heavily guarded march up main?

oddly enough, I just posted a question about this also. It was lost to the posting elves, I guess. Today was the annual rally against police brutality. At 4pm-ish Stu Albert and Craig Rosenbaugh and various other speakers had the stage at the s.park blocs, then an unpermitted march ensued. I would say the pig (no offence to pigs) /human ratio was more like 3:1, but that's counting the riot cops. If my previous posting never happens, I will once again ask, WHERE WAS EVERYONE? Our numbers were small for a reason. Maybe it was a workday or a schoolday or people had other committments(?). I hope it wasn't a lost cause in some peoples' minds. I can't amagine we were the only people concerned with police brutality.

I too saw the march downtown around 6:30 or so and saw only maybe 20 or so "marchers" and as many or
truth be known...more police. The whole silly show>>>bike cops, foot peddlers, motorcycle cops, cybercops
in their Mad Max van, and even some horseshit cops (did anyone else notice this fat-assed cop riding that
poor horse with the swayed back struggling every step he/she trode?...bizarre...wondered "if" it wasn't Vera on
the horse at first!). Anyway just what was the march for? Wished I'd known what it for, it just passed so fast
and while it was rainy before and I guess that quelled the crowd, I'm still dumbfounded that there was just so
many cops...boondoggling their way towards more OVER-TIME PAY. They get over-time and our services go
down, and these blue-bastards wonder "why" so many of us out here hate their guts? Go figure! Cheers!

Outreach, outreach, outreach.

Believe it or not, putting a notice here on indymedia and, perhaps, hanging a few posters around town is not enough!

I have friends in the progressive movement who would have been there, but never heard about it. I know this because I was busy calling people as soon as I found out about it (yesterday morning).

OK so if a notice on indymedia and some posters isn't enough, what else can be done? Pick up the phone! Grab a copy of Little Beirut and the Alliance. Call all of the organizations listed in there. Call the unions, the League of Women Voters, the NAACP. Get the call out early and encourage everyone you talk to to invite others.

Bottom line, an announcement on indymedia does not equal outreach!

As far as the march itself, we'll have to give the cops the victory. At least one person was arrested and taken away... for jaywalking! Passers-by were very effectively shielded from our message. The group was unable to stay together, having to split apart at each intersection and follow the letter of the law much more strictly than anyone else in Portland would ever have to. (Do you normally see people arrested and taken away for being in an intersection while the do not walk sign begins flashing? Give me a break.) The size of the march quickly dwindled because all of this was just too dispiriting.

What can we do next time so the cops don't get the victory? I am not sure, but I have a few ideas. Most importantly, in my opinion, is that there needs to be a group discussion, before the march takes off, to discuss tactics for the day. Some folks attempted this just as the march was about to begin, but didn't get anywhere with it. It seems to me that if we had come to a decision, as a group, about following the letter of the law, for example, then the whole thing would have been less dispiriting. If we had come to a decision to stick together as a group when passing through intersections, the cops couldn't have stopped us. If we had come to a decision to march in the street, it would have happened. As it was, nobody knew what others wanted/were willing to do/ willing to risk. This makes us weak, just when we should be strong.

Just one guy's opinion.

Hey, you're right! I happened to work for a "major media" outfit and after seeing the posting about the fat cop on one of the horses at yesterday's march, I decided to check it out by pulling up the film footage available. You are right! Either it's a lens distortion (which I don't think so) or this guy is really a FAT ASS! What is going on? Don't these cops know that the poor horses have a load-bearing limit...just a like a bridge...a failure can be caused by overloading (in the case of the poor horse, it'd be lethal failure too!) Where is PETA when they are needed? What is going on with the cops? Are they running amok while their new chief is away...trying to embarass him and bring scandle upon him? Check it out... you'll be shocked too!

what was the comment about topless? Had that been advertised in advance, there would have been a much better turnout! Enough about about the cops fat ass, let us discuss upcoming topless demonstrations!

what u mean get off this business of cops fat asses? what "if" u were the horse? isn't this a violation of the law? why are the cops exempt from cruelity to animals laws? don't think so! so, let's focus on WHAT can be done to address the lawlessness in this town...got after those fat-assed cops that cruelly ride wornout horses!

Sigh. I just couldn't bring myself to another march like this. We keep marchin, they keep following, harassing and shooting pepper spray, and nothing ever changes. Sometimes it feels like a nature show, the predator/prey dance. I'm not their fucking prey.

Yes, there are a LOT of people who believe the police in this town are out of control. A lot of people who supported in spirit those who did turn out downtown. But we're looking for other tactics now. Marching and civil disobedience was a polite way to make our voices heard. The cops have been stupidly studying hard all the ways they can stop us from exercising our constitutional right to dissent. I think this was a really bad idea. For them, for us, for America. Once you start silencing people, you're on a slippery slope to a place where none of us really wants to be, not even them.

I, for one, will not be silenced. I will not have my message drowned in pepper spray by thugs with guns. This is a time, as I said, for new tactics. We must come together and be heard. Now is the time to be creative. I don't advocate violence against the poor, clueless pigs -- anyone can change. Instead, we will simply go around them. Everyone, put your thinking caps on.

