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My Occupy LA Arrest, by Patrick Meighan (Family Guy Writer)


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First Person via blogspot.com: My Occupy LA Arrest, by Patrick Meighan

My name is Patrick Meighan, and I’m a husband, a father, a writer on the Fox animated sitcom “Family Guy”, and a member of the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica. I was arrested at about 1 a.m. Wednesday morning with 291 other people at Occupy LA. I was sitting in City Hall Park with a pillow, a blanket, and a copy of Thich Nhat Hanh’s “Being Peace” when 1,400 heavily-armed LAPD officers in paramilitary SWAT gear streamed in. I was in a group of about 50 peaceful protestors who sat Indian-style, arms interlocked, around a tent (the symbolic image of the Occupy movement).
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But back to Charles Prince. For his four years of in charge of massive, repeated fraud at Citigroup, he received fifty-three million dollars in salary and also received another ninety-four million dollars in stock holdings. What Charles Prince has *not* received is a pair of zipcuffs. The nerves in his thumb are fine. No cop has thrown Charles Prince into the pavement, face-first. Each and every peaceful, nonviolent Occupy LA protester arrested last week has has spent more time sleeping on a jail floor than every single Charles Prince on Wall Street, combined. The more I think about that, the madder I get. What does it say about our country that nonviolent protesters are given the bottom of a police boot while those who steal hundreds of billions, do trillions worth of damage to our economy and shatter our social fabric for a generation are not only spared the zipcuffs but showered with rewards?
This man speaks the truth regarding Wall Street. When are we going to see handcuffs out for folks like Dick Fuld, Prince, or Greenberg (AIG CEO)? Hell, when are we going to put Bernanke, Paulson and Geithner in jail to rot with them? (Hint: all three of them broke the law also!)
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When our system is not so tied into the "too big to fail" routine?

When Fannie/Freddie and every other not really gov't agency isn't rolling the dice in wallstreet

When the Banks that are also too big to fail stop getting bigger with help from those assigned to regulate them and receive money from them?

I don't know as much as a guy that reads thich Nhat books, but the Occupy Wallstreet movement is out of control from its original message.. seems like Chaos with spokesman that can't articulate a message. He should volunteer to speak not sit on a pillow at 1am.

Expect a Family Guy episode in 3,2,1.

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I don't know as much as a guy that reads thich Nhat books, but the Occupy Wallstreet movement is out of control from its original message.. seems like Chaos with spokesman that can't articulate a message. He should volunteer to speak not sit on a pillow at 1am.

Agreed. There doesn't seem to be much to it apart from vague outrage toward the upper class. If OWS were a term paper or a school project, I'd give it an INC. I can see they're able to organize and that's impressive, but what, exactly, are they organizing about and by what terms will they disperse willingly? The protesters in the middle east seem to have a common goal (throw out their autocratic dictators and implement a democratic government). What does OWS want and how do they plan on putting it into place?

As for Mr. Meighan, it sounds like he had a terrifying experience. Perhaps the LAPD even acted excessively. I agree that aspects of our nation (i.e. our government and the way we do business) is in need of reform. My questions to everyone there is: did they have a permit to occupy anything? Were they blocking places of work or streets by which people go to their places of work? Our first amendment guarantees us the right to free speech and to assemble, but I don't think that means gathering in places that hinder other people's ability to make a living.

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The Occupy movement seems be more about pepper spray, shoving matches with police videotaped on iPhones, and how they're being mistreated in general than it is about the issue they're protesting. And now, other "Occupy"-type protests are springing up in different places which have nothing whatsoever to do with Wall Street..."Occupy Movement to protest tuition hikes", "Occupy Movement to protest banning same-sex marriages", "Occupy Movement to protest Pelosi's overuse of makeup"...

The Occupy Movement is now the story, and whatever issues the movement is protesting is placed farther down the list by the media.

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The Occupy movement seems be more about pepper spray, shoving matches with police videotaped on iPhones, and how they're being mistreated in general than it is about the issue they're protesting. And now, other "Occupy"-type protests are springing up in different places which have nothing whatsoever to do with Wall Street..."Occupy Movement to protest tuition hikes", "Occupy Movement to protest banning same-sex marriages", "Occupy Movement to protest Pelosi's overuse of makeup"...

The Occupy Movement is now the story, and whatever issues the movement is protesting is placed farther down the list by the media.

Ever see the movie PCU Cali? Remember the "cause-heads" :D

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I think an important point here is that there are apparently unlimited resources available to deal with the protesters, such as 1400 armed police at 1am in one city to arrest non-violent citizens, and similarly nationwide.

