crowd called them out.
I see the oakland looting as having nothing to do with the verdict. They are predators taking advantage of some chaos, and using it as an excuse.
And lets not forget that the cops instigate violence dressed as protesters:
youtube.com/watch?v=gAfzUOx53Rg&feature=related
At the G20 undercover cops are outed. They were trying too hard:
youtube.com/watch?v=4r-6cnGkp3Y&feature=player_embedded
Cops illegally search and steal goggles day before G20:
youtube.com/watch?v=HZgjX5vHt2o&feature=player_embedded
Another illegal search with the same dyke sgt. Patriot tells cops what's what:
youtube.com/watch?v=HZgjX5vHt2o&feature=player_embedded
All tough when outnumbering innocents but when the actual vandals arrive the cops are nowhere to be seen:
youtube.com/watch?v=6D_qVrMqgXk
Then they arrested this guy. He was probably going to use his leg to take down the fence:
niagaraatlarge.com/2010/07/05/thorold-ontario-amputee-has-his-artificial-leg-ripped-off-by-police-and-is-slammed-in-makeshift-cell-during-g20-summit-%E2%80%93-at-least-one-ontario-mpp-calls-the-whole-episode-%E2%80%9Cshocking/
Policemen burned their own cars. That is why the culprits were not caught. Dog & pony show.
Pirate, how many cops you think can ride a fixie? All I know is I was the only one riding one to the police academy.
Pedro,
I dunno. I just threw dat out dere. Perhaps something with some hand brakes then. I've never ridden a "fixie" myself; although, I do have an interesting often changing collection of bikes.
I'm not talking about the cops actually trying to infiltrate the anarchist groups. Just blending into the larger crowds and being ready to take out the leaders when they make their moves.
Hell hit the anarchist scum with paint balloons so as to mark them for easier arrest.
Where there is a will there is a way.
The anarchists particularly annoy me. They largely have had every benefit of American life and then rebel against those benefits.
Damn, I'm sounding like a damn Tea Bagger GOP'er.
Save me, Daniel Patrick Moynihan!
Among many problems in American policing the biggest may be a lack of imagination.
Like most institutions policing is too wedded to past ways of doing things.
Pirate, I think you're basically right. And truth be told, I think *I* would be a great candidate to infiltrate such a group (or maybe would have been ten years ago). Unlike most cops I'm not worlds removed from that social scene.
I'm just using this point to flog another one of my dead-horses: it is better not just for society but for police to recruit more broadly (for what it's worth, I think it's one of the unheralded secrets to the success of the NYPD).
And besides when anarchists are not destroying things, they generally throw good parties!
How the hell do anarchists throw a party?
Anarchists often advertise "anarchist picnics" in lakefront parks nearby me in Chicago.
How do they decide who brings the cole slaw? They are anarchists after all.
Seriously, while the anarchists would be difficult to infiltrate the larger crowds wouldn't be.
I'm thinking an international effort akin to how the Europeans deal with soccer hooligans might be used against the anarchist menace. Study them, track them, and lock them down if necessary.
I happened to be in downtown Chicago in March 2003 just prior to the Iraq war. Probably about the 18th or 19th and there was a large peaceful demonstration going on. This was a day or two days before the illustrious invasion began.
Anyway, as I'm trying to go about my business and get the hell outta Dodge some idiot trying to incite the crowd pulled out an American flag and tried to burn it. Some cops who were in jeans in the crowd came out and grabbed his pyrotechnic ass. A glorious moment in the history of the Chicago Police Department.
Later of course the CPD screwed up by herding the crowd onto Lake Shore Drive and then detaining large numbers of the crowd for being on Lake Shore Drive. I wish I was making that up.
Stupid move based on poor planning and a lack of understanding as to the overwhelmingly peaceful nature of the crowd. The crowd was largely made of of former 60's protesters and their younger counterparts. Nary an anarchist in sight.
Even though I opposed the war as a metaphysically stupid move I still found the protesters annoying.
"Dude, this is soooooo like being at the Days or Rage".
GRRRRRRRRRRR.
Thousands of dead later………..and the American phase of the war slowly draws down.
Anarchists parties tend to be BYOB affairs. And dress is casual.
As to crowds in general, I try to avoid protests. Even if I agree with the cause, I always agree just a little less by the time it's done.
@cleanville
"Policemen burned their own cars"
You seriously think this? Seriously?
Johnny Law:
Yes, of course Cleanville thinks this. He doesn't have to provide any evidence, because he is all knowing and all seeing. He knows everything about law enforcement because he is big into Alex Jones and and like minded bloggers. And he also has read lots of pamphlets and manifestos and stuff. He is just smarter than you and me. I knew his kind when I was back in college. I just never became one of them.
Dave H.- IL
I'll share the general contempt for anarchists. But Oakland isn't populated by anarchists.
It is populated by people. People who think that cops despise them, and despise the rule of law. People who think that prosecutors and judges are in bed with the cops. People who can even Google terms like "Vodochodsky", or who know how rare changes in venue really are. People to whom the term "all-white-jury" conjures up historical memories. People who believe that all these things are just fine with most voters, most legislators, and most judges.
When that is the world you live in, how do you try to change it? Marches? Puh-leeze.
"Policemen burned their own cars"
You seriously think this? Seriously?
Absolutely. That way they get new cars and they get to treat the protesters more shabbily.
If they caught the person who burned the cars, then I might not think it was a policeman dressed all in black, but since they didn't catch the culprit it was obviously an agent provocateur.
There is nothing illegal about the policemen burning their own cars. It is their cars after all.
In order to protect the (already not so) good reputation of my beloved hometown Oakland, I'm posting the following quote from the SF Chronicle:
"Three-quarters of the 78 people arrested in Thursday's riot in Oakland came from outside the city, Police Chief Anthony Batts said Friday."
And another quote:
"About three-fourths of those arrested were from outside Oakland, including about 12 who were from out of state, police said."
Oakland has more than it's fair share of problems, which I have no desire to sugar coat. It just wories me that people will hear the words "Oakland" and "riot", and automatically assume it is black thugs who are doing the looting, which is not the case. For the most part the looting was done by non-black out of towners.
Oakland actually has a long history of peaceful protest. After MLK was assassinated, there were riots in more than 60 cities nationwide. Oakland was one of the few largely black cities that did not have riots.
Unfortunately, outside agitators have twice used this tragic event as an excuse to cause destruction, at the expense of the people who actually live in Oakland, and the reputation of the city itself.
That you, Aaron! I did not know that. And it is certainly worth bringing up.
For what it's worth, I've always had a soft spot for Oakland and have enjoyed riding a bike around city when I'm in San Fran.
I was just very sad that the excellent Chicago Hot Dog place (around the corner from the old movie theater) had just closed down the last time I was there.
Cleanville has an aluminum foil hat for each day of the week.
Court records show the NYPD was into anarchist groups prior to the RNC. As they laid plans in San Fran. By sending their cops there. A year in advance.
Other departments have so much to learn.
The NYPD speaks Arabic to the Arabs, Farsi to theb Persians, Spanish to the Dominicans and crazytalk to the anarchists. Peter is right: diversity in policing produces excellence.
And Cleanville: I heard that the Port Authority did 9/11 so it could get new buildings and could treat Muslims badly. My aluminum hat told me.