Portland Police Meeting with Occupy Portland (RAW VIDEO)

[baron8107]

I don't hate Occupy, I hate the punks who drown out the intellect in it.

[rcnotes]

Condescending, patronizing "authority figures". Why can't they grasp the concept of a democracy in action? Oh, but they do and they are scared.

Teapartiers have proclaimed a similar "leaderless" culture. Except for those who are pulling the strings like Rupert Murdoch, the Koch brothers, banksters and global corporations.

The cops are playing dumb. It's a diversionary tactic to define and divert the movement away from its goals.

I hope that the Occupiers aren't falling for this charade.

[SButler55]

The message that the protestors have delivered is that there is no message. They claim to have no leadership yet they want to limit who else can join in the meeting. It was very kind of the chief and his staff to waste their time to meet with these idiots. I hope that the city had the chairs the protestors used cleaned.

[davidcouper38]

This is a good example of the tension between hierarchical and "organic" leadership. Chief Reese did a good job trying to listen and understand the dynamics here. Not easy. Stuff I learned as chief of the Madison PD (1972-1993) and student protest. I have a new book coming out in early 2012 on improving our nation's police. In the meantime, I am putting excerpts from my book on my blog. Query "improving police" on Wordpress. Visit and please comment.

[rogerallan0512]

@5p34x i see your point, even though i dont agree. look at civil rights movement, yes there was militants that aided in the movement. but it seems that they actually held the movement back by putting that fear of violence in peoples minds.

dont get me wrong, im not a n anti violence leftist, violence is a tool is used correctly, and what we saw in oakland was no tool, just fools using the movement as an excuse to create havok

[rogerallan0512]

@5p34x i agree, you have to do the research and that was taken from the dictionary, not some rant from a radical. don't get me wrong, im a radical also and i want change, but smashing windows and attacking people who are protesting against the same people the "anarchists" are against is counter productive and just fucking stupid.

no insult to you, personally, but the thought that a violent demonstration will lead to anything but a war is something that history has taught us...

[rogerallan0512]

@5p34x a : absence of government b : a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority c : a utopian society of individuals who enjoy complete freedom without government

2

a : absence or denial of any authority or established order b : absence of order : disorder <not manicured plots but a wild anarchy of nature

[HOR022880]

See the police chief lie at 20min 24sec!

[oGoatGirl]

Nice. The more dialog the better. Would like to see this in every city.

[Coverbuster]

Mace the fucking wasted loader hippies !!! Get a fucking JOB fucking leeches.

[poolsidemike01]

communication is a 2-way thing. Much of this meeting was not communication, but rather the OP's attempts to justify everything they are doing, whether legal or not. This says it all..."The Occupy Portland General Assembly approved a declaration of "non-violence" toward people, however they rejected the "non-violence" proposal toward property, they rejected a proposal to abide by park rules, and they rejected a proposal to give police information prior to protesting."

[kmanifacier]

Well done and hats off to our police force. I am so proud of Portland's Finest and their efforts to protect all Portland's citizens and our rights. It is a very tough assignment and I salute you. Most Portlanders want Occupy to be able to protest effectively AND want public order maintained as much as possible.

[Peter97223]

I am delighted to see this level of communication. At 33 minutes into the video: regarding using the threat of force (e.g. chemical spray, or worse) to enforce compliance (e.g. "stay on the sidewalks")... is it really a reasonable (responsible) choice to threaten force on marchers as a solution versus enabling the slight inconvenience of stopping auto traffic for two to four minutes? See 36:40 as a further question of this. The threat of force will only escalate the potential for conflict.

[oh2love4love]

so nice to see this round table :)

[aballard23]

Cool, I really have no idea what exactly they are here for still. Where they came from, what they stand for. NO IDEA. What is the point of publicizing a meeting between our police and them (which, btw, why would you just give them the street if they were without a permit? Just arrest them and do us all a favor so commerce can continue in Portland. Thanks.), if you aren't going to make it clear what the point of the movement IS?

As for a lack of leadership? Someone had to start it, duh.

[DrHuhh]

@aballard23 Why do you brag about having NO IDEA, when that info has been available everywhere for over a month?

[gazeitgeistmnm24]

Great discussion! Thanks to everyone involved here for having this meeting and sharing it with the rest of us! Having a thoughtful, calm, articulate conversation in person, face to face is one of the best ways to create understanding and move forward with the whole movement! Thanks again and good wishes!

[yoda002]

Very good meeting!!

[TheDaneMorgan]

No one being "the guy", but rather co-leadership of the Armies of Rome, is precisely what allowed Hannibal to kill one heck of a lot of Romans....

[shraidha]

"Collective Hole". Priceless.

[omgsoup255]

the rally turned out very good :)

[lostingrace]

I too will be sharing this as a positive example of why communication is key! This IS what democracy and community looks like! Shared responsibility - YES! May this serve as an encouragement to Occupy cities and PD's throughout the nation. Kudos to all involved!!! Thank you for making this public!!!

[poolsidemike01]

also, is the extreme close up "in your face" photographer really necessary?

[poolsidemike01]

the leader of the discussion (even though 9 minutes of her explaining that there is no leadership is kind of funny) is eloquent. But guys, for a huge part of the meeting, you basically say a whole lot of nothing. Why meet if you have no leadership role, and can only talk about the fact that there is no leadership? My take, "the movement" pretty much is asking for what they already have....the right ignore laws that the rest of us have to live by. Shame.

[me2i81sour2]

Yes, Mr Reese, your is a big bad scary world. 

[rogerallan0512]

without communication, we are left with anarchy, and as we have seen with our brother and sisters in Oakland, that leads to nothing good...great post and i will personally spread this so the world can see that there is hope..

"99% until we are 100%"

[sunshinedropps]

One step @ a time...

Communication about real issues. Thank You.

That's what I call, "Fit to print." The mainstream media needs to get on the same page. Let's have a real nation, that shares real news. Thanks again.