Meanwhile, we apparently lack adequate resources to oversee the financial sector who are defrauding us all of billions, and coming back for more.

Maybe the 1400 LA police should enter the financial buildings locally and administer some policing and pepper spray to the criminals who have contributed to destroying their police retirement funds and their personal property values.

And I don't know whether :evilg: or :mad:is appropriate. Probably both.

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The Occupy movement seems be more about pepper spray, shoving matches with police videotaped on iPhones, and how they're being mistreated in general than it is about the issue they're protesting. And now, other "Occupy"-type protests are springing up in different places which have nothing whatsoever to do with Wall Street..."Occupy Movement to protest tuition hikes", "Occupy Movement to protest banning same-sex marriages", "Occupy Movement to protest Pelosi's overuse of makeup"...

The Occupy Movement is now the story, and whatever issues the movement is protesting is placed farther down the list by the media.

Isn't that how most of these hippy-subset movements end up? The only major groups that have been successful in protest have been the Civil Rights groups in the 60s and more recently the Gays for their right to serve openly in the military. That'll show these young kids a little something about WORTHWHILE CAUSES and ORGANIZATION. It's amazing. Great post, Cali.

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I think an important point here is that there are apparently unlimited resources available to deal with the protesters, such as 1400 armed police at 1am in one city to arrest non-violent citizens, and similarly nationwide.

Meanwhile, we apparently lack adequate resources to oversee the financial sector who are defrauding us all of billions, and coming back for more.

Maybe the 1400 LA police should enter the financial buildings locally and administer some policing and pepper spray to the criminals who have contributed to destroying their police retirement funds and their personal property values.

And I don't know whether :evilg: or :mad:is appropriate. Probably both.

I'm assuming that you know the "1,400" comment was likely an exaggeration to make a point lol...

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I'm assuming that you know the "1,400" comment was likely an exaggeration to make a point lol...

Sure. But the point stands. We the people apparently have unlimited tax-payer funded resources to move some smelly poor hippies out of many public parks nationwide when we find them annoying.

But we lack the resources or desire to oversee people committing fraud in plain sight that costs us billions.

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Protestors rarely have the answer (or, if they do, the power to enact the solution).

They protest because they see an injustice and want to be heard. Most of the time, the only power they do have in via protest.

Why is that so hard to understand and accept?

Because it doesn't do a bit of good and, if anything, it just breeds resentment toward their message.

Most, if not all, of the great "movements" in this country have had a main goal attached to them. Women's Suffrage, Civil Rights, Women's Liberation, Anti-war protests of the 1960s and 2000s. Hell, even the TEA Party has some semblance of a platform. Whether you agreed with them or not, they had an actual goal.

Yes, there's injustice in this world and it should be fought, but that's nothing new. Even the people they're protesting know they're screwing folks over. Protesting greed is like protesting gravity. It's in humanity's nature to be greedy. The best we can do is come up with a way to curb it in society at large.

Like I said before, OWS is an incomplete project. If they can specify what exactly is wrong (that isn't just a character trait like "greed" or "dishonesty") then we'll talk. I'll even give them extra points if they can come up with some sort of ten point plan to fix it. Right now, though, it looks like a group of outraged people who aren't really completely sure about what they're outraged about. Of course injustice is prevalent and of course we all want to put a stop to it; but you have to be specific as to what's bothering you.

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Sure. But the point stands. We the people apparently have unlimited tax-payer funded resources to move some smelly poor hippies out of many public parks nationwide when we find them annoying.

But we lack the resources or desire to oversee people committing fraud in plain sight that costs us billions.

I don't think it's simply because people find them "annoying" lol...but that's an apples/oranges comparison, though. Besides, it's much easier to divert manpower to something that will take no more than 3-4 hours than to invest additional resources in terms of both manpower and pubic funds to something that will take years if not decades to properly implement and oversee. Not saying it shouldn't be done, but I am pointing out one of the differences between the two.

---------- Post added December-9th-2011 at 10:25 AM ----------

Protesting greed is like protesting gravity. It's in humanity's nature to be greedy.

jha0166l.jpg

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Sure. But the point stands. We the people apparently have unlimited tax-payer funded resources to move some smelly poor hippies out of many public parks nationwide when we find them annoying.

But we lack the resources or desire to oversee people committing fraud in plain sight that costs us billions.

If the hippies paid off the cops like their overlords do, then we'd see it maybe be different. If the movements had the money to counter the payoffs and favors that will keep those overseers in the dark even if they are allowed, then maybe it would change.

But as it is, the thieves with the cash can make a phone call to their other high connected buddy and the noisy problem gets arrested so the fat cat can sleep

Of course, if they did that, then they'd be exactly what they're protesting against.

