Windows broken, pepper spray at Seattle May Day protests

I swear, it's those anarchist morons, particularly the ones who like to take rallies as an excuse to get their jollies from breaking shit that always ruins things.

It's likely a bunch of cops dressed up and causing trouble, agent provocateurs.

Smashing stuff accomplishes nothing except frustration.

is Occupy's reputation.


rocktivity

That's essentially the image they are projecting.

then they're not doing a very good job of reaching out to them. At least the Occupy Movement does things to police its own ranks of troublemakers.

The legit protesters were marching, and the anarchist crowd was among them, carrying red flags on big clubs that suddenly became very handy for smashing windows. They also had sledge hammers. They hit the bigger corporate stores like American Outfitters and Niketown and Starbucks, quickly dropped the black hoods and other Anarchist garb and blended in with the crowd. The police started with pepper spray and then went to tear gas. The legit protesters are now in Westlake Park, central downtown gathering spot, are VERY angry at the disruptors, and have another official gathering scheduled for 3:30 and one at 5. We'll see what happens then.

Reporters are all over, some streets are now closed and they're telling people to take off early and get the hell out of town.

I hate this. It becomes the face of the movement, and it has nothing to do with it. People interviewed downtown don't know that the Anarchists are not the Occupiers and are very upset.

I think the police were ready for this possibility but we regular people had no idea. Geesh.

Do some citizen arrests and make an example of the shits?

A couple jabs to the ribs before the cops show up?

And it was almost violent, what I saw on television.

It appears the Occupy movement is as yet unwilling to identify with unions they see as part of a Democratic establishment.

So they won't use those techniques, honed through years of having to fight for their lives from company goons and police attacking them.

I'm not sure what their response will be, although I've read some reports that indicate they are pointing them out to the police. The withdrawal from the march and setting up at the plaza is a tactic but they are being herded by having to do that.

Overall, KING5 is not that bad in covering these kinds of events, but NWCN was better in the past.

..I think there is definitely an operation underway to discredit the whole Occupy movement

(it may not be co-ordinated city to city, but it's being done regardless)

Possibly even police informants being paid to cause havoc and mysteriously never seem to be arrested and identified?

The plural is agents provocateur.

Pardon my Crackberry typing.