Blue Byline » Oakland arrests

OWS needs to take responsibility for crowds’ actions

Brian O'Neill — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 19:10:18 +0000

On any given weekend, anywhere in the country, there is a wild teenage party. When the roof starts to shake and glass starts to break, the cops show up.

“It wasn’t my fault – I didn’t invite them!”

This is the typical explanation that the anxious and naïve teenager gives in reference to the few party crashers whose outrageous behavior has ruined everybody’s good time.

It’s an immature and lame response, but understandable with teenagers. It does not, however, excuse adults who provide a similar venue for all-comers. The Occupy Wall Street protest’s peaceful protesters made numerous similar comments, none of …

OWS: Throwing rocks and losing relevance

Brian O'Neill — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:12:34 +0000

On September 17, 2011, Americans first occupied Wall St. and nobody cared.

But in the days and weeks since then the protest has fanned out through the U.S., capturing headline news as well as the innately rebellious imagination of this country. Despite the knee jerk “outrage” against this movement by some right-leaning media (okay, I”m talking about Fox), Occupy Wall Street has distilled the sentiments of those leaning left, right and, most importantly, those of us in the middle.

The Occupy movement is a powerful representation of the collective frustration many people now harbor for the political process which …