Morrison Bridge

I really don't understand this article at all... as a 16 year old student (relatively young and still learning about how the world works in practice), I have my own views as to politics, activism, etc. I support the actions of a PEACEFUL populace in protest against a very stupid war. I was in the march, along with 40,000 others who shared my views. To imply that anyone who doesn't stupidly pick a fight with cops is automatically part of the "[idiot] masses" is an opinion with no basis in the thoughts or attitudes of people other than yourself. I do not mean at all to say that Portland cops cannot be brutal and vicious, but the sorts of people who stand in front of police cars don't represent the general public. One of the great things about the march was that it was an incredibly diverse crowd. People of every creed and subclass stood side by side, fighting (peacefully and symbolically) for what they believe in. I plan on going to as many peace rallies and marches as I can. Somehow, I don't think I'll find admission through TicketMaster.

Hey, more power to the radicals who blocked the I-5 on ramp. From what I know, it sounds like it was a great civil disobedience action, but lets talk about this solidarity issue. Most of the folks in the park and marching, didn't knwo that the I-5 action was going on. I heard about it on KBOO, but I was way the hell far away from it when it happened. Moreover, I don't know that I am particularly obligated to act in solidarity with an action I didn't help plan. If you needed more people to act in solidarity with you, you should have done more organizing.

Now, I am not placing this all on the radicals. Any anti-war activist that gets all hot and bothered when radicals do civil disobedience should get over it. I haven't heard of any activist denouncing this action. (Some of the comments I have read on other threads look mostly like trolls.)

People need to remember that we are out there to stop this guy from Texas who wants to kill a bunch of Iraqi people. I think we should concentrate on stopping him instead of bashing each other over tactics.

first of all what do you expect? you put yourself in a position where its obvious you are going to get assaulted by the pigs. right or wrong- thats whats going to happen. don't get me wrong i've been there, but lets not pretend its shocking! and there's no point in bitching at people who are not necc. at the point where they want to block a freeway. people with families and kids don't want to get pepper sprayed. if you want more solidairty for such an action you are going to have to spend lots of time working and talking with people beforehand, convincing them this is what we need to do (if it is at all). you don't just strike from your job and then cry that no one is joining you in a general strike.

secondly, if you don't want to support the "movt" because of what happened today- then don't. you probably won't be missed. you said something about you providing a diversion for the cops. well guess what? the cops wouldn't dare pull any shit on the "mainstream" (stupid choice of words) march anyway, whether you were there or not.

shutting down I5 may or may not be a good tactic but the "movt." is not made up of enough people who are needed to pull it off without police brutality. maybe it will reach that point, i hope so, but its not there yet and you need to start working on how to convinc people to help you pull of such actions.

you can hate the "mainstream" but without it- there is no credible opposition to war in this fucking country.

I think anyone that wasn't there should stop making assumptions, because it's ignorant.

We organised that act very quickly, and it was successful for the most part until a comerade got ran over by a pig mobile.

I really liked it when ocifer fuck shit pepper sprayed that 12 year old girl.

Don't hang around the bloc if you don't want to suffer the consequences of putting ACTIONS behind your words. Permitted marches are my anal rung. You need a permit to voice your opinion?

I refuse to lay down and submit to their conditions. We organise on the spot, and we do it fast. It's not smart to let cops know where you're going on sites like this...now is it. We like to avoid confrontations with the police, as most of you would like to debate.

a/e

Next time actually take I5. Or another freeway. It is all very well to have 30,000 people on waterfront park: that's an easily police controlled crowd, like the Rose Festival or whatever. Get more and more and more people then block a major traffic artery for a good while. The point is to get attention, that's all. The media will regard a peaceful protest as a legally sanctioned event and the usually muted form of liberal protesting. But even the media will salivate over blocking the I5.

what assumptions were made? can the rads critisize the libs without the libs critisizing the rads?

