Social Commentary: On UC Davis

First, I was shocked. Then I was stunned. Then, in turn, I was incredulous, angry, and outraged. Now, I am mostly just terribly sad. Students from the University of California-Davis were participating in an Occupy Wall Street organized protest on their campus, when about a dozen of them sat on a path leading to a nearby encampment associated with OWS that the campus police were ordered to dismantle. The students had locked their arms together and were making an effort to prevent the police from reaching their destination. From the video I saw, the students were making no violent moves or even shouting epithets towards the police. It appeared to me that they were practicing non-violent civil disobedience in their refusal to heed police orders to clear the path. Crowds on the grassy areas on both sides of the path were observing the interaction between the students and police. Police were in full riot gear and were lining the path, keeping these people back. One police officer, also in full riot gear, approached the sitting protesters. At first you don't notice that he has a large can of pepper spray in one of his hands. Then, suddenly, and completely without provocation, he raises his hand from his side and starts using that pepper spray - liberally! Walking slowly back and forth, the officer aims the spray directly into the faces of the students. Back and forth he walks, casually, cavalierly, spraying copious amounts of the orange -tinted liquid all over them. The students huddle more closely together and try their best to protect their eyes, noses, and mouths by ducking their heads into their laps. But it's no use. The officer is way to generous in the use of the pepper spray to escape. Gasps and screams can be heard coming from the crowd. The video ends after the officer makes 3 or 4 back and forth trips using the pepper spray, so we don't see what happens next. Newspaper accounts report that, after the spraying, the rest of the police moved in and using batons, separated the students and arrested them.

Outrage and condemnation was almost immediate. Thousands called for the resignation of the school's chancellor who called for the police action in the first place. In turn, the chancellor, Linda Katehi, expressed "outrage" and called for an immediate investigation. Two of the UC-Davis police officers involved with the incident were put on paid administrative leave.

Here are a few things that, once I got beyond the outrage, saddened me to the point of depression. First, the apparently cavalier attitude of the policeman who sprayed these people was SHOCKING. He can be seen in the video slowly and deliberately pacing back and forth, waving his hand and controlling the spray as if he were painting the door of his car!! I saw no expression of fear or anxiety on his face at all. There was no grimace of clenched teeth. There was more of a calm, certainty of expression. WTF?! They were non-violent and he met them with EXTREME violence. If Gandhi had a grave he would be rolling over in it right now. From my observation (and I acknowledge that it's one thing to observe and another to actually be involved), there was ABSOLUTELY NO RATIONAL REASON for that policeman to act the way he did. NONE. It was excessive force. PERIOD. It leaves one wondering what type of person could be so callous as to show absolutely no emotion while causing such grievous harm.

This leads me to a second reason for my depression; there are those who will defend the policeman's actions - no matter what. They will say that the students were participating in an illegal activity and were warned repeatedly to disperse (they were). They will say if you do the crime then you have to do the time. And I agree with this on some levels. If you break the law you MUST be prepared to suffer the consequences. However, it's the DEGREE of the consequences that I take exception to. There is no way to justify the use of this much force in this situation. These young people (and in reality that's what they were) were brutalized and there is no way to palliate that. Still, there are those will say they got what they deserved. Sad.

This leads me to my last point; it shocks and saddens me to see the degree at which some people fear and loathe the OWS movement and everything and everyone associated with it. It's not just that they disagree with the movement's goals and objectives, they HATE everything about it and are willing to say it loudly and clearly. They use epithets claiming the people associated with it are less then human. And this hate bredes anger, fear, and, inevitably, violence - the type of violence we witnessed at UC-Davis. It's easier to brutalize people when we dehumanize them. We see it more and more everyday. Look, I don't agree with everything that OWS does or stands for. But, overall, I see the message as positive and, more importantly, NECESSARY. Only the so-called 1% fear the change because it would disrupt their nearly perfect worlds. So, I understand their fear and loathing. It's the other part of the 99% that's not hearing the message that I don't understand. These people should be lauded for the making the effort to change the world for OUR benefit. Are they flawed in their methods? Yes. But the bigger question we should ask is this: are they ultimately RIGHT?

You must be the change you want to see in the world . . . Gandhi.