p.s. jlf is backed up and still has yet to process my order....
~ [ MainMind : 10/4/2000 10:18:30 PM] *@*
now that i've had a whole four hours of sleep after being in the whole judicial process for over thirteen hours, straight, through the night, i have some time to describe what went down: So last night i went to a small gathering of the protest persuasion down at umass boston, to protest the whole Ralph Nader not being allowed to be in the debate thing. I was planning on going to work (as i should have done) but nick came over the house about an hour before i was to leave and said he was going to the protest and i decided it was an opportunity i could not pass up, and i'm glad i didn't but I thought when i got there on the T that i'd be leaving the same way, not in a paddywagon. I was wrong. You may have seen some coverage of the whole thing, and they say we got violent. This is not so true, at least, not from what i was able to witness (the time the say there was rock throwing was about the time i was bleeding on the pavement in police custody) Because most of the reports that were put out on the fourth were taken from the police and other official-type people, the spin was definitely anti-protestors giving us an air of vigilante anarchism or something. It was a very peaceful protest most of the time. there was one pepperspraying of the crowd when we were moving up some barricades, around 9 oclock. From then until the whole 'beat-em-down, take-em-in' thing, nothing really happened. We broke the through barricades and moved into one side of the street, and we faced little resistence, and just sat in the road, when the brought out HORSES and tried to TRAMPLE US ALL we stood (sat) our ground, some people not even moving after getting stepped on by the horses. I guess no one had informed those dumbasses that horses are not weapons. And probably at quarter to 11 we began to move into the other half of the street, to totally block off any traffic flow. The barriers that were removed were rolled and carried down the street until we were fifty feet from the police line, then we arranged the barricade fences three-deep across the road, totally blocking it. There was then a group of people in front of the fences, about three rows deep, i was in the front. Until that time, the police tactic for moving us or attempting to, rather, was to approach the group slowly and push us with hands and billyclubs. This time, without much warning, the produced shields from behind the line, pulled out their nightsticks, started slamming the clubs on the shields and shouting "move!" as they marched double-quick towards us. In seconds, they were on top of us, the first thing that hit me was the butt of a club to the side of my nose, then plenty of pushing, hitting, people falling on me, and finally i was dragged out by a bandana i had around my neck to protect from pepperspray, in case they used it again, which broke, so they grapped the next best thing: my hair and shirt collar. There was a nice shot of me being dragged across the pavement on channel 7 news this morning. while laying on the ground, they began to remove the barricades from the road, and were bringing them back down the road towards the police hq, over my head, and almost dragging that across my body. I know that some camera caught a shot of me lying on the ground, nose bleeding, passively awaiting the police's next step in the whole process, like any good protester should. but i didn't see that on any stations... I spent from 12:15 to about 5a.m. in police custody, most of it in jail in southie. I had my arraignement at 8:30 this morning, so i didn't get any sleep until i got home from that at 2. Lucky for me there was some organization that was putting this crap together, and when i got out of jail there was someone to give me a lift home, and the same people got in contact with a lawyer's guild who are going to represent any of us who want it pro bono. I plead not guilty to a charged of "disorderly person" and i'll be found not guilty by a jury no problem.Sidenote: I suggest that one does not carry a straightedge razorblade and segment of drinking stray in one's wallet and/or purse because in this police state, one can be arrested at almost any time, and the police seem to look down on such implements with white powder residue on 'em... go figure. (they searched my wallet when i was booked, i had forgotten about 'em, they said something about coke residue and going to a lab, but they could have been bluffing. i haven't been charged yet, and even if they found something on it, it would be in such microscopic amounts that they probably couldn't charge me with anything).
Sidenote2: "Get Out of Jail Free" cards do not work. I tried.
~ [ MainMind : 10/4/2000 10:14:27 PM] *@*
Highlights of the last 24 hours: getting arrested for protesting at the presidential 'debate' for Ralph Nader ("Let Ralph Debate") and being on tv being dragged around by stormtroopers, er, i mean Boston's Finest, the BPD, in full riot gear mind you.Can't write much now, 'cause i kinda just got back from jail, and have to be in court at 8:30 this morning for my hearing about being a "disorderly person", which is what i was charged for. who knew sitting in the middle of a road could cause so much trouble?
i'm tired, i'm hungry, i was really dirty in a really dirty cell for more hours than i care to recall and my nose is bruised and swollen....
democracy is a dish best served harsh?Film at 11
[end blog]
~ [ MainMind : 10/4/2000 6:35:51 AM] *@*