9:30am | In what might be best described as the Burning Man of Long Beach’s two-month-old Occupation, somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 Occupiers from throughout Southern California came together at Pier J-268 in a festive show of defiance that was met with what has to be among the biggest law-enforcement deployments in recent Long Beach history.
The stated goal of the “Occupy the Ports” event — which took place on “Green Monday,” traditionally the biggest package-shipping day of the year — was a “coordinated West Coast shutdown to disrupt and blockade the economic apparatus of the 1%,” metonymic for the purpose of the protest with gargantuan banking/securities firm Goldman Sachs, the majority shareholder of SSA Marine.
However, the Occupiers gathered directly in front of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) parking lot. Perhaps as a result, police presence during the early stages of the protest was light — so light, in fact, that the hundreds of protesters who had arrived before 6:00am easily bypassed the LBPD’s initial efforts to set up a police line.
Reinforcements were arriving steadily as 7 a.m. approached, an a thickened police line began to move incrementally forward. It was a patient showing by police, who were content to advance now and again by a meter or two, then simply hold their ground, long billy clubs in front of them but showing no aggression toward the protestors, some of whom taunted police, some of whom politely engaged them in discussion, most of whom simply went about their business of proclaiming, “Occupy Wall Street / Occupy Long Beach / Occupy everywhere and never give it back!”
While many protesters attempted to “hold the line” — including after a moment of near-panic at 7:20 a.m., when a waves of Occupiers rushed backwards in response to a minor surge by police — the group steadily oozed in the direction police indicated. As the Occupation’s vanguard thinned, police seized the opportunity to advance with increasing steadiness, eventually calling forward a line of motorcyclists, who blared their sirens in unison at the protestors in an effective effort to increase the rate of dispersal. Before too long the Occupation’s momentum had flagged, and protestors were phlegmatically retreating back the way they had originally come.
This, however, was a prelude to Act Two of the Occupation, when the protestors reconstituted themselves in a massive stand in front of where the two strands of S. Harbor Scenic Drive come together, forcing a backup of over 50 trucks attempting to exit from Port J for over an hour.
This is where the combined law-enforcement presence Monday was a bit awe-inspiring, with hundreds of helmeted officers (along with a few in full riot gear, who, thankfully, were not needed) not only met the protesters in the roadway but flanked them around the Queen Mary-area parking structure. It was here, too, that police loudspeaker announcement ramped up the stakes, declaring the demand — ironically, “in the name of the people of the State of California” — that the Occupiers disperse their “unlawful assembly” or otherwise potentially face the implementation of police dogs, “chemical agents,” and “impact devices that may result in significant injury.”
But no such actions were taken, as physical altercations was not the order of the day, with Occupiers remaining true to their collective word that they were “here for a peaceful protest,” and police looking more interested in a show of potential force than a use of it. Resultantly, police report that only two arrests were made, along with an indeterminate number of citations for jaywalking.
At a press conference later in the day, LBPD Chief Jim McDonnell noted that Monday’s coordinated deployment was an operation weeks in the making, with the LBPD joined by the Los Angeles Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, the Harbor Patrol, the Port of Long Beach Police, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other “federal partners.”
This reporter got a taste of the extent of the multi-agency cooperation as I ventured on top of the Queen Mary parking structure to get a bird’s-eye view of the protest as it receded back towards Harry Bridges Memorial Park. Ignoring the half-dozen official-looking blokes I encountered (or not exactly ignoring: we exchanged hellos as we passed each other on the concrete stairwell), shortly after I arrived on top three of them — Coast Guarders, according to the badges hanging about their necks — inquired as to who I was and what I was doing, snapping pics of my press pass and driver’s license and confirming that there was only a camera in my camera bag, then telling me I needed to clear off. “What are you guys doing around here?” I asked conversationally. “Ummm…,” said one of the fellows. “Hey, just curious: how coordinated are things between the various law-enforcement organizations taking part today?” “I’m not saying anything,” another Coast Guarder smiled as we stood in the now-pouring rain.
Finally, at around 8:30am, the protesters gave up their ground and headed back in the direction of Harry Bridges Park, where 100 or so remaining Occupiers regrouped and drew a minor police presence. After lingering for a half-hour, the Occupiers dispersed, apparently satisfied with the day’s efforts…and definitely soaked to the bone.
But as McDonnell pointed out, such an operation comes at great expense — an expenditure a city would just as soon avoid even in a good economy (which we ain’t got ’round these parts, in case you didn’t know).
As far as business goes, Chris Lytle, the Port’s executive director, proclaimed that, “Except for a few traffic delays, there were no disruptions to our shipping operations.” And while it may be the case that most people in Lytle’s position would spin things in this direction even were the facts rather to the contrary, his words have a ring of truth, since Act One of the protest didn’t block off transport lanes (and presumably there were other points of ingress for employees). Had Act One’s Occupation taken place where many of we media members went originally — namely, across the overpass branch of S. Harbor Scenic Dr. — the disruption might have been far greater. But as it was, while I’m no expert on port logistics, it does not seem that anything approaching the Occupy movement’s stated goal of a shutdown occurred.
But if all press is good press, then “Occupy the Ports” was huge, as media outlets from AP and CNN, on through to various international press, then all down the line to news radio and Telemundo –plus, of course, just about every local print, Internet, and television news organization you can shake a stick at — was on the scene providing the coverage that dovetails with perhaps the main — and certainly the least nebulous — goal of the Occupy movement: to raise awareness of the increasing struggle against capitalism run amok. An injury to one is an injury to all, read a protester’s sign. They only call it class warfare when we fight back, read another. The fight is largely spiritual at this point, but it’s a battle that has been well and truly joined.
And when you read more aggressive signage like No war but class war, one can’t help wondering whether a more aggressive front in the fight against corporate greed — a very real enemy, just about 99% of us would admit — might open up if something socioeconomic doesn’t give.
But that may be a battle for another day. Monday’s protestor-police confrontation was more like capoeira than an MMA brawl. And after five hours on the front lines of interpretive democratic dance, all sides returned home on furlough, wetter than before but no worse for wear.
Map of the protest route