In case anyone doubts that the LAPD is the same group of monsters Gates ran

[yendi]

When the LAPD finally began arresting those of us interlocked around the symbolic tent, we were all ordered by the LAPD to unlink from each other (in order to facilitate the arrests). Each seated, nonviolent protester beside me who refused to cooperate by unlinking his arms had the following done to him: an LAPD officer would forcibly extend the protestor’s legs, grab his left foot, twist it all the way around and then stomp his boot on the insole, pinning the protestor’s left foot to the pavement, twisted backwards. Then the LAPD officer would grab the protestor’s right foot and twist it all the way the other direction until the non-violent protestor, in incredible agony, would shriek in pain and unlink from his neighbor.

It was horrible to watch, and apparently designed to terrorize the rest of us. At least I was sufficiently terrorized. I unlinked my arms voluntarily and informed the LAPD officers that I would go peacefully and cooperatively. I stood as instructed, and then I had my arms wrenched behind my back, and an officer hyperextended my wrists into my inner arms. It was super violent, it hurt really really bad, and he was doing it on purpose. When I involuntarily recoiled from the pain, the LAPD officer threw me face-first to the pavement. He had my hands behind my back, so I landed right on my face. The officer dropped with his knee on my back and ground my face into the pavement. It really, really hurt and my face started bleeding and I was very scared. I begged for mercy and I promised that I was honestly not resisting and would not resist.

My hands were then zip cuffed very tightly behind my back, where they turned blue. I am now suffering nerve damage in my right thumb and palm.

-- From Patrick Meighan's account of his arrest.

Comments

[robyn-ma.livejournal.com]

'Welcome to the hate that Gates made/New definition in scope of the term police state...' (http://stp.ling.uu.se/~erikm/consolidated/lyrics.html#guerrillas_in_the_mist)
- Consolidated, 'Guerrillas in the Mist,' released almost 20 years ago
(YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymhr2IXWrZw&feature=share))

[nishar.livejournal.com]

Stuff like this is why people start protesting with guns and firebombs. It's coming before too long.

[dark-blade.livejournal.com]

Someone is going to snap in response to this, somewhere, and I just hope that it isn't on officers in another city who HAVEN'T been responding like this.

[yendi]

I'd only heard a little bit of Consolidated before, and don't think I'd heard that one, but it's awesome. Thanks!

[yendi]

*nod* And then the cops and their masters will talk about how the protestors are anarchists and trying to destroy the country, instead of how they were provoking them.

[yendi]

*nod* Actions like this create a culture in which police violence is assumed to be the norm, and the actions of the LAPD (and the SF, Oakland, etc) send the message to all protestors that the cops aren't people interested in justice, but in oppression. It's going to lead to something bad worse happening.

[robyn-ma.livejournal.com]

Yeah, seems like most people have heard 'You Suck' (ft. the Yeastie Girls) and that's about it. There's also 'Infomodities (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC8FLyd6eAA)' off the same album as those two, which roasts the corruption of the Bush clan. Play More Music in general is a good gateway to them.