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2nd pastor injured by police at Occupy Seattle

 
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6:00 P.M. ET Dec. 15, 2011



The Rev. John Helmiere’s face shows wounds after he says a Seattle police officer beat him while he was trying to keep peace during an Occupy protest on Dec. 12. Photo courtesy of the Helmiere family.
The Rev. John Helmiere’s face shows wounds after he says a Seattle police officer beat him while he was trying to keep peace during an Occupy protest on Dec. 12. Photo courtesy of the Helmiere family.
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For the second time in a month, a United Methodist pastor was injured by police while trying to keep the peace during an Occupy Movement protest in Seattle.

The Rev. John Helmiere, pastor of the Valley and Mountain Fellowship Church in the Columbia City/Rainier Valley area of Seattle, said he was beaten by a Seattle police officer as he shouted, “Keep the peace, everyone!”

On Nov. 15, the Rev. Rich Lang, pastor at University Temple United Methodist Church, was pepper-sprayed by police during an Occupy protest march in downtown Seattle.

“In both cases, these pastors were involved in demonstrations linked with Occupy Seattle,” said the Rev. Patricia Simpson, superintendent of the Seattle District of the Pacific Northwest Annual (regional) Conference.

“They were involved in a particular capacity — as supporters of the message of protest against income inequality and (in Helmiere’s case) support of short-haul truckers, who are the lowest paid truckers at the port.”

Both wore clothing identifying them as clergy. Lang wore an alb; Helmiere a clerical collar.

“In both cases, they were trying to keep the peace and calm people,” she said. “They were trying to help avoid violence. When Rich (Lang) was pepper-sprayed, he had stepped out to ask protesters to move back. He was encouraging people to cooperate so violence would not erupt.

“John, similarly, had just restrained someone from punching an officer,” she said.

Helmiere’s account of the Dec. 12 incident appears on the Valley and Mountain Fellowship website. In it, he writes:

“Yesterday evening, I was brutally beaten by my brothers on the Seattle Police force as I stood before an entrance to Pier 18 of the Seattle Port in my clergy garb bellowing, ‘Keep the Peace! Keep the Peace!’  An officer pulled me down from behind and threw me to the asphalt. Between my cries of pain and shouts of ‘I’m a man of peace!’ he pressed a knee to my spine and immobilized my arms behind my back, crushing me against the ground. With the right side of my face pressed to the street, he repeatedly punched the left side of my face for long enough that I had time to pray that the crunching sounds I heard were not damaging my brain.”



The Rev. Rich Lang, pastor at University Temple United Methodist Church, was pepper sprayed by police while mediating at Occupy Seattle on November 15th. A UMNS web-only photo courtesy of Michael Lang.
The Rev. Rich Lang, pastor at University Temple United Methodist Church, was pepper-sprayed by police while mediating at Occupy Seattle on November 15. A UMNS web-only photo courtesy of Michael Lang.

The Port Seattle Incident

The Dec. 12 protest was part of a coordinated effort of Occupy forces to disrupt shipping traffic in West Coast port areas. Similar protests were staged in California in Oakland, Long Beach and San Diego and in Portland, Ore., Anchorage, Alaska, and Vancouver, British Columbia. Many of the protests targeted SSA Marine, a shipping company partly owned by Goldman Sachs Investment Bank, which is engaged in labor disputes with some port truckers.

In Seattle, protesters gathered in the afternoon near Terminal 18 in the area of Klickitat Ave. S.W. and S.W. Spokane St. As evening approached, protesters began erecting barricades made of aluminum and wooden crates in the streets, blocking truck and commuter traffic. The police issued orders to clear the streets.

Helmiere, who had attended the afternoon’s protest with his wife, Freddie, said the mounting tension made him uneasy and he considered leaving.

“I was there initially as a participant in the Occupy demonstration,” he told United Methodist News Service.“I was about to leave, but I stayed once things got heated to be a peacemaker.”

Helmiere said he was linked arm-in-arm with other protesters in a classic nonviolent protest technique, yelling at protesters to keep the peace and maintain nonviolent strategies. At the same time, he was speaking to police officers in front of him, asking them to think about what they were doing, to think about their humanity.

“I was trying to give officers a chance to make a moral decision (when dealing with the protesters) instead of just reacting,” he said.