anokpeace is right that things broke down a bit on the bridge .... a bunch of people did make it onto the on ramp and fair fuckin play to them .... there were also a bunch of people on the bridge who didnt know what the fuck was going on down the ramp and by the time they managed to get thru the ruberneckers there were 10 OSP cruisers blocking the on ramp (shit 10 OSP cruisers after measure 28 is like the whole OSP?). there were also a bunch of people on the bridge who had at least ventures that far and were probly venturing out on their first radical demo and were a bit hesitant about going further. basically what there was on the bridge was a few hundred people who, no matter how far down the freeway they did or didnt get, went a whole fuckin lot further than the 40 000 pacifuckers and yuppies under the bridge, many of who knew exactly what was going on, who did jack shit.

the next time that kind of shit goes down some of the people who stepped up their level of civil dis from being in the park to being on the bridge will be going down the on ramp or whatever form the civil dis take on that occasion. that means that things will step up a gear because numbers willing to face arrest for fucking shit up get bigger. and if twice as many people go the next step the next time then there will probably be twice as many people hesitating on the bridge rather than dancing to didgeridoos under the bridge .... and it snowballs.

and think it thru ..... if there were, oh i dont know 500 people on the bridge and 100 went down the ramp, its the 400 on the bridge who are preventing the cops from bashing fuck out of the 100 just because the cops work on numerical AND tacictal superiority. 100 people on the ramp = cops bashing fuck out of 100 people indiscriminitely. 100 on the ramp and 400 on the bridge = cops just pepper spraying people indiscriminitely. admittedly not a big difference but when you are not spending the night at OHSU with multiple broken bones its a subtle and worthwhile difference.

photos from the bridge to follow .......

The next time we do something like this, I think the liberals interested in some serious civil disobedience, will join us.

If we had a bloc of about 2,000 going (Like in SF, teehee), we could of done ANYTHING.

Although...I was happy to look back behind the 2 lines of bloccers to the huge crowd of the waterfront protesters behind us giving us some solidarity(I love that word).

I was really happy however when a few of the drum brigade were playing under the bridge, and I was tapping the pole. Then the anacho-syndacists came out with a fairly large group of bloccers.

It was the first time I was ever on a break-away march and the police presence was supremly low (5 bike pigs?). I didn't see any undercovers either(as they're usually easy to spot).



On a side note : I LOVE FOOD NOT BOMBS! Too bad I didn't have any money to donate to them for feeding a bunch of hungry cold wet anarchists.

I love you guys.

What do you mean by "buying"? It would have cost you about $70 dollars for a small parade license if that's what you mean.

You folks seem determined remain marginalized by not explaining your actions well and portraying those who could be sympathetic to your cause as tools of the man.

As long as you stay with those strategies, you won't have the numbers to be truly effective. Instead of being defensive and accusatory help us understand what you're doing.

why do conversations about solidarity always reduce to insults and name calling? I had no idea what was going on up there because i was helping to organize the younger students in my school. Don't assume that most people knew what was going on. When I looked up on to the bridge i didn't see anything happening. I think what you did was awesome but insulting other people because they did not come with you is not a way to get more people there next time.

Doesn't a group of people who are being pepper sprayed have the individual right to defend themselves? Since Pepper Spray is a 'non-lethal' form of defense, why don't people get their own pepper spray for self defense? The piggies on the bridge were not wearing masks.

Let's form our own 'crowd' control tactics. What are they going to do? Arrest 100 people who are pepper spraying them back? It is impossible for 100 police to combat an equal force, they have to outnumber us 3 to 1 to effectively combat us, and they can't do that. As long as we out number them, they can only use 'crowd control' tactics, and pick out individuals. If the collective, collectively defends itself while getting it's message out, then we win.

When we start wearing helmets, gas masks, and using our own clubs, what then? Will they shoot us? Or will they let us be. Let them call in the national guard, we'll be gone by then, and our message will be out.

Local police are not geared or trained to effectively fight a force of people who are serious about getting a message across. If that message is important enough, then it is important enough to defense. Pacifism in the face of tryanny only encourages acts of brutality.

Start training, because you might need it someday, don't let the pacifist mentality drown your right to individual and collective security.

Fight fire with fire, and the reality of their 'less-lethal' measures will hit home. Bring you mask, bring your OC, bring your own stick, a force of 10 can beat a force of 100 if only the correct tactics are employed.

All individuals of the bloc should have this in mind.

Are they going to prosecute a hundred people that have no I.D. and are defending themselves? Commitment is important to the defense of the message. We are growing, and the future will hold much different cosequences to direct action.

