On Countdown, Keith Olbermann took the Oakland police and Mayor Jean Quan to task for the violence at Occupy Oakland, and warned that their actions could mark a dangerous turning point in the protests.
Here is the video from Current TV:
Olbermann discussed Mayor Quan’s 20 year liberal career in Oakland and then said, “And in the last two nights Mayor Jean Quan has betrayed all of that. There is no excuse. There is no justification. There is no rationalization for being the mayor who may have begun the great march backward in this country to the days when mayors like Sam Yorty of Los Angeles and Hugh Addonizio of Newark and Richard Dailey of Chicago stood back and their police incited, bullied, overreacted, and brutally assaulted protesters at the height of the Civil Rights and Vietnam movements. Those protests began non-violently, positively with singing and marching and cooperation with authorities, but the police like the police in Oakland, California this week, they injected the violence. Then it escalated and echoed, and soon there wasn’t just one Iraq vet in a hospital with a fractured skull, but there were dead men and women on the streets in this country and no one in this country wants to see that again today.”
He continued, “The mayor of any city is not out on the front lines with cops, and not everything they do can be lain at the mayor’s feet, but if one night a group of peaceable protesters exercising the rights given to them under the Constitution and not rights made up for the cops by the cops like lawful command and imminent threat. If they are attacked with tear gas and rubber bullets and the mayor’s only comments are to commend the police chief for a, “generally peacefully resolution to a situation, “ and after that claim democracy is messy, after the unprovoked actions horrify a nation, she is endorsing and assuming for herself whatever havoc the out of control police officers wrought.”
Later Olbermann closed by pointing out that it was only 15 months ago that Mayor Jean Quan was bullied by the police department, “Fifteen months ago Mayor Jean Quan was bullied by the Oakland Police Department, and tonight she is the bully. Mayor Quan is left with two choices. She can dismiss the acting police chief Howard Jordan and use her mayoral powers to authorize Occupy Oakland to protest again without harassment, or having betrayed everything she supported and all those who supported her, she must resign.”
SFGate is reporting that a press conference tonight Mayor Quan is claiming that she had little input on the Occupy Oakland raid, “Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, who is being criticized from all sides for a police sweep of the Occupy Oakland encampment, said Wednesday she was not involved in the planning and did not even know when the action was going to take place.”
In short Mayor Quan is passing the buck. The question is why wasn’t the mayor overseeing her police department? How could she not know when the action was going to take place? Was the previous intimidation that she suffered so traumatic that she is now afraid of the Oakland Police Department?
Instead of taking responsibility for the violence that occurred under her watch, Mayor Quan is taking the coward’s way out. The I had nothing to do with it excuse is not strong leadership, and it also provides some insight into how the police department got so out of control.
Olbermann’s larger point in my mind was the dangerous precedent that the Oakland Police may have now set for dealing with Occupy protesters around the country. If the police get away with this in Oakland, it will send the message to other mayors and police departments around that they can engage in the same behavior without consequences. The people must stand up and make it clear that they will not tolerate police brutality. The protesters have the courage that the politicians sorely lack.
History is on the verge of repeating itself, but America has the ability to avoid making the same mistakes. If Americans stand together, the police can’t arrest or beat everyone.
As Isaac Asimov wrote, “Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” Violence is also the one of the final actions of the desperate. Make no mistake about it. The people who oppose this movement are getting desperate. They have tried ignoring the protests. They tried propaganda and smears. Everything else has failed, so all they have left is violence.
They don’t seem to understand that violence is their fast track to failure. When they act out violently they make this movement stronger. Once violence fails, all that will be left for them is defeat.
Related posts:
- Police Censor The Media As They Unleash Devastating Force On Occupy Oakland
- Police In Riot Gear Gas The Protesters At Occupy Oakland
- Keith Olbermann Calls Out Media Hypocrites For Occupy Wall St Blackout
- Keith Olbermann Calls Scott Brown a Homophobic, Racist, Bad Joke
- Keith Olbermann Calls On America To Repudiate Beck and Palin’s Violent Rhetoric
I live in Oakland…and I agree with Keith, Quan should resign!!!.
WTF!!! Support The Occupy Movement
This isn’t the first time the Oakland police have used excessive force, it won’t be the last until the Chief is fired and their brutal tactics have been exposed & shut down. Shame on you Mayor Quan. If you can’t control them, you need to go. Please find your guts & stand up for the people.
My God woman…the police have seized power of your city against your wishes? Is that what you’re saying? You’re the damn Mayor, act like it. Kick some ass. Fire the leadership and install new leadership.
Mayor Quan if the Vancouver Police decide to follow the recipe of your OP’s I and everyone here will hold you and all other American Mayors responsible. It has already happened in Halifax NS.
