Looks like it might be a long night in the Bay Area. After a day-long, city-wide general strike in which waves of Occupy Oakland protesters shut down various banks in downtown Oakland, a crowd estimated at up to 20,000 has shut down the Port of Oakland, the country’s fifth-busiest port. There are now reports that OccupySF is simultaneously attempting to block the Bay Bridge connecting Oakland and San Francisco.
A live stream of the Occupy Oakland protest is here.
After last week’s tragic and incindiary events, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan wisely ordered police to essentially stand down, and so far there have been only isolated incidents of violence involving bank window-breaking by black bloc anarchists (and, in one case, vehicular assault by a frustrated motorist). Despite the impressive self-discipline of the protesters, the danger of police (or other) violence goes up quite a bit now that night has fallen.
Needless to say, this is a dramatic escalation in both numbers and tactics for the Occupy movement. Not that many other metropolitan areas can match the Bay Area for either the size or militancy of a protest like this, but some can. What’s been particularly interesting in the organizing of the general strike is the widespread support for the call by many mainstream local politicians, unions, and local businesses.
If Occupiers in Oakland (and other cities) can maintain their clear commitment to nonviolence, this will be attempted in other cities. But the public support for this movement is fragile enough that the wrong tactics can do a lot of harm. The night is still young tonight, and so is this movement. And how this escalation will impact the political sphere is still anyone’s guess. Six weeks ago, nobody would have predicted where we are tonight.
Somewhere, Scott Olsen is smiling.