"There's a kid with a golden arm / he admits to the forest fire / he started up for the lack of something better going on"

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Run, it's the po-lice!



On May 1 (May Day), Los Angelenos held a peaceful demonstration throughout the city in support of immigration reform. In MacArthur Park, however, things turned sour. Police forces arrived, disrupting what was a non-violent protest filled with women and children. They came armed with rubber bullets and tear gas, and shots were indiscriminately fired into the crowd, regardless of the women and children present.

I was at last year's May Day protest along Wilshire, and I remember it being full of good will. People came to support one another, and for the first time, I felt a great solidarity within a crowd. It was beautiful. No one got hurt, as far as I know. But when trigger-happy cops arrive to disrupt things like this, it pisses me off.

My initial reaction was to say "Fuck the police!" and blast up NWA, but I know that the cops who shot into the crowd probably didn't receive proper training or preparation (but that's just speculation on my part). I blame former Deputy Chief Cayler "Lee" Carter Jr. for not doing anything to hold back his men. Mr. Carter decided to retire instead of being demoted from his position.

Allowing the firing of non-lethal bullets (which still hurt) into a crowd filled with unarmed women and children? Not taking responsibility and hiding away in retirement? I nominate Mr. Carter for the biggest idiot and coward of the week. How many more fuck-ups are in charge at the LAPD?

LAist has an update on the LAPD protest that will take place in Los Angeles today. Mayor Villaraigosa and LAPD Chief Bratton will also be present. Click on the link to see actual video footage of what went down on May 1. You'll notice the good feelings shared within the crowd at the start of the video. Then the police arrived.

On a lighter note, Elijah Wood will be playing Iggy Pop in a dramatized film about the punk singer. Too bad Elijah probably doesn't have a body that looks like a "piece of chewed-up wire."

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