Helmiere said he only saw one moment of violence, when an older man standing next to him reacted to being shoved in the neck by a police officer. “He reared back to sock the officer, and I pulled him away.”

Moments later, Helmiere told Seattle’s MOXNews he was grabbed by the back of the collar and hurled to the ground. A knee dug into his back, his face was shoved against the asphalt and someone began punching him on the side of the face.

Helmiere was handcuffed, booked on charges of obstruction and jailed at the King County Jail for 12 hours before being released. As of late yesterday, the city attorney’s office had not filed charges against him.

Two sides, two views

Though it had begun peacefully, the protest in Port Seattle did become violent, Seattle Police Detective Jeff Kappel of the Public Information Office reported on the department’s online blotter.

Kappel writes of the incident on the Seattle Police Department Blotter and shares photos showing a paint-spattered horse, a bag of bricks and a chunk of rebar that police said were hurled at officers by protesters.

“At least five officers … injured after being struck with a bag of paint, flares, rebar and other debris thrown by suspects,” Kappel wrote. “The officers … treated at the scene by SFD medics.”

In an email response to United Methodist News Service inquiries, Kappel said, “Officers used the force necessary to ward off attacks and or to effect arrest. If this gentleman (Helmiere) feels that he was mistreated or ‘brutally beaten,’ he should contact the Office of Professional Accountability and launch a formal complaint.”

The incident report filed by the Seattle Police Department stated that between 300 and 400 protesters blocked the streets in the area of Klickitat Ave S.W. and S.W. Spokane St. “As a result, numerous lawful orders to disperse were given by multiple officers,” the report stated.

Responding officers were directed to move the protesters out of the streets, where they had been blocking traffic, the report said, and eight of the protesters, including Helmiere, ignored the orders to disperse and remained in the street.

According to the website SeattlePI.com, the SPD’s Office of Professional Accountability has opened an investigation into Helmiere’s allegations. Helmiere is also reaching out to the officer involved in the incident.

Cabinet responds

The bishop and cabinet of the Pacific Northwest Annual Regional Conference were meeting when they received word of the incident.

“As soon as we heard, all of the district superintendents and the bishop (Grant Hagiya) sent an email (to Helmiere) in support,” said Simpson, the district superintendent.

She said that the cabinet is planning to discuss its growing concern about the excessive use of force by some Seattle police officers over the last year. “The issue has been very much on the church’s radar in this last year,” she said. “We may end up with an ecumenical response from the bishops and religious executives. That’s the strongest way to go about it.”

Church leaders from multiple denominations are expected to discuss the issue at a scheduled Dec. 21 meeting.

The United Methodist Church has always been in support of the right of nonviolence witness and protest, Simpson said. “That’s the function that clergy, in clergy garb, have served in public demonstrations for decades.”

Role of the church

“God is much bigger than any party or any movement,” Helmiere said.

“I don’t believe the Holy Spirit instituted the church to fill gaps in social service networks. I think the church is instituted to ignite the fire of hope and help people live lives of unconditional love that reflect the grace that we’ve received.”

Helmiere said he carried a sign at Monday’s protest that read, “Our system stands against those my God stands for,” a statement he believes deeply.

“I think our current system gives more voice and power and opportunity to a few, and the system allows the few to steal from the many,” he said.

Despite the actions Monday, Helmiere said he would continue to be involved in the Occupy Movement because, “We are called as the church to follow Christ’s example of speaking truth, even if it causes us to sacrifice.

“I think the Occupy Movement is changing the public dialogue,” he said. “We’ve looked at poverty and labeled it as individual failure, that it’s poor people who have the problem. The Occupy Movement is finally identifying that there’s a problem with the system and poor people are a symbol of the problem.”

He said United Methodists must have a serious conversation about the issues the Occupy Movement has raised. “Don’t join the movement blindly,” he said, “but really do some serious investigation and see if they agree there’s a systemic problem in this country.”

*Brands is a freelance writer living in eastern Upstate New York.

News media contact, Maggie Hillery, Nashville, Tenn. (615)-742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org

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Showing 43 comments

  • Josh Reese 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    I am a member of Shelton UMC and I have two sides of this. I agree that it was wrong of the police officer to be so brudale, but I also think that a UMC member should not have said that in the middle of a conflict. I am deeply sorry for your experiance and I hope that we as christains can learn and grow from this.

