PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

100 march through Squirrel Hill despite chilling police repression and rain
by david Saturday, Nov. 13, 2004 at 8:51 AM

100 march through Squirrel Hill despite chilling police repression and rain.

On Thursday, November 11, Pittsburgh Organizing Group and Code Pink held a last-minute, emergency protest in Squirrel Hill against the assault on Fallujah. 100 protesters showed up on 48 hours notice as Pittsburgh joined 20 other cities holding similar demonstrations.

Protesters were greeted by an unexpected display of police repression and bullying.

Squirrel Hill is a quiet, mostly residential neighborhood that is home to many Pitt and CMU students as well as middle-class liberal families. The busy intersection of Forbes and Murray was selected for the protest not only because it was a potentially interesting departure from the usual Oakland or Downtown sites, but also because organizers' felt that it was important to "bring the war home." The urgency of the moral outrage inspired protesters to take the message directly to Squirrel Hill residents as they ate in local restaurants, shopped at the Giant Eagle, or commuted to their homes nearby. The time was ripe to challenge the comfort and complacency of those who remain silent while the U.S. continues to murder innocent civilians, break the Geneva Convention and commit other atrocities in our name.

Given those motivations, perhaps the heavy-handed police tactics we witnessed last night isn't altogether surprising.

What happened, exactly?

The police shut down the planned rally before it started. No sooner did people gather on the corner in front of the Sixth Presbyterian Church did the police, led by Sergeant Bogus (yes, that's his name), issue a dispersal order and threaten protesters with arrest. Bogus claimed that the church asked the cops to do so--but that was most likely a lie. On Tuesday the church's Interim Pastor, Beverly W. James, said that although the church couldn't officially endorse the last-minute rally, she did say that folks use their steps all the time and she promised that the church wouldn't call the cops and ask us to leave if it was made clear to the media that the rally wasn't a Church-sponsored event.

As it turns out, two members of the church were present at the rally and challenged the dispersal order. They proceeded to the top of the steps, one banging on his drum and the other holding her sign and chanting. In response, the cops pulled out a menacing K-9 unit and threatened them with arrest. The young women was nearly bitten.

After the unexpected and unwarranted dispersal order on the sidewalk in front of the church, in which protesters were surrounded by cops and K-9s, we informed Sergeant Bogus that there was no need to unleash the dogs on us--especially the young children present--and that we would abandon the rally in favor of a march on the sidewalks. He then threatened to arrest folks on charges of disorderly conduct unless we broke up into groups of "threes."

After a shaky start, we marched anyway, amidst heavy police escort consisting of bike cops, police wagons, K-9 units, undercovers (including video undercovers), a helicopter and regular patrolmen. As we marched, Bogus and other officers threatened folks using bucket drums and megaphones and said they would be arrested for disorderly conduct.

We marched for about an hour, up and down Murray and Forbes Ave., chanting "hands off Fallujah" and "end the occupation" staying on the sidewalks and mostly obeying the traffic lights. But the police presence and bullying was intimidating and unnecessary. As one POG member put it, it was like a "mini-Miami" -- referring to the unprecedented police repression at last year's FTAA Ministerial in Miami.

The march concluded in front of the public library where Radical Cheerleaders performed several squad sets. Members of CodePink and Pittsburgh Organizing Group say they will not be bullied into silence and that they will have similar rowdy "no more business as usual" protests in other neighborhoods.

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where was the print media?
by Rebecca R. Monday, Nov. 15, 2004 at 5:43 AM
malekincat@mac.com

It's amazing that "one of America's greatest newspapers" hasn't managed to find someone to write up this or the other post-election protests held in Pittsburgh.

It's time to start letting the Post Gazette et al know that a newspaper is expected to cover the "news." Tell them if you're angry about the virtual print media blackout of these events, and maybe publish your letter on IMC when you do. Write to letters@post-gazette.com and localnews@post-gazette.com.

Here's an extract from one I sent this weekend.

"This morning I opened our Post Gazette expecting to see coverage of last night's protest in Squirrel Hill against the assault on Fallujah.
Instead I found a picture of myself and my daughter at that protest on the back page of the Local News. While I have no problem with the photo being published per se and am flattered that the PG found it interesting enough to warrant publication, it seems to me that the fact that over one hundred Pittsburghers from very diverse backgrounds turned out in Squirrel Hill with just a couple of days' notice deserved some kind of text coverage too.
If I had been one of the curious onlookers who drove by last night wondering what the protest was all about, I would have counted on finding information in the PG the next day. Instead, people were dependent on the typically muddled soundbites provided by the local TV stations.
Don't you think that your subscribers ask questions when they see "events" covered by TV but not by the "news"paper they subscribe to and which has far more space at its disposal to do so? There have been several lively protests in Pittsburgh since the election, none of which have been covered by your paper. I'm personally getting to the point where I feel as though I'm "enabling" the PG by being a subscriber. Perhaps if enough of us simply stop subscribing then the PG will get the message and start being a little more incisive in its coverage.
I hope we don't get to that point and request that you make every effort in the future to create a better post-election dialogue with the anti-war movement in this city.

Sincerely etc.

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Poor Protest Coverage
by Francine Monday, Nov. 15, 2004 at 4:58 PM

I, too, think the post-gazette has been quite lame in covering the post election protests. Basically, the PG is a pretty conservative, non-progressive publication. Let me know when you cancel your subscription, I'll cancel mine too. Loved the photo of you and your daughter in the paper. Hope you get your letter published. Francine Codepink

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Drop the PG
by Dean Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004 at 8:52 AM
deangerber1@cs.com (412) 244-5410 228 Elm St.

I dropped the PG a while ago. One Sunday issue several months ago included a completely glowing article about US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, mentioning her anger at City Councils' choice to pass an Anti-USA PATRIOT Act resolution. In the same section of the paper they also printed a pro-USA Patriot Act article.

My response to the editor was to compare the PG to the Fox Fact Distortion Network. Just some BS that the two articles appeared in the same edition purely by coincidence. I got his attention, but could not get equal space in the PG. So goodbye!

Just make sure that they know why you've stopped buying their paper.

Dean

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And where
by Deanangerbear Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004 at 1:05 PM

did you get your law degree, Dean?

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really out of control
by karen riemer Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004 at 4:47 PM

what a crock of nonsense!!!! the pittsburgh cops do not treat people like this!!!! threatening people with the K9s, and a helicopter?? In Squirrel Hill!!! What dream land were you guys in???

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...
by ... Thursday, Nov. 18, 2004 at 9:26 AM

karen,

i hope your kidding, otherwise, tell that to the church members almost bitten by the attack dogs.

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