(Oh, hello there officer Meyers. Not you. You don't have a thinking cap.)

I can't remember when the first mention of this event was, but the first I'd found out about any definite plan was within a week of 10/22. To get a lot of people to show up, plan in advance, so that messages can be placed before printing deadlines in Little Beirut, Portland Alliance, etc. Put the item on the KBOO Community Calendar, on Indymedia, print up flyers and distribute them at live music shows and other popular events. It's not difficult, but takes advance planning and effort.

An example: when Shift (www.ShiftToBikes.org) had a bike-films fundraising event at a La Palabra Cafe Press, there was an over-capacity crowd but never were any paid advertisements used. For this event, flyers were distributed at Critical Mass and other events, and a group walked the Last Thursday on Alberta and passed out flyers to people especially anyone with a bike or who looked like they might be a bicyclist. It didn't take much money, just persistence.

while I certainly agree with most everything you have to write, I take exception to such lowlifed lambaste at Officer Meyers....poor guy, he can't help it being the "way" he is. As for his hair being so long, I'm told by "someone" that he can't afford haircuts very often as he got to spend so much of his earnings towards support for a big brood of kids, some likely illigits! So! Let's get off making little digs at Meyers, shall we? We got other things to do!

I too missed yesterday's march and wished I'd known more about it, as I'd have come out for it. After reading all the postings for this topic, I am caught by two themes: (1) truth is, there was lot's of advertisement for this event, both here in PDX Indymedia and elsewhere, so I'm wondering "why" so many of us out here that care about this issue were so complacent and let this oppor- tunity to demonstrate pass us on by? Myself included in this: why are we withdrawing into inactivity when it comes to the police? Has the corruption become so massive that we've just "accepted" it, or is there a movement underway to attack the "problem" a bit more differently that passive means? If so, I'd like to be in on the loop with this one....so, let it be known WHAT is the PLAN as there is lot of us out here game for it! (2) as for the fat-assed cop or is that "cops" that are mounted on these poor horse, I've too noticed this over the past few months...ever since March...that a lot of these so-called Equestrian Cops are really too big for rider's on these quarter horses they have. Doesn't anyone there with the PPD know anything about horses or is it the usual horseshit you'd find in a bureaucracy where some hyper-aggressive jerk just proclaims themselves as "expert" and that's the end of it...they become the in-house expert? It's a shame really, for these horses they have are obviously well cared for, groomed, maintained, and feed....but they aren't being riden by the "right" kind of people...fat asses just don't get it! That's my little contribution to this matter for today. Cheers!

Noticed this posting has to come to life and so read all above....WOW! I like the idea of a PLAN B as apparently Plan A hasn't worked yet. Why don't we share "alternate means" to get our cops to come around as was noted by one of the poster's...passive resistence isn't working! Let's put our collective minds together on this folks!!!

Did he really have a fat ass? Or did he have a beer gut? I'm just asking because "fat ass" is sometimes just an expression that is more derrogatory than descriptive. And if this cop was a male, it's more likely that his belly was like jelly than his ass a big mass, if you know what I mean.

OK! OK! ya got a good point....is is "jelly belly" or "mass ass"....though what's the difference? Net result is a poor swayed-back horse that was snorting every step poor thing took. Where is PETA when they're needed?

if the fat pigs are slow. do what you can and get away!

Sharp as Tacks, I just wanted the facts. But you're right, neither Fat Ass nor Jelly Belly should give swayback to Nelly. Only Slim Jim should sit in the saddle. That should be a rule. Time to organize those horses. Forget PETA, where are the Teamsters?

I'm not sure if the amount of cops per marcher was emphasized. There were alot of fucking cops. Trying to run from the fat ones, the thin ones, the bike ones, the motocops, the riot cops and the horse cops would have been pointless. Especially with only 40 people or so. Canvassing unions would have been a waste of time also. Excluding the IWW, most unions are big cop-kissers, I know mine is. I know the UBC (carpenters) organizers asked cops to walk with us in the last May Day parade to watch those "black hooded types". I don't want to invite more police oppression to a rally that was already saturated with it.

There are some groups working hard to oppose abuse by police, but they're only as good as their volunteer support. The Police Accountability Campaign as far as I know is dead in the water, due to lack of volunteer help and funding, but last year they were doing great things. Lending them a hand would do more than any amount of marching:

Police Accountability Campaign
 http://www.policeaccountabilitycampaign.org

Portland Copwatch
 http://www.portlandcopwatch.org

Rose City Copwatch
 http://www.rosecitycopwatch.org/

About this volunteering for work with passive-resistence organizations. All that might be fine and OK, but seems like all that results in what happened the other day: a poor turn- out to protest police brutality. In my role as the Prophet, I hereby make a prophecy that that sort of action will not do the job of changing the Portland Police Bureau. What is needed is clear! Avenging Angels of the Almighty will have to be called forth to wreck His vengence and do His smitting, to wreck havoc on the meanspirited strong (as in the Brotherhood of the Strong) on behave of the sorely aggreved (as in their victims) to restore the balance on the measure of JUSTICE! I furthermore give prophecy that these things shall come to pass soon! Amen! Blessed be the name of the Lord! Amen!

