After those speakers, there seemed to be a calmer speaker who rose to speak against the disruptive behavior. That man, Vincent Suave, a 26 year resident was shouted down and threatened on the council floor. One Occupier grabbed the mike from him and told him “You can’t talk”, another walked up to him and told him, “You wouldn’t make it home”.
Oakland city council member Patricia Kernighan was concerned about public safety.
She was particularly concerned about the turmoil and disruption that Occupy brought to Oakland. So she proposed an ordinance that would outlaw bringing to demonstrations some of the common “tools of violence” that Occupiers frequently used, such as impact-resistant shields, hammers, aerosol cans, pressurized paint sprayers, paint projectiles, and fire accelerants—all of which have been deployed by Occupy Oakland.
The ordinance came up for a vote on May 22. Occupiers packed the meeting with about 40 people and spent almost 2 hours cursing and yelling at Kernighan and other council members.
Alan Kurtz at All Voices captures the mood:
Unquestionably the chief crazy that night was 28-year-old college student and Occupier Jessica Hollie, better known by her Twitter handle Bella Eiko. Bella is Occupy Oakland’s LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device)—a formidable sonic weapon. Her hopping-mad, expletive-crammed 14 minute harangue spewed personal invective at Chairwoman Kernighan. “You are on yo’ knees serving capitalism,” Bella sneered.
She also lambasted the American flag, which Occupy Oakland routinely burns in protest. “The Supreme Court,” according to Bella, “said it’s a perfectly protected form of self expression to burn that piece of shit that don’t represent nothing except imperialism and f***ing oppression.”
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