"Shame On You"

The students were chanting, "shame on you", "shame on you", "shame on you".  They were shouting it to the police at UC Davis Friday afternoon when police dressed in riot gear opened up with pepper spray on a group of peaceful student protestors.  The students were seated on the ground with arms linked.  They did not appear to be blocking anyone or creating any type of disturbance but the police determined that it was a "volatile situation" and acted accordingly.  I haven't seen this type of response by the police with any demonstrators in this nation since 1968.  It was not a pretty scene.     

I've watched the video clip at least ten times now and have no earthly idea why the police chose to take the action they did by spraying these young people (protestors) with pepper spray.  I just don't understand it.  What was their point in trying to move these folks.  It made me think once again about how authority does not care for those who choose not to be compliant.  I've never really understood that.  I recognized the same non-compliance in my children from time to time when they were growing up and it was always frustrating for me as the parent.  However, I chose not to break out the pepper spray.  Truthfully, each of them ended over my knee a few times for such non-compliance. 

There is a difference though.  Watching the police officer aim the pepper spray as he did directly at the protestors was very disturbing.  Almost as if he was enjoying it.  When other officers tried to remove the protestors self-protection methods so that the pepper spray-wielding fellow officer could shoot directly into their face including in one instance a protestor's mouth, it just seemed way beyond necessary.  At the end of the day, there is going to have to be a fair amount of explaining on the part of the police, the university and whoever gave the officers permission to take such an action. 

The Occupy Wall Street movement has for the most part been non-violent.  There have been a few clashes of consequence and as each day passes, additional arrests are being made.  The movement suffers significantly from a lack of a coherent message and the leadership structure to deliver it.  Times past, there was real leadership leading such protest movements in this country.  One has to wonder who will take center stage for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Hopefully, someone soon will take up the mantle of leadership, define and clarify their issues and begin a significantly more organized effort at affecting the types of change they envision. 

Otherwise, these scenes of recent days including the use of pepper spray by the police will escalate.  Too many of us remember how terribly wrong things went back in Ohio on the campus of Kent State University. That truly was a dark day for our nation.  It can happen again if a serious dialogue does not begin with these protestors soon.  In this case, it was a police officer being just a little exuberant in his use of pepper spray.  What will happen when the police really do feel threatened by a protest group?  Will they only resort to pepper spray.  It started out that way in the sixties too.  Escalated to tear gas, rubber bullets and then students were killed. 

Occupy needs to find its collective voice and our political leadership across the country needs to listen.  Failure on the part of either side  should not be an option.  What our political leadership, local, state and federal seem to fail to realize is that incidents like the one we just witnessed only emboldens those involved in protest to march on.