Cops riot in Portland
Police rioted in Portland yesterday, brutally attacking peaceful protestors demonstrating against the Bush regime.
Quote: I have been to many protests, witnessed countless acts of police brutality, but none compare to what I saw today. Bean bag guns, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and billy clubs; all of them used to attack peaceful protestors. Friends of mine were trampled by horses, beaten by billy clubs, and peppersprayed severely. All in an disgusting display of extreme police brutality. My hands are still shaking and my eye still hurts from pepper spray so I will try to write this as best as I can…
Adding insult to injury, the fake-left protest organizers, known as World Can’t Wait, apparently stayed true to the despicable statist tendencies motivating them — reportedly congratulating police on attacking the protestors. For those not aware already, WCW is a well-known front group for the “Revolutionary [sic] Communist Party”.
William Gillis’s mom is in the hospital as a result of this unprovoked attack. Police horses trampled little girls. Anyone in a position to offer help or support to the folks in Portland, please lend a hand however you can.
More followup from Indymedia. Discussion on DailyKos.
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Brad,
This is off-topic, but I found no other way to contact you.
Thanks for posting a link to my blog! I’m flattered. I have a new address, though. I can be found at Wordpress at http://pintofstout.wordpress.com.
Just thought I’d give you an update.
PoS
Wow. Things were not quite as bad here in Seattle, but there was a report here of arrests of two people for simply carrying anarchist flags. I have the story posted here on my blog. Unfortunately, the media is so bad here that I have not been able to get any more info about the arrests since I was not at the protest. If somebody finds out more, please post it on my blog.
WCW is a front group for the RCP? Since I am new to radical circles, I didn’t know that. Before I started reading libertarian left & related stuff, my political involvement was limited to Democrats, Republicans, & some greens.
I didn’t go to the protest since I didn’t know who was behind the WCW and so didn’t know who I’d be getting involved with. I am also skeptical of the ability of such street protests to do any good, but I fully support people’s right to free speech. The RCP should say who they are as an organization and what they stand for openly, though.
Would you REALLY honestly think you’d receive anything less in a blue state/city?
Besides that, these organizations are associated heavily with communists and communism. The only organization that is as commonly hated and despised as strongly as the National Socialists of Germany - Nazis.
Between the control the police receive and the armaments provided in a city as blue as Portland and the tendancies of untrust and dislike for the protestors by the police…
I’m just not surprised.
btw… what the hell is the Libertarian Left? That combination of words is definitively similar to “Military Intelligence” or “Government Entrepenuer” or “Smart Idiot”? What gives, is it really an truthfully some sect/branch of the Libertarian movement?
…sigh…
Try here, here, and here.
Whoops, now I’m not sure which piece of propoganda to follow. :( It sucks.
I suppose that’s why I align myself more to that of an Objectivist instead of “Libertarian”. I’m preferrable to the “Libertarian” ideals of the supposed “American Libertarian” than that of the socialist one.
I shall never state people are equals, I believe in freedom, property rights, and the simple fact that I WILL and DO produce more than many and want rewarded thus based on my meritocracy. Something I see from the wikipedia entry (if it is to even be believed) that property rights are considered bad (so I suppose the “state” owns everything, because at the end of the day, somebody does), and myself trading equally doesn’t equate to me being as productive as I can. What’s the point of me being productive to the levels of my ability if there is no merit based point to do so.
…
excuse the long rant. Thank you jeremy, I appreciate the links. I’ve read a little bit on Libertarianisms but obviously not enough. I’ll stick to my ego and merit based work. But I’ll definately read up on this “leftist”/”socialistic” ideal of Libertarians.
You might not have read the whole Wikipedia article. To clarify, I could be described as a left-Rothbardian, believing in strong property rights.
What’s the point of me being productive to the levels of my ability if there is no merit based point to do so.
You seem to think that I think things that I do not think, I think.
I don’t necessarily see those goals in conflict with mine, but I do see the Objectivist appeal to the state to promote those things you mentioned as nakedly wrong.
I don’t believe the state should try to make people equal, but I certainly don’t believe it should try to make some more equal than others by applying different rules to different classes of people (such as, for instance, corporations / “artificial persons”).
I believe in strong property rights, I just don’t think they’re absolute or a priori principles.
I believe that merit is a social phenomenon, and am wary of Randians who wish to impose a meritocracy from above, defining merit in their narrow, materialistic manner (I realize materialism is not an epithet to an objectivist :-) ).
The difference between you and I, perhaps, is that you want to current world, minus the lingering Christian morality and big government. I, on the other hand, want no government, and whatever follows from that - confident that the true nature of man is more virtuous than statists of any stripe believe.
That Wikipedia entry refers to 2 completely different conceptions of left-libertarianism: the left-Rothbardian anti-corporate conception and the “philosophical” conception. MLL members such as ourselves fall into the first group, not the second. Adron’s reply seems focused on the second group.
Ah, the RCP. I remember them well from my activist days in Hawaii. They and their front groups Refuse & Resist etc. were major players in activist circles there. Stalin, Mao, the Shining Path, no genocide in Tibet. Icky.
ag. It’s all confusing… but I kind of dig the explanation of no Government.
…that inherently leads to some powerful corporations though. Corporations are merely legal arbritrars of individuals declared rights and protections against torts, litigation, etc., etc…
This leads to about 8 zillion different viewpoints and thoughts. I still strangely support most of the Libertarian, whatever the declaration. Less Government is always equal to MORE good in my opinion too.