What it is ain't exactly clear

Just read this Reuters report:
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Rubber Bullets Used Against Oakland War Protesters

OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - Police fired rubber bullets on Monday against hundreds of anti-war protesters blocking a road near Oakland's port, witnesses and officials said.

Local media reported several longshoremen were injured in what is believed to be the first police use of rubber bullets against demonstrators since President Bush launched a war aimed at toppling Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on March 19.

Demonstrators were seeking to block access to American President Lines, a shipping company they claimed was profiting from the war in Iraq. Police at the scene said they used two types of rubber bullets to disperse about 750 protesters and that some arrests were made.

Oakland Police spokeswoman Danielle Ashford said police used "sting balls," also known as rubber pellets, and bean-bags to disperse the crowd. "We gave our dispersal order, we gave them an order, we gave them ample time to disperse," she said.

A group of about 150 protesters remained after the initial burst of rubber bullets dispersed the crowd and police continued to fire upon them, a Reuters photographer at the scene said.

In San Francisco police arrested about 18 protesters at the Federal building in a separate demonstration.

Anti-war activists in the San Francisco area said they were launching a series of protest actions on Monday after a period of relative quiet in a city famous for its history of dissent. Police arrested more than 2,000 people in San Francisco in the first two days of the war.

In New York, several dozen people were arrested in an anti-war protest that blocked the entrance to the Manhattan building of the Carlyle Group, which has a significant stake in the defense industry.

Up to 300 people chanted "Carlyle gets fat on war" outside the offices of the $14 billion investment group.

Police said about two or three dozen demonstrators were arrested outside the building on 5th Avenue at 56th Street and charged with disorderly conduct.

The self-described "M27 Coalition" of protesters said the demonstration was part of a "day of direct action" against the U.S.-and British-led war in Iraq. The same group organized a "die in" March 27 that snarled traffic in the center of Manhattan during morning rush-hour and led to more than 200 arrests.

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HomerJ and I will be dodging bullets in DC next Saturday... Anyone else?

If only you could carry a sign that read,

I Protest this war in the name of:

Then you could add my name, I wish I could be with you, but you and Homer be careful.

Well, it is one thing to protest and quite another to block another person's access to his/her place of work, street, or otherwise. You have the right to protest but others have the right to go to work, etc. Once you interfere with someone else or their ability to go somewhere or do something, you've crossed the line.

I heard this report on a PBS radio station with a slightly different twist.

In an interview with one of the longshoremen who had been on his way to work at the shipping company in Oakland at the time of the "incident", it was stated that the police seemed to be out of control from the onset.
The longshoreman, who had been injured, said the rubber bullets had hit him hard enough to break through his skin.
He then pointed out several other shipping company workers to the newswoman, noting they were still "hunched over" in pain from the rubber bullets used by the police.

When asked by the newscaster to describe the kind of people he saw demonstrating, he answered, "Mostly old women-types....sort of a bunch of 'Yoga For Peace" people..."

He himself was not involved in the demonstration, nor were the several others with him who were (as he reported) hunched over in pain after being shot. He also mentioned the "bean bags" (??) having been used as weapons by the police.

<I>(I haven't heard of bean bags being used as weapons since my children were little.
We didn't get bean bags back into our house until someone invented scented bean bags that are used for eye comfort.....) </I>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Pickle:

Well, it is one thing to protest and quite another to block another person's access to his/her place of work, street, or otherwise. You have the right to protest but others have the right to go to work, etc. Once you interfere with someone else or their ability to go somewhere or do something, you've crossed the line.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, you can be arrested for it and I'm not so sure that's a good idea these days. We don't have as many consitutional rights as we used to so arrest for civil disobedience could be a much more dangerous proposition than it used to be. Unitedforpeace.org is trying to stay away from civil disobedience because they're trying to get across the message that they represent mainstream people. That seems to be necessary these days and unfortunately, the peace demonstrations can attract some ready made loonies that don't help the cause. So on a PR level I'd agree, but I sure don't see that blocking an entrance to a building or clogging up traffic is all that radical when compared to war. Oh, for the old days when the governement didn't control the media quite so well.

... and what about the use of rubber bullets and dowels... which injured several people ... I know the demonstrators were at least aware that this may happen, but what about the bystanders, six of whom were injured.

Shooting ANYTHING into a crowd, to me, seems wrong.

Did you see the pictures? One lady had a huge hematoma on her face. It was terrible.