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  • wesleyangun 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    While I  am in sympathy with the protesters, it is all too common, especially in the Pacific Northwest, for anarchists to get involved and to attack law enforcement. Saying "I am a man of peace" in the middle of a heated street battle is hardly smart, so if you are with a group of protesters trying to agitate, it is best to let law enforcement handle this and then get involved afterward to build bridges between the city and the protesters. Seattle is a very tolerant place, but I expect they would just not tolerate public rioting at the expense of local businesses and citizens. Occupy Salt Lake has much better rapport with our PD, so this strains credibility for me. The Bishop and his cabinet giving immediate support without additional investigation...well, that's another matter altogether.

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  • NancyCarsonGray 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    You know, we must be very careful how we as Christians align ourselves with certain social movements.  I don't think it is very helpful for the church to associate itself with people who are destroying public and private property, who are openly deficating, urinating, and having sexual relations in public and using illicit drugs while camping out in the name of social justice.   This reminds me too much of the 1960's when all hell broke loose and people decided that individual responsibility was a thing of the past and mob rule was in vogue forevermore.  That philosophy is one of the seeds of corporate greed that we are having to deal with today... get as much as you can while you can by whatever means you can and screw everyone else.  Both sides are indefensible!!

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  • DoctorGEH 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

    To Stephen douglas: WELL SAID!  How sad that members of our clergy blindly promote their politics in the guise of religious theology. To quote Helmiere “Our system stands against those my God stands for". Perhaps that is his opinion, but the whole tone of this article implies that the entire Methodist church shares his particular view--and this is both wrong and misleading. Do we not have more to celebrate or glorify than the anti-social movement known as Occupy (fill in the blank)? They are NOT non-violent as Helmiere maintains and while he had every business being there as an individual expressing his own views, using his occupation as a religious leader as justification and support for this group of anarchists is unacceptable. More church members who frequent this site need to STRONGLY express THEIR opinions about the political direction that this site has taken...and continues to follow. It does NOT represent the views of the vast majority of Methodists I have known in my half century with our church!!!!

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  • StephenSDouglas 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    As new family in a wonderful UMChurch in Bethel Ohio, We are very disappointed that the Official UMC website would give these two clergy any space.  If these two want to use their Holy Position in our Christian Denomination to promote their personal politics of socialism then let God judge them, but do not promote them nor their politics.

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  • anthony8722 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

    I am against police brutality, however clergy have no business supporting illegal and communist activities.

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  • Jack Phillips 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

    Why is the church advocating coveting as a virtue?  The OWS people are not talking about getting money like someone else has, they are talking about taking money from someone else so they can have 'his' money.  That is the definition of coveting.  The rules are very clear on this.  Thou shall not do that.  So ... What's the deal here?

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  • MarkWest1 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    A lot of Occupy folks have jobs, some very well paying. The inclusion of large homeless populations has presented an at times misleading impression that somehow everybody is unemployed. But that's not really the issue, because Occupy isn't about "taking money from someone else," but rather an end to unrestrained corruption in the financial sector. That's "the deal here."

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  • dan bowman 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    Are we to suppose that the cabinet of the Pacific Northwest would be as supportive of peaceful protesters if the protesters were congregants who no longer wanted to be UM's but wanted to occupy and keep their places of worship. Or would they not show so much tolerance and rightly expect that the law and Discipline (trust clause) would be enforced? Strange how position changes perspective and ownership one's view of the law and occupation.

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  • dan bowman 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    So the OWS group is unlawfully blocking a street(s), they are given numerous orders to cease blocking the street, amazingly the police begin to physically restore order (removing the protestors so that a public street can function) which they must do since they must enforce the law (law meaning that which maintains civility, order and safety among the public), as they lawfully move the protestors back some violence results (the pastor states he was trying to restrain a protestor who intended on "socking" a police officer) and we are amazed that in such a situation escalated violence occurred. The Cabinet of the Pacific Northwest hears of the incident, (were they eye witnesses?) and make a statement about police using excessive force (did they show equal disdain for the protestor's violence?) .  Rev. Simpson says the UMC has always supported non-violent protests, but there appears that there was violence on both sides - five police officers injured ... bag of bricks hurled etc.  Is this a just response by representatives of the UMC?  Does their response simply encourage more violence in the future?  Is there response based on Christian theology or their political viewpoint?            