Ah Catch 22.. the most sublime catch of them all.

~Bang

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If the hippies paid off the cops like their overlords do, then we'd see it maybe be different. If the movements had the money to counter the payoffs and favors that will keep those overseers in the dark even if they are allowed, then maybe it would change.

You can only hope that the individual police officers would take a look at the decline in their personal 401k or pension statement and realize they are pepper spraying the wrong people. :evilg:

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People have to start demanding stricter white collar crime laws and actually have to vote for candidates who will do something about it, rather than the ones now who either give them money or refuse to do anything b/c they aren't in power, but still get voted for b/c they are 1 of only 2 options and have a certain letter after their name. We need more independent candidates and we need to start taking them seriously. The 2 parties are never going to go after the guys who line their pockets, especially not the party whose line is to actually protect the corrupt because they "create jobs," despite all the evidence to the contrary, specifically more profits in the face of rising unemployment.

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I read an article a few years back in which a journalist spent a year following various protest movements. Based on his experience, he broke down the membership of your typical protest. If you were to pull aside 10 randomly selected protesters and asked them a couple basic questions about their cause:

1 (10%) would look at you like a deer in headlights

5 (50%) would be able to recite basic talking points, but may get flustered and confused if presented with strong counterarguments

2 (20%) would be able to clearly argue their points and make a good case for what they stand for (oftentimes these people would be the protest organizers)

2 (20%) may have some knowledge of what they are protesting, but if questioned further off the record, they would concede that they are mostly there just to vent, hopefully hook up with someone, or get a chance to throw a brick through a window

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I read an article a few years back in which a journalist spent a year following various protest movements. Based on his experience, he broke down the membership of your typical protest. If you were to pull aside 10 randomly selected protesters and asked them a couple basic questions about their cause:

1 (10%) would look at you like a deer in headlights

5 (50%) would be able to recite basic talking points, but may get flustered and confused if presented with strong counterarguments

2 (20%) would be able to clearly argue their points and make a good case for what they stand for (oftentimes these people would be the protest organizers)

2 (20%) may have some knowledge of what they are protesting, but if questioned further off the record, they would concede that they are mostly there just to vent, hopefully hook up with someone, or get a chance to throw a brick through a window

Sounds like most politicians.

You know, I wouldn't be surprised if certain protests in the '50s and '60s were mischaracterized or negatively stereotyped. It would be nice if the media, and the responding population, could focus on the message instead of simply attacking the messengers. We all know what the main message of OWS is because we all know the problems Wall Street caused: it's to stop the means by which Wall Street members have been able to screw over Americans to the tune of billions, possibly trillions, of dollars. We all know what they did was wrong, we're all pissed about TARP, yet we decide to attack the people who are keeping awareness up, rather than the actual offenders, and that sucks.

I mean, what do you really care about more, a jobless hippy protesting a great injustice, or stockbrokers selling bad stock that they also gambled against and swindling people for billions?

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If you can't tell there is a serious problem I don't know what to say. A lot of people don't have an answer, but see it and a lot are hurting. We are on a losing path. If the only thing you can do is stand in the street and just be a number against it, good for you for taking your time. Defending what's wrong or attacking a peaceful protest? Sad.

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If you can't tell there is a serious problem I don't know what to say. A lot of people don't have an answer, but see it and a lot are hurting. We are on a losing path. If the only thing you can do is stand in the street and just be a number against it, good for you for taking your time. Defending what's wrong or attacking a peaceful protest? Sad.

I'm not attacking anything. All I'm saying is that every productive protest movement in this country had some sort of obtainable goal. I don't know what these people want. If they can all come together and agree on something. It doesn't even have to be that detailed. Let's just have some kind of mission statement everyone involved in these protests can say "yes" to and we'll go somewhere.

I don't like greedy politicians or greedy bankers either. They're scum to me, but as I said before, greedy is inherent in humanity. There are ways to curve it in society (see Teddy Roosevelt's trust busting policies) but greed itself will always exist, regardless of race, color, gender or government.

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I'm not attacking anything. All I'm saying is that every productive protest movement in this country had some sort of obtainable goal. I don't know what these people want. If they can all come together and agree on something. It doesn't even have to be that detailed. Let's just have some kind of mission statement everyone involved in these protests can say "yes" to and we'll go somewhere.

I don't like greedy politicians or greedy bankers either. They're scum to me, but as I said before, greedy is inherent in humanity. There are ways to curve it in society (see Teddy Roosevelt's trust busting policies) but greed itself will always exist, regardless of race, color, gender or government.

And it's out of control, allowed to happen by our government and people are pissed and taking to the streets. It's simple.

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