No Fear: Occupy DePaul

Occupy DePaul

As I am writing this on Friday, March 2, 2012, there is an ongoing Occupation at DePaul University. The Feudal Lords of that Catholic Institution have decided to take a secret vote on tuition hikes, and other austerity measures. Once again the “haves” of the ruling class are pressing on the “have-nots” under them.[1] While the hikes are proposed to coincide with an 11% hike in student aid, they also insure continued lifetime indentured servitude to lenders for the students. 

The students did meet with the “condescending” President Dennis Holtschneider Thursday afternoon. They held the 22^nd floor of the University’s offices until 8:30PM last night. They are regrouping for a mass rally on Friday. 

Follow the event on Twitter at #OccupyDePaul, and show your support for the students 55 East Jackson in downtown Chicago. 

There is a rally at 10:00 PM tonight at Statue of Fr. Egan in front of DePaul StudentCenter, Sheffield and Belden. The students are asking for public support for their four demands:

1. Immediate tuition freeze for all current and incoming students.
2. That Fr. Holtschneider retracts his approval of the proposed 2012-2013 budget and tuition increase.
3. That we are granted a meeting with the Board of Trustees, and the SRAC before the vote on the proposed budget.
4. That the vote this Saturday be postponed until this meeting is held.

  

No Fear 

We are together, a group of us from Occupy Chicago; not sure why. We are in the back of the pack advancing on the Police line. The police stand there stoic, behind their shields. There is a press of the crowd as the Police advance on the crowd. There is a shot. A canister belching thick white smoke spins on the ground. A gap opens in the crowd as people run to get away from the noxious, sickening fumes. Being far enough back, I pull on my gas mask and welding gloves. I weed through the chaos. I put up the burning cylinder. Holding it in the thick gloves, I advance on the police line to hand it back to them. The police see it as a threat, and a blatant act of defiance, one officer pulls his side arm, takes aim, and pumps three rounds into my chest. I am dead before I collapse to the ground.

That statement reads pretty strange, right? It is intended to. It is intended to illustrate how one can prepare for a potential dangerous situation, and become comfortable with the possible outcome. One draws on one’s training, and one’s preparations, and visualizes the worse possible outcome. Turn it over in one’s mind, look at all angles, and accept the inevitable possibility, and then work the situation in one’s mind, in advance, to change the outcome. That is what we call planning. 

Back to the Real World

The likelihood of the scenario playing out that way is pretty slim, by the way. It is not Chicago’s way of dealing with unruly protestors. Chicago Police Officers are pretty street smart, and even more street tough. Honestly, they have more courage than sense sometimes, which is what we’ve come to expect from our city’s police officers. Garry McCarthy, Chicago’s Police Superintendent, is on record[2] saying that he sees no sense in using tear gas on the streets of Chicago. In a recent press conference with Chicago’s business community, McCarthy assured the audience, “If demonstrators who are breaking the law appear in a large throng of people, my expectation is we’ll have an extraction team that would go in and arrest them….” Based on what was seen at the two major confrontations at Congress and Michigan in October, we can pretty much expect the CPD to use the “flying wedge” to extract any Black Block players from the crowd. Sounds reasonable and professional, right?

For those outside the city, you might want to spend a few minutes watching the Chicago Police Department in action. 

The real assessment comes after the arrest happens. It is best, after the arrest happens, to consider yourself a prisoner of war. That is pretty much what this is, folks. Be respectful, give the Police your name and address, and then shut up. Their job is to nail you in court by using your own words against you. Don’t given them the nails, or the hammer, to do that. Don’t brag. Don’t be shamed. Don’t protest. You are a POW. Know full well that people are out there who know you have honored the cause, and yourself, by sacrificing your freedom for the sake of others. You don’t have to posture before the police officer, who really doesn’t give a damn, to promote the righteousness of the cause. The opportunity to promote the cause may come in court some three to six months later. Please keep it in mind; the courts are not about truth, they are about winning. We have yet to even begin addressing the mess we call the Criminal Justice System.

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[1] Esposito, S. (2012, March 2). DePaul University students protest proposed tuition hike . In Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 2, 2012, from http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/10996981-418/depaul-university-students-protest-proposed-tuition-hike.html

[2] Gosztola, K. (2012, February 17). Chicago Police Superintendent Just Not That Into Using Tear Gas at NATO/G8 Protests. In The Dissenter. Retrieved March 2, 2012, from http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/02/17/chicago-police-superintendent-just-not-that-into-using-tear-gas-at-natog8-protests/#