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  • Bill Payne 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

    My "southern" DS would be unsympathetic if I were arrested
    while illegally blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic or
    inhibiting the operations of a port. Why should a UM clergy who is involved in an illegal protest expect to
    be treated differently than UM lay people or other protesters. Additionally, the protesters will find no example of this in the life of Jesus or in the actions of the early church unless you misconstrue the cleansing of the Temple to be an act of civil disobedience. Also, Wesley never advocated this type of
    civil confrontation and never participated in one. True, some early American
    Methodist preachers were persecuted from 1777-1781. A few were thrown in
    jail. They were told not to preach in some parts of Maryland and
    Delaware.They did not resist. However, they continued to preach. Some preached from their jail cells to large crowds that gathered to hear them. NT disciples did the same thing when they were told not to preach. They engaged in preaching a gospel with spiritual signs and wonders as they invited people to enter the Kingdom of God and unite with the church. In time, many of the persecutors became Methodists. The protest clergy would be more in line with the NT example, Wesley, and early American Methodism if they sought to evangelize the police and protesters by making disciples. If they really feel the need to express their political beliefs, they can preach their political ideology to their diminishing congregations. Since we live
    in a democracy, they can affect change through the legislative process or by
    means of an economic boycott. However, do not purport to represent the connection or the people called Methodist by wearing your vestments and asking for special treatment. You do not represent me.

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  • MarkWest1 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    Trouble is, Bill, John Helmiere is pastor of a new church start which has been growing steadily. So I don't know where your "diminishing congregations" comment comes from. John's presence in the streets, preaching nonviolence and justice, is a very evangelical act. Nor do I see where he asks to be treated differently. He merely asks that the police not brutalize people. If people are going to be arrested, then the police should act like adults and do their job. John was also doing his. Belittling his action by suggesting he was asking for "special treatment" misses the point. Or perhaps that's what you were trying to do?

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  • rkoch27 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

         I agree with klm1678, he seems to be on target. What is not and cannot be be expressed in a writing is how loud an roudy the protest was. It does say he was attempting to calm a person that was going to strike the police, so I  have to assume the noise level was high. Also how bad were the police officers outnumbered???
    I am not saying the Pastor should not have been there, but when you put yourself in a position like that you do have to consider that things may go wrong and you are in the middle of it all.
         As far as OWS goes, why are they not protesting in the halls of the congress??? The financial institutions they are targeting received bail outs from the govt. and the politicians receive monies from them in the campaign funds. They say they want to help Europe, but in reality they are helping the same banks that the protesters are targeting. These banks backed the Europenian Union and if the feds. do not send money to Europe thoe banks are in for a big loss. DO NOT BELIEVE it is being done for the sake of the people in Europe.
         I was very glad to see Role of the Church in this article. It hits the nail square on the head. The church can do more for the people with less money and there would not be as much abuse as there is in the government system, 30% as estimated my the GAO. Included in the diologue it should be noted that , while ther are alwasy going to be some greed, the present level was not reached until years of removal of God and Jesus for the people. Too many people do not know what it means to be a true Christian, and what John Wesley's idea of sufficient is. If this was lived a Wesley spells it out many more people would understand what they need and what it whould be given to help others.
     
     

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  • Peace And Conflict 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    From Adam Bessie 
    http://tinyurl.com/8x2v9qs to TruthOut to Ann Kreilkamp to me to you.

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  • Keithwol 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

    I don't know
    when it became acceptable to God to Break Laws. Why the Methodist Church feels
    that breaking the law is acceptable behavior from its leadership is troubling. This
    pastor by breaking the laws put himself and others at risk. Protesting is not
    illegal, far from it. However in a civil society we have made rules to keep
    Protests Civil. File for a permit. this does at least 2 things. It informs the
    people what is to happen and where and it allows the city leaders the ability
    to put Peace officers in place to "keep the Peace"

    If you are
    part of a group that throws bricks, flares and paint at anyone including the
    police you are no longer peaceful. Pretty much the exact opposite. You should
    expect to be arrested and that is never a pretty sight.

