Posted on 03/19/2003 8:21:34 PM PST by Milanese
Here's my report from the Federal Building in Westwood, California. It is a suburb of Los Angeles with a business district and UCLA adjacent to the north.
I've seen others post such reports, so I felt some of you might be interested in what I saw.
Anti-war protestors were at the corners of Veteran and Wilshire from at least 10:00 a.m. Reputedly it is one of the most heavily trafficked city-street intersections in the world. This intersection has "the Federal Building" on the south-east side, the Veteran's Cemetery on the north east. North west is mostly a parking lot belonging to UCLA, south east a tall office building. The French consulate happens to be in that latter. I learned this by assisting every once in a while lost French tourists wandering on the streets looking for it.
The Federal Building has become the foremost protesting venue in Los Angeles. It used to be downtown but Westwood offers more convenient automobile access and egress and ocean breezes. All sorts of protests take place there. Since 9/11 these have been limited, from what I've seen, to Afghan War protests in 2001, anti-Israel protests beginning when the Palestinian factions started their civilian bombing campaign, then pro-Israel protests, and an occasional Iranian neo-royalist protest. And of course now the anti-Iraq war protests. One recent large protest was arranged within hours notice. About 2000 Iranian-Americans/residents appeared. They were of all ages and the best-dressed, most respectable crowd of protestors I've ever seen. I learned later the protest was organized just hours before by a local Farsi radio station against the arrest of Iranian visa-overstayers at INS offices while they were voluntarily registering and complying with INS rules demanding that they register, ask for extensions, et cetera. The protest seemed to have worked and the INS dropped the automatic arrest policy.
Anyway, today's protestors. They were all anti-war. They began in the morning. I decided to check them out after lunch, at about 2:10. There was a police helicopter, an indication things were heating up. There were about 300-400 of them. They coalesced at the south side of the intersection. Then they started walking east on the south-side of Wilshire. They were oblivious to the French consulate and lost an opportunity to make some kind of statement there. As they passed that building they veered into Wilshire Blvd. itself. Some were cautious and polite (as it were) to the cars, some oblivious to the danger.
Already there were more police than usual for a protest this side. Maybe they knew there would be a street march. These have occurred in the past. They are without permit, but as long as they keep moving along and end the police seem to be tolerant. Today was different.
As they passed the second building, actually a multi-level parking structure, a lady with a bullhorn told them to stop. Most stood in place, a few sitting. After a few minutes about 40 of them nudged the crowd south so they too could benefit from the shade of the parking structure.
It was about 2:20. I was observing the protest from the north side, standing in the parking lot. There were about 70 police in various places, four together just 15 feet in front of me. More were coming There were several protesters lining the north side of the street, sitting in chairs about 30 feet to the west of me, mostly older, enjoying the shade of the eucalyptuses. Three women stood out. Two were 50ish. One held two flags, about 15" by 20", mounted on sticks. One was the flag of Germany, the other Russia. Her friend had the flags of China and France in one hand, a natural wood, 4ft cane in the other. The third stand out was a late-teenage girl holding up and waving her pink "HONK" sign although west bound traffic ended 5 minutes before. More on them later.
A variable group of passerbys stopped by me had interesting comments. One, pointing out one of the four police right in front of us, said that was new LAPD chief Bratton. Sure enough, it was. He looked calm and confident, as did all the police.
Another man said with some anger "if this was the New York City police this would be solved by now." He went to his car and proceeded to the traffic jam.
Two 20ish fellows had their traveling plans interrupted by the protest and decided to watch. They asked me what the protest was about. One said "If you want to convince Los Angeles people to your cause, the worst thing you can do is block a street." The other looked over at the San Diego Freeway and saw traffic was moving. He said "Protests are good because they shut the Wilshire on and off-ramps. The traffic moves. But I'm not on the freeway."
A 50ish man walked by and asked me what the protest was about. I told him and he said "They are young. I was like that when I was young, protesting." I said I thought they were relatively sincere given the amount of homemade signs. He gave me a pleasant smile and walked off.
Two women approached us. We were standing next to their parked car. They asked what the protest was about. I told them they nodded their heads. One said Chief Bratton is in her Homeowners Association and was a nice man. They left in their car, which left us with a clear place to stand and watch.
We, the two 20ish fellows and I, were standing in the middle of the parking space. That is, Chief Bratton was on the sidewalk, four feet of short shrubbery, then the parking lot, us about five feet further. There were conversations between the police in the street and the protestors, and all save about seventy walked over to the adjacent, southside sidewalk. At this moment, right in front of us the two flag ladies interposed themselves at the edge of the shrubbery. The lady with the cane and French and Chinese flags was waving them at her sides. The four police did not turn around. She then held her paraphernalia straight down at her sides, clutching them with anger, bent forward her body and screamed "Bratton you're an a**hole" and another incoherent sentence that sounded rude. Bratton didn't flinch. The youngest officer turned around and gave her an unthreatening glare that read "Are you crazy?" She and her friend walked behind us. The officer looked at me quizzically as if to ask I have some connection or responsibility for her. I gave him quick side to side nods communicating "no."
