Not too many words to say here, this was a peaceful event (people were guarding against property damage by rambunctious kids...even banks were protected from damage!) pretty much until the tear gas was shot into the crowd.
I think there is a lot of frustration with our mayor and these repressive tactics, but still a sense of solidarity prevailed among many....a common chant to the police was "Us today, tomorrow your pensions!"
I left my inhaler at home, so we had to bail after the tear gas. But here are some shots my wife took before the chaos....
From the Oakland library to Frank Ogawa Plaza
Cross-Bay Solidarity (note many multiple syllable words, all spelled correctly!)
These are some of the people my tax dollars paid to teargas.
That's Boots Riley of the Coup with the megaphone, leading the march for a bit.
The march heads north towards Snow Park to regroup after the first round of arrests.
Note the police helicopter above...
These people were keeping the peace, first blocking people from committing property damage and then acting as a barrier between the crowd and the police line.
Reminding everyone that as tense and frustrated as the situation was, that the cops are in as much financial peril as anyone else in the United States of Austerity
And then...the tear gas.
Crappy cell phone image I got around the same time
We decided to leave shortly after that, but I can still hear helicopters circling...
More photos here
Working on editing down some video we got as well, stay tuned.....
7:50 AM PT: Now with video!