    Supporting
    mob rule is not in the best interest of any of Gods churches.

    .
    I don't know
    when it became acceptable to God to Break Laws. Why the Methodist Church feels
    that breaking the law is acceptable behavior from its leadership is troubling. This
    pastor by breaking the laws put himself and others at risk. Protesting is not
    illegal, far from it. However in a civil society we have made rules to keep
    Protests Civil. File for a permit. this does at least 2 things. It informs the
    people what is to happen and where and it allows the city leaders the ability
    to put Peace officers in place to "keep the Peace"

    If you are
    part of a group that throws bricks, flares and paint at anyone including the
    police you are no longer peaceful. Pretty much the exact opposite. You should
    expect to be arrested and that is never a pretty sight.

    Supporting
    mob rule is not in the best interest of any of Gods churches.

    .

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  • Bethany Moss 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    Laws? MAN'S LAWS? Jesus threw a tax collectors table at a temple....wasnt that against the law? He broke ALOT of "man's laws" while spreading his Word. So. Separate your political views from the Church already...

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  • anonymous1984 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

    OWS is NOT about socialism,it is about creating a system which,by all mean,has the resources to make sure that everyone has the same standard of living.Imam Ali,the 4th rashidun caliphate,created a system where everyone had equal acess to food,housing,education and other basic necessities for free,because the state had the resources to give to all,yet people worked and had businesses so they could further their standard of living....OWS isnt people jealous of what others have its the inequality of the distribution of wealth.when a few have more and they are hoarding it(i think jesus  peace be upon him,wasn't down with that) and not giving it to those who are in need. sports players making 118 million for throwing a ball through a hoop,or celebrities makin million per picture,while teachers,doctors,in home care providers,rabbis,imams,priests,service workers,make enough jjust to get by is a sin.these people make the world we live in function properly yet they get nothing while ceo's from big bank get millions for failing and robbing the worker they employ of their jobs are criminals and if they ever get caught,since they are all tied into the federal gov(both sides of the isle)get no time,while non violent drug offenders get 10 years plus."casino" jack abramoff swindle billion from first nation peoples and got a few years,while jeff "free" luers got 122 year for fire bombing two suv's in a oregon parking lot out of political protest.the sad thing is abramoff is on fox news as some kind of expert.our values as americans are scrambled and anyone who defends a man of the cloth being beat or accosted for any reason needs to go the the way mussolini did...im just sayin,

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  • Jack Phillips 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    That would be the definition of socialism.  Furthermore, this entire enterprise smacks of coveting.

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  • christyx 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

     klm1678 & Dr - Look at the photo again - that date on the photo is 2 days after he was attacked, who knows what his face looked like while it was happening or even hours later - As a filmmaker, I can tell you his back lighting is poor in this shot, (as well as the lighting on him) and who knows what type of camera it was taken on and who took it - These are all relevant facts - A hospital photo or something professionally done with a white or brighter back light would look completely different.  At any rate, it doesn't make sense to disregard this one man's story (clergy or not) of police brutality, just because he appears to be "scratched", in your opinion.  In reality, his face is "cut" in several places.  Your point is irrelevant.  This person has nothing to gain by making up a story regarding Occupy or the SPD.  As an Occupyer - I would suggest you check your facts, there have been several city wide complaints about this.  

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  • MarkWest1 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

    A federal civil-rights investigation into the Seattle Police Department has found routine and widespread use of excessive force by officers, and city officials were told this week that they must fix the problems or face a federal lawsuit. Seems like the pastor's treatment is relatively common.

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  • Bill Payne 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    The federal investigators are the same ones that said that voter intimidation from Black Panthers was not a problem but attempts to curtail illegal immigration in the border states was. An independent panel would come to a different opinion if it examined the Seattle evidence. More police were injured than protesters. You seem to be oblivious to this. Is the OWS movement responsible for the injuries? Will the protesters pay the hospital bills and recompense the tax payers for the overtime paid to city employees? Will they cover the lost wages of those who can't work because they are illegally blocking the ports? In what way are the protesters personally responsible for the outcomes of their actions? I know that you want to make the city responsible for its response. It seems that your attitude is one sided.

