Below is a statement I read during public comments at the Wednesday, August 8th meeting of the Anaheim City Council:
Good afternoon: My name is Duane Roberts. I live at XXXXXXXXX in West Anaheim. I've lived in this city for more than 40 years. I have come before you to express my grave disappointment over comments made by Police Chief John Welter in respect to events that took place outside Anaheim City Hall on the night of Tuesday, July 24th. According to an article posted on the Voice of O.C. website, Chief Welter held a press conference the following morning where he claimed that "outside agitators" were responsible for the chaotic situation. Mr. Welter stated as many as "two-thirds" of the people who had assembled that night were not residents. In a follow up interview with the O.C. Register, he then hints they were "anarchists" or members of "Occupy Wall Street." As you may well recall, I was inside Council Chambers when people were taking to the streets in protest. But I've spent quite a bit of time reviewing photographs, video footage, not to mention interviewing people who were there. As a former organizer of demonstrations and marches here in Orange County, some ranging in size from 8 to 800 people, it's my professional opinion based on the evidence that an overwhelming majority of them were locals. Quite a few of them were young men and women, many juveniles, that live in the working-class neighborhoods that surround the downtown area. The reason many came is because they received cellphone text messages from their friends. In addition, anybody who understands the dynamics of social movements here knows that lots of protesters--especially from Los Angeles--are not going to tackle heavy weeknight traffic congestion to visit Anaheim. I don't deny protesters from outside were here. But even so, so what? This is the United States. People have a right to protest where they please. Besides, what makes you think communities stop at the imaginary lines of city borders? The reason why Mr. Welter's remarks are disturbing is because blaming "outside agitators" for protests was a tactic invoked by racist Sheriffs south of the Mason-Dixon line during the civil rights movements of 1960s. It was frequently used to dismiss legitimate grievances of people--particularly non-white people--who were protesting against injustices wrought against them by their government. These Sheriffs claimed that the people who were protesting were hapless dupes, morons and idiots, who were being manipulated by outsiders from far locales with fiendish, evil motives. In addition, this tactic diverted attention away from the real issues of why people were angry: high unemployment, racial discrimination, political disenfranchisement, police brutality, poor housing conditions, and social inequality. All of these things, by the way, are present here today in this city and deeply affecting the lives of tens of thousands of people, both white and non-white. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Anaheim's not the "happiest place on earth." Shame, shame on you Mr. Welter. You owe the people of this city an apology for these embarrassing, racist remarks. My advice to the City Council is if Mr. Welter is unwilling to do this, it's simple: you take action to remove him from his post. I thank you for your time. ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:la...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