Yes indeed! Me thinks the Prophet is right on this one! (course if truth be known: it don't really take a prophet to make this call!) Cheero!

I usually don't get involved in politics, but after reading these postings, I can't help but be offering my observations. Was on a shopping errand downtown (yes, during the rain of all things!) and happened upon this march. While it was small by the standards we've become accustomed towards here, I was impressed with the vigor of the marchers. Also, I was sorely struck by the nasty contemptuous attitudes of the large number of police. It was like they all had on Vera Katz masks... they were that ugly. (which gets us to ask: is she ugly cause she's mean or mean cause she's ugly?) They did not do anything to reassure me that they've done a thing to change their waywardness, and as result, they'll continue to not enjoy my support. As for the horses: yes it's true those poor creatures were being riden by a Korps of Fat-asses to paraphase what has been said above. Honestly, these poor creatures are small quarter horses and they aren't at all suppose to be riden by these type of large butted-busters as it's cruel burden for them to be asked to bare! This fact alone, shows me that these people in charge of the Portland Police Burea are arrogant, stupid, dangerous, and incompetent manager's! An aside: now that Vera has lost all that flab, she could probably ride one of 'em, but when she was such fat-ass herself, she'd have broken one's poor back as she mounted it! Come on people, let's arise and run these fat-assed idiots outta office and at least get some smarter one's in there! That's my little contribution to the community for now! Good Day!

I too noticed the poor horses struggling to keep pace as they were carrying some pretty heavy weight...far more than they're suppose to be doing. What gives? Don't the cops have anyone who knows anything about these creatures? It's a shame, for if these loonies would mistreat horses, what da ya think they'd do to us humans they don't know so much about either? Wise up folk's and then RISE UP!

I'm amazed at how this thread has gone! But it's true those horses aren't big enough for the big butts they're made to haul around. Honestly! I too was down town in my car and saw this poor troop of marcher's being tagged by an army of police of all sorts greedily grabbing their overtime pay I'm sure! Those poor horses had had enough of it all by time I saw 'em....done shit all they could and were no doubt thristy and had very sore backs! I mean honestly, I can sort of understand these silly cops trying to show their muscle with their new chief gone and all, but at least do so with some show of intelligence. Not this silly childish charade that you people pulled Wednesday! Shame on you....all of you for wearing your uniforms and participating in such sorry display of police POWER! What did it gain you? Make any new friends as result? Doubt it? Wise up why don't ya? Act like you've got the sense to warrent the responsibility we've reposed in you! Where was that horse-faced "Commissioner of Police" in all this? Asleep our her couch in her big office. Poor old woman is so damned old...lameduck old hussy that can just barely get herself to the office, let alone give effective oversight to a bureaucracy so out-of-control as is the police...as it does no good to complain to her! Oh! Well! If we can't do anything about her, the police, let us at least cry out for the horses...STOP MISTREATING THE POOR HORSES!

Having posted on the 22nd an observation and not checking back till today, I can't believe this? The POINT was there just wasn't enough marcher's out there to hardly keep the theme alive, which was ya know....POLICE BRUTALITY! All I made mention of was the fat fanny's on the horses. I didn't say a word about the big fat fellow on the motorcycle that chugging along as it carried him, or the big fat boy that slipped off the Mad Max van with all that heavy gear and had hell of a time in getting back up on it, or that bike cop that was big a tubbo that the back tires was squashed to the ground. So ya say, well what is this all about...these FAT ASSES? Simple! It's about these fat-asses needing more $$$ to keep 'em well feed, so best way and easiest is build-up that OVER-TIME PAY. That's all this big show of police force was about, and my dearest citizen's of Portland...YOU PAID FOR IT and paid dearly!

Wow! I always read the one's that lot's of postings as they're usually good. This one went all over the place. Started
out about march over Police Brutality, then got into fat-asses and horses. My goodness! Can't we just stay with the
REAL issue....police brutality? Though truth be told, heavy fanny's riding small horses by police is police brutality!

been gone a few weeks and just back getting caught up, and this one is a hoot! All kidding aside though, the
truth is those small horses shouldn't be riden by anyone over 120-130 lbs, as the extra weight will push down
on their spine. They'll get to galloping along and next thing you know, it got a pinched nerve. Then God help
the poor soul on top, as the horse will go wild, bucking 'n' broncing till it gets the rider off, and then it'll stomp
it for it can. Bad business: big fat asses on such wonderful animals. Terrible!

The march had about a hundred initially by my count, but just as we were beginning, and the rain started to soak through my hoodie, we lost a bunch of folks. I'd say we don't need to shame oneanother about not doing enough, we are each our own judge, as nobody else knows what our abilities are... Kay? We had a little die-in, and a awsome speak-out... too many cops to march...
My favorite moment was when the backdoor of the copshop was chained together from the outside, and the wonderful mike d demonstrated how the amount of slack in the chain let the door open a good foot! the little buzz cut chain-minder turned especially brithght red with anger as the key in the lock fell onto the protester side of the door! That'll be an awsome video clip!