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  • raburb77 6 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

    Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried.  Now, why does OWS think they can make it work here?  No one is entitled to anything, and certainly not what someone else has.  Life here on earth is NOT fair.  Get over it.  But life in grace, God's grace, is great and wonderful.  Whether one has little  or one has much when it comes to possessions really doesn't matter.  What really counts is living in connection with the Father, through His immeasurable grace!  OWS, go home, make the world a better place 2 ways:  1.  First, you become a better person through love and compassion for others.  2.  Enjoy what you do have--give up wanting what others have--and watch for the beauty of God's wonderful world!

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  • Damiana Swan 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    That's not actually accurate.  Germany, for instance, is doing just fine.  In fact, they're doing better than we are.  And the same is true of several other first-world nations, most of them, in fact.

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  • Laura Akers 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    Having lived in socialist countries myself, your statement is just factually wrong. While in those countries, my standard of living was in many ways much higher than it is here, and I received the best healthcare of my life. Those countries have also fared better during this economic crisis that the US has. Until you've lived under socialism, you really have no idea what you;re talking about and are simply spouting propaganda.

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  • Russ Simon 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    Apparently, Capitalism isn't working very well in the USA either...  At least OWS is searching for solutions instead of just saying what doesn't work....  be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.

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  • Wallace Miller 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

     Socialism hasn't failed in Scandinavia.  That's probably why the Stockholm School is the counter to the Austrian School...

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  • MarkWest1 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    The elites told the same thing to Jeremiah, Amos, Isaiah, Micah, and Jesus. I'm glad they didn't listen.

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  • klm1678 6 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

    As a pastor and retired police officer, this is embarrassing.  Rev. Helmiere's "wounds" consist of a scratch and mild bruising consistent with being taken to the ground in an assertive manner, NOT A BEATING.  If clergy are going to place themselves in defiance of law enforcement authorities and break the law, as Rev. Helierre did, then they should expect to be arrested, forcibly if necessary.  Their clerical collars do not and should not afford them any special dispensation.  The police officers have been put into the unfortunate position of having to deal with uncooperative, and frequently destructive and violent mobs.  They need our support and prayers.

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  • Carlton W 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    The Police do not know how to handle peaceful protests but are well trained for violent ones. They lack the patience to just stand & watch for hours on end and so often they push to get a reaction and then attack.
    I have never seen a situation so dismal that a policeman couldn't make it worse.

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  • Terry Goffinet 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    Respectfully I disagree. The only laws being broken are UNCONSTITUTIONAL LAWS.  The Bill of Rights are rights given to use not by our govt, but by OUR CREATOR.  They are not laws, they are a recognition and statement of what is so. No laws, or rules made by humans can take that away.  Any police officer that stand to protect the these laws, over the Constitution and the people who pay their paychecks, are nothing less than mercenaries for the rich, and they should be embarrassed for having broken the oath they took when they became police officers.  Maybe it's time you re-visit that oath, as well as the US Constitution.

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  • Peace And Conflict 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    Police Incident Commanders themselves are in constant need of retraining.  This is a two-way street. Two incidents show response protocols fail society's needs: (a) crowd control incident event in UC Davis a month ago, and (b) SWAT Team protocols in the fiasco in Arizona 
     http://www.captainsjournal.com... killing a honorably discharged vet upon surprise forced entry. 80 years ago tough determined adult men advanced labor sometimes with their lives. They carried weapons often in mass,  expected violence, and gave as good as they got. Today's youth movement is tender and innocent by comparison. To refer to OWS as violent mobs my research indicates is grossly in error and misrepresents OWS. I post every broken window, and OWS property damage issue I can find here:  
    http://tinyurl.com/3fa94u8 