At this moment two columns ten-person columns of riot police came from the west in the parking lot, parallel to the street. They stopped twenty feet from us, positioning themselves behind the 20-or 30 north side protestors including the girl still waving her pink "HONK" sign. The lady with the French and Chinese flags started waving her cane nearly like a weapon. She was muttering loudly and acting with a controlled wildness. One of the fellows with me had to step back and wondered if she was going to attack us. Naturally the waving of a stick caught the attention of the riot police. The officers at the closest edge of each column looked at me quizzically as if to ask I have some connection or responsibility for her. I gave then quick side to side nods communicating "no." Fortunately the more stable woman, the one with the German and Russian flags, said to her friend "We'd better go." And they did. So did the two 20ish fellows. I gave them some advice about back streets that might get them out of the terrible traffic mess.
My full attention returned to the protest. It's 2:30. There's about 60 still sitting in the street (including one young person in a wheelchair) surrounded by 30-40 LAPD, with 80-100 more LAPD and CHP deployed at other places nearby. Clearly the sitters wanted to be arrested. One was holding up his arms with crossed wrists begging to be arrested. He was ignored. The police were focused on getting wooden poster sticks and other such items from the protestors. Sticks would fly out of the group of sitting protestors and police. There seemed to be negotiations, the police more interested in the sticks, the protestors giving them up. They weren't chanting that much and I suspect some were flustered with the fact they weren't arrested yet. A few officers gave special attention to a drummer, flailing wildly with his sticks. I have learned that to avoid police attention at protests, don't wave sticks.
I should describe the protestors and their posters. Compared to other protests they were much younger. Fewer than usual older professional peace-niks were there. Being working hours is not an explanation, given past protests I've witnessed.
There were a significantly larger amount of hand-made posters. I'd say about 30%, and only the younger ones had them. Most of them were on the oil theme, or "democracy" or peace. The professional posters were mostly generic Peace and One-World themes, rather than other protests where I've seen so many causes espoused and vicious anti-American statements. There were flags, but 60ish peace flags and the US flag with the peace symbol on it. No previous peaceniks protests I've seen used such flags. It had a "flower power" feel rather than being completely a leftist slogan-fest. One guy was wearing a lei.
I would say that this protest was more straightforwardly "peace" oriented than other peace protests I've seen, anger and ulterior motives predominating them. I felt this was a kind of last gasp protest, only those who truly believe in the one-worldism and that evil can be negotiated with. Oh, and a lot of kids thinking it was cool. (Though some to be later arrested looked like they had emotional mental health concerns).
There was one "Free Palestine" poster, one for the girl killed by the bulldozer, and sure, many professional "anti-war" posters one can pull from left-wing websites. There was a "Not in our Name" banner. But this was the minority. I suspect that was part of the reason persons asked me what the protest was about. It was amorphously about peace - the signs a jumble.
There was one pre-printed sign I thought was witty. On the left hand side was a falling bomb emblazoned with the symbols of the three networks, CNN and Fox. On the right was a play on the MOAB big bomb - - "Mother Of All Bulls#!t
The arrests finally began shortly after 3:00 p.m. It was fascinating to watch the actions, deployments and redeployments of the various groups of officers in protestor and crowd control. The police were professional and intelligent.
The television war is starting, so I'll cut it short. (How many threads will be started about one incident involving cruise missiles? My!) The police bus pulled in front of me and the sitting protestors were pulled to it, one by one, every two minutes or so. I saw a variety of people. One stoic and firm in the righteousness of his actions. Most just kids acting out. One girl stood out. Her friends came to stand by me. They yelled "you're beautiful" and the arrested girl, while waiting in line for the bus, said the same to them. Then and exchange of "you're greats". Then "you're wonderfuls" then you're beautifuls" again. It was half Oprah, half 10 step program talk.
I left about 3:15. Two last images resonated. One, a young protestor in a wheel chair trying to get attention that he be arrested too as the police nudged pass him. And then the girl with the pink "HONK" sign. She was still waving it, jumping up and down. No cars had passed for over an hour.
I saw "Yeti man" He was one of the first 15 or so arrested, so I was there. When police led him away he was high-stepping using the support of the police holding him, like he was walking on the moon.
I saw some baton pushing, stick grabbing. Maybe some hard core ones were physically resisting after I left. I was surprised the police weren't more forceful at first, but they knew what they were doing.
Contrary to that story, the protestors were maching away from, not towards the "government complex."
Well, you can excuse them all you want... but they are distracting the authorities from doing their duty to be vigiliant in order to protect us from a possible terrorist attack. GIVE ME A BREAK!!!...to say the least. I will be civil...I will be civil....1...2...3...4...5...etc. Arrrrgggghhhh!
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