I have to wonder after listening to Keith talk about her history as a mayor if the money isn’t forcing her to produce this type of action. Let’s face it there would be no shock were she co-opted by the police and the wealth behind the police actions across this country. I don’t think any of the mayors really want their Police Department being famous for beating up on people especially when all of them though it only makes the movement bigger.
Given the woman’s history doesn’t really seem logical that she would come out with this type of action against something that was not a threat on her own? As Keith said, she was bullied and investigated by her own Police Department which I find very strange. What type of government is that? I obviously have no inroads to the situation but I certainly must question why this is happening in Oakland and if it is truly the mayors doing
If she was not aware, then she’s incapable of being in that position. She can’t have it both ways. If she knew what was happening she is responsible (with those officers) for the violence. If she was not aware, she is guilty of complete ineptitude in a position of authority and leadership.
As far as I am aware she has expressed no remorse for Scott, and she even expresses pride in her violent thugs when she knew what had happened. That’s sickening.
She should resign now, and take all those vile brown shirts with her. These people should be prosecuted to the full extent allowed under law. That officer filmed throwing a grenade into the crowd of rescuers should be hunted down and charged with assault – all the officers who followed orders when they knew what was happening are guilty.
If she won’t leave of her own accord, the people will remove her. They’ll do it through legal avenues first, and if that fails she’ll be hounded until she is no longer capable of performing her most basic duties.
I agree totally with what Cleveland said. Given her history and being bullied by the PD it seems as if whatever they did or said scared her. Blackmail? Threats to her or her family?
On another aspect, wouldn’t it be great to see a veterans march in these local Occupy*** groups? How about a Rolling Thunder ride? There are a lot of veterans in this country who have sworn to uphold the very rights which are being ripped away. Regardless of which side you are on, constitutional rights are being violated, plain and simple. Stand up, man up/woman up and make your voice be heard. There are 22.7 million veterans as of 9/20/2010.
I hope the Oakland mayor either wakes up and does the right thing, or resigns. I hope it happens very soon.
The police AND the national guard are NO MATCH for the 99%!! What…are the police and national guard going to start firing on their own family members? Time for folks to wake up!!
The police chief should be fired or she should resign.
What’s likely is the police likely have something dirty on the Mayor and they’re using it as leverage. Most people in public office have skeletons in their closet, and this is just another example of how they’re being played like puppets.
Using the word overreaction feels like and under reaction. Absolutely uncalled for violence. This is revenge by the police for the Bart shooting protest and looting last year.
Why should the CEO resign when someone drives a company truck drunk and critically injures somebody? Same difference… Everyone seems to over react with an off with there heads mentality, simplistic response… I thought people were supposed to be educated in California?
She is not a CEO. She is a public official, paid by the people to represent their community.
She has acted irresponsibly, irrationally, incompetently, and shamefully. She has expressed pride that her officers attacked a peaceful protest and refuses to answer for the poor young man critically injured as a direct result of her decisions.
But going with your analogy… If a CEO ordered their employees to attack other people, they would be held accountable, as would all of those employees.
The only ones I see overreacting with “off with there heads mentality, simplistic response” in the article, the Keith Olbermann Clip from Current, and the comments, save one, in the thread are the Oakland Police and the Mayor who don’t seem to grasp the concept that they are part of the 99 percent these protestors are standing up for, a right guaranteed by the First amendment. It also defends the right to free speech and freedom of religion.
Sometimes keeping things simple and common sense aren’t the answer, and this is one of those times.
Did we read the same article
Rights are only rights when they apply to the tea pugs and the wannabe cons
SFGate was reporting that there will be 30 sec. commercials running on some of the Networks reporting the violence.
http://twitter.com/#!/HnstyNgov/status/129687423637651456
@SFGate :New TV ad rips @JeanQuan: “Stop the #Police Brutality” (video) sfg.ly/tUznjJ / #P2b @OccupyWallSt #Occupy #ows #OpPulse
Great articles and excellent responses. My own response when first hearing the news was shock and profound sadness that this man has put his life on the line to defend everyone’s freedom, only to be brutally and senselessly attacked by those who took an oath to “protect and serve” while unarmed and outnumbered.
I hold the police and Mayor accountable, and should be hauled into court and judged by a jury of their peers.
Please send your well wishes, thoughts, support and prayers to this example of “American Exceptionalism”. He needs to know we have his back, he’s fighting for his life.
Here’s Scott’s address:
Scott Olsen
c/o Highland General Hospital
1411 East 31st Street
Oakland, CA 94602
It has been reported on Twitter that the chief of police has resigned.
Anybody thought that the Mayor may be being stiched up by the police and other political enemies.