    In the USA today the police incident commanders more than ever before, need situational awareness training to serve society with a wisdom elevated to the non-violence of OWS. So far, about half the police forces over react. 
    The police operating mentality that a few trouble makers (even on this minor level) place every attendee at a protest in a classification of "destructive and violent mob" is an inappropriate, wrongly classifying a movement and needlessly and intentionally inflicting personal injury by police upon innocent,  peaceful protesters. In the case of the New York cop hitting a teenage girl with an aimed sniper shot of pepper spray right into her eyes while she set harmlessly, then walking away to let her suffer in her screaming pain reflects poorly on incident command response tactics. If it makes you feel good to know you can pound someone down and make them suffer, and maybe push their face just a little harder because you do not understand them, just so they remember your power and authority, you are part of the problem, not part of the greater solution.These police incidents against the low level and infrequent property damage was so needlessly cruel, Kamran Loghman
     http://tinyurl.com/7sfyrqx  the developer of Police Weapons Grade Pepper Spray went on NPR to report this weapon was not designed nor intended to be used to extract this low level control with his powerful chemical. He also said their are known and unknown adverse health effects in their application. Pepper spray was not designed to be used for this sort of control. It's become "fashionable" to use it.
    The police, like generals, are always fighting the last war and can't get it into their psyche that this protest has at its core nonviolence for social change, not mayhem. Even the protesters denounce acts of property damage by the provocateurs, and retrograde-anarchists. Those chasing the trouble makers out of the occupy encampments where not the police, but the Occupy Wall Street protesters demanding the provocateurs depart their camps.  When the issue was raised by the weekend provocateurs from outside of Oakland in the OWS Oakland camp there were demands for a vote on the issue of strategic use of property damaged put forward in the now familiar OWS open democratic direct vote by the provocateurs. These demands were soundly defeated 83% voting "No" to 17% voting "Yes." Significantly the group then honored the outcome of the vote. So the "naivete" and implied "trouble-making-idealism" of these mostly youthful protesters seem at least as sound and wise, if not more so, than the US Congress listening to Gen. Powell, VP Dick Cheney, Sec Def. Donald Rumsfeld presenting their request for the use of force.The response at UC Davis to the police cruelty was not violence by the "mob" but a quick education for the Incident Commander.  Instead of pelting the police with sticks and stones or deadly Molotov Cocktails, the protestors chanted "Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!" This was not a response of a "violent mob."

    Over all it seems time again to retrain about half the Incident Commanders who's actions fail society in our most fundamental Constitutionally protected rights of peaceful assembly and protest.  

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  • MarkWest1 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    You're right, klm1678, the police do need our support and prayers, and both pastors in Seattle were ironically attacked at a moment when they were working to lessen any violent reaction toward the police. What the violent police response does achieve is to distract from the criticism of corporate greed that is the foundation for the Occupy movement. It's the same as whether or not they can camp in a certain place. The issue isn't urban camping, it's whether greed that weakens the social fabric and victimizes the least of our sisters and brothers is going to be tolerated in our society. Yes, let's support and pray for our law enforcement personnel, but we can't do that uncritically. Would you say the same thing about the police who attacked the marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma? Were those officers simply in an "unfortunate position"?

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  • Peace And Conflict 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    Police Incident Commanders themselves are in constant need of retraining.  This is a two-way street. Two incidents show response protocols fail society's needs: (a) crowd control incident event in UC Davis a month ago, and (b) SWAT Team protocols in the fiasco in Arizona 
     http://www.captainsjournal.com... killing a honorably discharged vet upon surprise forced entry. 80 years ago tough determined adult men advanced labor sometimes with their lives. They carried weapons often in mass,  expected violence, and gave as good as they got. Today's youth movement is tender and innocent by comparison. To refer to OWS as violent mobs my research indicates is grossly in error and misrepresents OWS. I post every broken window, and OWS property damage issue I can find here:  
    http://tinyurl.com/3fa94u8 

    In the USA today the police incident commanders more than ever before, need situational awareness training to serve society with a wisdom elevated to the non-violence of OWS. So far, about half the police forces over react. 
    The police operating mentality that a few trouble makers place every attendee at a protest in a classification of "destructive and violent mob" is an inappropriate, wrongly classifying a movement and needlessly and intentionally inflicting personal injury by police upon innocent,  peaceful protesters. In the case of the New York cop hitting a teenage girl with an aimed sniper shot of pepper spray right into her eyes while she set harmlessly, then walking away to let her suffer in her screaming pain reflects poorly on incident command response tactics. If it makes you feel good to know you can pound someone down and make them suffer, and maybe push their face just a little harder because you do not understand them, just so they remember your power and authority, you are part of the problem, not part of the greater solution.These incidents on the low level and infrequent property damage was so needlessly cruel the inventor or pepper spray went on NPR to report this weapon was not designed nor intented to be used to extract this low level control with his powerful chemicals. He also said their are known and unknown adverse health effects in their application. Pepper spray was not designed to be used for this sort of control. The police, like generals, are always fighting the last war and can't get it into their psyche that this protest has at its core nonviolence for social change, not mayhem. Even the protesters denounce acts of property damage by the provocateurs, and retrograde-anarchists. Those chasing the trouble makers out where not the police, but the Occupy Wall Street protesters demanding the provocateurs depart their camps.  When the issue was raised by the weekend provocateurs from outside of Oakland in the OWS Oakland camp there were demands for property damaged by the provocateurs. These demands were soundly defeated 83% voting no to 17% voting yes. The group then honored the outcome of the vote. The response at UC Davis to the police cruelty was not violence by the "mob" but a quick education for the incident commander.  Instead of pelting the police with sticks and stones or deadly Molotov Cocktails, the protestors chanted "Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you." This was not a response of a violent mob. 

