Oakland and New York Police Attacks -- Part of a Strategy?

I think that the recent violent crackdowns on peaceful demonstrators in Oakland and New York may be part of a strategy. (I don't have any inside information, so this is just speculation from the sidelines.)

Maybe at first the cops in the big cities were willing to go along with some protests when the invasion of Iraq began. Earlier marches had been permitted and there was a lot of American opposition to the war, so maybe the cops expected people to "get it out of their system" for a day or two. Of course, they would try to "maintain order" but they probably expected that a little traffic disruption for a day or two would be a tolerable nuisance.

Then the demonstrations in San Francisco continued, which was probably not expected, and police cracked down harder. But the public opinion polls came around to accepting the fait accompli of the invasion, and more "regular folks" were complaining (via coporate media) about traffic blockades, so it looked like maybe the protests had crested. The cops and the city governments probably thought that the protests would die down by themselves.

But the protests around the country changed targets from general disruption to highlighting war profiteering and media bias. And they haven't stopped. Even as the Anglo-American forces reach Baghdad, the anti-war people have not given up.

So, maybe the "law enforcement" folks concluded that they couldn't let this continue. They certainly wouldn’t want the opposition to become bigger and/or more effective.

The cops in Oakland could have just let the peace activists blockade the docks and then get arrested, just like the normal choreographed spectacle we're all used to. The blockaders almost certainly knew that they stood a chance of being arrested, and were willing to make this small violation of law to stop a much more significant violation of law and morality. The demonstrators had absolutely no reason to expect such a massive *display* (and I use that word on purpose) of force.

The powers-that-be probably feared that playing to the script left open too much of a possibility that protests would continue, and perhaps grow. Maybe the cops figured it was time to scare people away from such activity by cracking down really hard on peaceful protesters. Following them for two hours is just another intimidation tactic. Same with the arrests and interrogations in New York City.

But, as usual, they screwed up. Heavy-handed tactics show the cops to be the thugs they are, making them look even worse than before. It's just like Seattle in this respect. And don't be surprised that the corporate media will toe the party line. Expect it, and remember that that is why we have our own media to break through the nonsense.

If what I'm surmising is true, here’s the lesson: The police and their governments seem to want people to *stop* protesting. So the only appropriate response is to *continue* protesting. Keep targeting the profiteers and the propaganda houses. Keep building ties with the labor movement and non-"white" people. People who were there need to tell their families and everyone else who'll listen what really happened and why they shouldn't trust the media or the mayor. Demonstrate to the powers-that-be that they make things worse for themselves the more violent and outrageous they become.

Don't give up now, people. Even if the formal war is almost over, there is still a lot of work to be done. We have to prevent the next invasion (Iran? Syria?) by building on the foundation of anti-war opposition that we already have. Meanwhile, the U.S. will be occupying Iraq for a very long time, and we need to help hasten decolonization there. (Maybe Americans can go to Iraq to promote democratic self-governance and nonviolent resistance to occupation, like the ISM in Palestine.) We still have to challenge and get out from under the distorted media and the broken economy here at home. There is much to do, and many to do it, so let's not give up now.

Make it happen that whatever they do to us makes us stronger.

(BTW, this version of my comment replaces previous ones elsewhere on Indymedia.)