What began as a peaceful vigil on Tuesday evening for Michael Brown quickly devolved into a confrontational, cacophonous protest after familiar faces Kat Yang-Stevens, Amanda Lickers, and company showed up. Using their professional protesting expertise, they rallied up most of the vigil attendees into joining them in taking over two street intersections, challenging policemen and drivers, and in cursing out media types, including your correspondent.
One woman–who identified herself as the sister of the late Shawn Greenwood--swiped at my camera, and Yang-Stevens later hit me with her cardboard sign.
(Language warnings)
OK- I wasn’t actually assaulted, but they certainly weren’t friendly.
Kudos to the cameraman for his restraint. I wouldn’t have been so nice. I’m hoping to be there next year, and hope to have the pleasure of meeting the phony kat-yang. Mercenary protester? What a joke.
Maybe it is a generational difference? I was involved in peace marches to end the Vietnam War. On my college campus. Over 500,000 in DC. A few Weatherman ( a radical left wing group) ran into the streets (we were permitted to march on the sidewalks only) calling for others to follow them. No one followed them. The cops ignored them. There is always a very small minority of folks who try to take worthy causes and turn them violent.
We were prepared to be arrested. We were prepared to accept the punishment for civil disobedience. Seems like today people who want to break the law, be it the folks in your video blocking traffic or the clowns in the Cliven Bundy ranch, are not willing to take responsibility for doing so.
Maybe it is a generational difference? Or is it just a very loud very small minority?
What happened here and what I think is happening elsewhere: a small minority of very radical people are galvanizing others into joining them in their more confrontational protesting methods. Originally, everyone was peacefully attending a vigil, but as soon as Yang-Stevens, Lickers, and company showed up, more and more from the vigil gravitated toward the two intersections the protesters occupied. When I left, the vigil had shrunk to a quarter of its original size.