Photo from Twitter.
Yesterday, I attended a protest to demand ICE get out of LA. The protests were 100% peaceful. Participants abided by crosswalks, were never at any point blocking traffic, and did not antagonize anybody. People were giving speeches, reading poetry, and playing music in a public park.
As of the writing of this, the First Amendment is still on the books in the United States. Though, nothing can be taken for granted at this point. I mean, hell, a week ago the President ordered an illegal attack on LA, and nothing’s been done.
But again, to reiterate: Nobody was blocking traffic, nobody was in the street, there were children there with their parents, and the closest thing to a “disturbance” that I personally encountered were participants offering me free fruit and water.
The LAPD showed up in cars and helicopters and they completely blocked off Gaffey, and even blocked off a side street leading up to it. This caused a bottle neck that some people got caught up in for hours. There was no reason for it. The statement given by the LAPD: It was for the safety of the protest participants. Nonsense.
The first action of the cops was to block off the street and approach the protest itself. We were all taken aback by their sudden confrontation as it was a completely peaceful protest. People begin chanting “We are Peaceful”. People on the microphone at the park reminded the LAPD that there were children there. One older gentleman decided to approach the LAPD, maybe to attempt to give them them the peace of mind that they didn’t need to block off the street. This is how that went down:
After several moments, those particular LAPD officers backed up because the protesters made it clear that we weren’t looking for confrontation and had every right to be there. More cops showed up and they completely blocked off Gaffey. Again, there was absolutely no reason for this. This had nothing to do with the safety of the protesters. People were on sidewalks or in a park. The only presence making the situation less safe was the police themselves. Don’t take my word for it, take a look…
Going bigger picture here: I’m the first to admit we can’t peaceful protest our way to revolution. I wish we could, but that just ain’t reality. However, the toolkit for change is vast, and peaceful protest is among the tools (it just can’t be the only one).
Peaceful protest is catharsis, mobilizing, and allows a community to know it isn’t alone. The entire time I was there yesterday, we were greeted with honks and cheers of approval. Fist pumps, peace signs, and ‘thank yous.’ Peaceful protest is the antidote to despair and apathy, and that’s not a bad thing, especially in times like these.
The roads being blocked off was to antagonize the protest and limit its visibility. It’s one tool in the propaganda control toolbox.
It worked. At least one community event was canceled yesterday evening, and they canceled the Friday Farmer’s Market for today (I don’t get it. I’ve seen plenty of signs against ICE, but still haven’t seen one against vegetables).
Stay safe out there.