The Rouser.

it is a sad state of affairs when one sees an attempt at division rather than a positive call for solidarity. the nation is split on the issue of war and peace, and now we have protesters calling other protesters names and judgeing them in regard to their choice of action. in my opinion there is room for ALL people to make themselves heard in the manner that each is comfortable with. were'nt the vast majority of folks protesting yesterday ALL saying NO WAR? is your way the only way? i personally have great respect for those that put themselves on the line the way they did on the bridge. however everyone that is against the war may not yet be at a point in their lives where they feel they can choose that tactic. i think this may change soon for many, but until it does please try to exercize some maturity in your comments so as not to disrespect people that at the heart of it want the same outcome as you.....PEACE

I personally don't have the privilege of being able to risk being arrested and I would like to express my DEEPEST APPRECIATION to the radical activists on the bridge and on the 1-5 on ramp.

Each of us needs to decide for ourselves how much risk we can take. That doesn't mean that we less radical types should bow our heads to the law and have a march like sheep through the streets being careful not to offend anyone or even worse, directly impede the actions of a more radical group by distancing from them. If we can't do it ourselves we need to at least respect and support the radicals that are willing to shake things up. I don't believe that anyone is arguing that the oldest and youngest of us should have placed themselves on the frontlines...But because some are able and willing to DOES NOT mean that they should be dismissed by the larger, more passive contingent. The
media will eat up this kind of direct action and that is precisely what we need to show the world that we are dead serious about stopping this war.
It's understandable that this more radical element is unwilling to state their plans outright in a liberal meeting - but perhaps there could be a mediator between that main event organizers and the radicals to ensure that there is more communication between the two elements just to ensure mutual support or at least understanding.

One idea that I believe has been fairly effective in mass mobilizations in Canada and Europe is to create activist color "zones" where people understand where the general regions of possible police confrontation are to take place during a given demonstration. The most vulnerable activists can support the movement and make their stand from a 'green' safety zone where a minimal likelihood of direct confrontation is respected for families and other
vulnerable or hesitant activists. The 'red' zone would be where the highest likelihood of confrontation and possible police violence and arrest exists. The medium risk or 'yellow' zone would be for those who support the events in the 'red' zone and provide the numbers, visual and vocal support with less risky civil disobedience and direct action. Perhaps this would help all of us feel a
little more supported while still feeling safe. The most radical among us would not have to risk preplanning with main event organizers but could still get the massive numbers and support they need to really make a visual
dramatic stand against this war.

In-fighting will weaken our cause and dilute the primary anti-war message that I believe all of us are trying to send.

Can someone please give me an answer to the most obvious questions stemming from the "reclaiming" or "owning" of the Morrison bridge.

What is the F'ing point? Really, honestly someone please tell me what would have a successful conclusion to this idiocy. What would have changed if you had been able to stay on the bridge and block traffic for, let's say, an hour? Let's make it simple, try it as a multiple choice:

A. Some people would have been an hour late for their dentist appointments

B. The people in the stuck in their cars would have had an epiphany and burned their evil SUVs to support the cause of peace and global free love

C. The police and the SWAT team would have defiantly stripped off their uniforms, painted peace symbols on their ass, and ran around nude in solidarity with the righteous radicals.

D. President Bush would have signed and executive order declaring the bridge a national refuge for the North American radical loon

D. Absolutely not a damn thing


You have ten minutes, no talking please.

The assertion that protesters who did not participate in the I5 action were not as committed (as the author) is disrespectful and divisive. I went down to the protest yesterday in the company of several good folk who were a bit apprehensive; they had never been to a protest before and worried about police violence. Reasonably. One has athsma and had concerns regarding pepper spray; one was a nine-year old, overwhelmed by just the signage. Hard for kids to comprehend. Suggesting that people who were already testing their personal limits weren't committed to the cause is very short sighted.
I am thankful for people who are able to perform acts of civil disobedience; it can be effective in fucking things up nicely and getting attention. However, as has been stated, some, like myself, had no advance knowledge of the action--are we at fault for our lack of mind-reading capabilities? Not likely. Insults back and forth only fuck up OUR work, and that is honoring humanity by stopping an insane war.