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"Bakunin" writes: I was out in the streets tonight. About 1,000 people showed up to protest Bush, the war in Iraq, and the election results. The spirit was good, and so was the turnout.  Unfortunately the police had us almost completely in control. They blocked streets at every red light, effectively dividing the march into sections. The section of the march I was in - towards the back - never took the streets, or even tried to. On several occasions the cops completely divided the march, not allowing those of us in the back to join our comrades on the other side of the street. There have been reports of a few arrests (six at this point) and the use of pepper spray. By 6:30 a couple hundred people made their way back to the Square, while another several hundred gathered at the intersection of 5th and Morrison. It was around this point (around 6:50) that I used my transfer to come home.
"christ" writes: Just got home from the Portland protests and am feeling a little... disheartened. Things started out well- nice to see the feminists, queers, radicals, progressives, anarchists, etc. all in one place and pissed off. We began marching ON THE SIDEWALKS, which sorta defeated the whole point of the march. At first, not many cops around... I think we could have taken the streets and dunno why we didn't. It immediately became obvious that folks marching had many different ideas about what we were doing. The chants were random and short lived, some wanted to shout FUCK BUSH while others wanted to sing THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE. But, I wondered, is this what democracy looks like? Marching ont he sidewalks? Waiting for the lights to change before we cross the street? "lkae" writes: I'm a middle school teacher who could not stay at home with my depression and gloom and needed to be out with other angry folks. I have been saying for months that if he steals the election again we need to have riots in the streets. I have a five year old and a teaching job, so I don't feel like i can be a leader in this and serve jail time but we need to have the message sent that we are pissed. On one hand I am pleased with the way people abided the law and took the "high road" when confronted by the police. On the other I am wondering where the fuck is the rage?  PHOTOS: [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 ]
 Video of speakers at Pioneer Square This video gives a window into the mood of the crowd, some words of the speakers, most of whom seemed to be speaking spontaneously and eloquently from the heart of their outrage and disillusion. Mostly young people, but not only young people comprised the majority of the gathering. [ DSL/Cable stream | 56k stream | read more ] pdx indy coverage archives: [ the web radio broadcast | the Breaking News ] related: [ Police and protesters | "C'mon you guys, cops are just doing their jobs" | Motorcycle Cop | Protest - Help me understand | If you need a safe place to go (if things get crazy) ] background: [ oregon elections I national elections I us imc: national actions I nov 3rd actions I dont just vote mp3 ]
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