    Over all it seems time again to retrain about half the incident commanders who's actions fail society in our most fundamental need of peaceful assembly and protest.  

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  • Dr 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    Seriously?  It is a SCRATCH!

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  • thetruthwillrule 4 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

    What's wrong with supporting  the Tea Party instead of Occupy Wall Street ? Why do clergy in the church feel the need to support Marxism instead of freedom? The left has felt the need to take God out of Thanksgiving (See Obama 's Thanksgiving address), mention of the creator as the source of our rights (see Tom Harkin and the dems after passing healthcare as well as Obama speeches where he references our rights), prayer out of the 9/11 tenth anniversary, etc.

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  • Terry Goffinet 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand

    Perhaps this is due to the utter lack of humanity and Jesus like attitudes within the Tea Party.  The Occupy Movement isn't about 'fairness' it is about CORRUPTION. It isn't about wanting a handout, it is about LOVE. You can it socialism, but don't you understand that be taking care of everyone ALL OF OUR STANDARD OF LIVING WOULD GO UP.  It's cheaper to provide the necessities for those who can't take care of themselves, than to trat them like criminals, chasing them around and locking them away.  Wouldn't it be nice to walk down a major street in any city and see NO HOMELESS people and/or ADDICTS.  I know, you still don't get it.  And no one had ever helped you out in your life at all, you really have done it all on your own completely separate from the guy who picks up your trash every week.

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  • Eric_Mueller 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    Yes the utter lack of Christ like behavior in the tea party as opposed to the deeply Christ like behavior of OWS, what with the drugs and filth and rapes the violence the sloth the greed and the envy you might think that Christ himself had descended just to lead this band of burned out hippies on to the Marxist promise land.

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  • Peace And Conflict 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    There is a serious realization occurring within both The Tea Party and OWS that these social movements/protests need not be an "either vs. or" choice. 

    We are now seeing the beginnings of "joint-purpose alliance and strategy forming between" two towering political polarities, OWS and The Tea Party. Currency Reform is the “bridge-issue” that will find balance points of agreement among the wide political base groups from OWS to Tea Party strategists, Clergy of most mainstream denominations, and other partners throughout the political spectrum.
     
    I blog on OWS - Cliff Notes so to speak, to help clergy break through their fear of supporting the Movement http://tinyurl.com/3fa94u8  

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  • aroneathan 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    Thank yo kind Pastor.  I admire your strength and power of your action.  We must continue to keep our word out there.

    aron

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  • Peace And Conflict 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    I blog on OWS - Cliff Notes so to speak, to help other clergy break through their fear of supporting the Movement http://tinyurl.com/3fa94u8  

    Clergy find themselves faced with the congregations steeped in the imagery of a controlled mainstream media which I orient my blog to help clergy use as a reference tool.
     
    More than anything Clergy needs to know that peaceful reform through constitutional means especially in a serious dialogue on currency market reformation is not only possible but history indicates, quite workable in much earlier American experiences. 

    We are now seeing the beginnings of "joint-purpose alliance and strategy forming between" two towering political polarities, OWS and The Tea Party. Currency Reform is the “bridge-issue” that will find balance points of agreement among the wide political base groups from OWS to Tea Party strategists, Clergy of most mainstream denominations, and other partners throughout the political spectrum. 

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  • MarkWest1 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand

    Thanks, Pastor John, for your witness!

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