The LAPD, in cooperation with their DA's office, is now imposing bail amounts of between $5,000 to $10,000 for those who dare to exercise their rights in our increasingly tattered constitution. The LAPD probably thought that there would be so many arrested that the DA's office would not have the resources to prosecute 'em all, so they're trying to send a message at the front end.
Freedom of speech, I guess, is only for those who can afford it these days, a line of thought that would fit just fine to those whose heads are shoved up Ayn Rand's Dead Ass. After all, money is the objective measure of value to this society, and the more you have, the more valuable you must be to humanity - at least from what I observe from the Ayn Randians.
This won't stop #Occupy, by any means. But I'm concerned about how governments will escalate their war against #Occupy. For one, the high bail amounts are just a start - I would expect at least a few of these protesters to be made "examples" of, by having the book thrown at them - maximum jail sentences, perhaps even in State Prison rather than county or city jails, charges being increased to Felony level, and those big bail amounts being turned into fines. This would only turn them into martyrs, of course, but I would only anticipate the more enlightened of The Powers That Be realizing this. Considering how our economy is going, I don't see a whole lot of enlightened thought in those parts.
And regarding the coordinated nature of these crackdowns and their brutality - let's get it straight about what this is really all about. The breakup of the encampments is only partially, at best, due to public sanitation concerns. This is about economics, and pictures of Americans protesting
going out all over the globe. This is also about the American people finally getting it right about who has been screwing them - the big banks and Corporate America. The Powers That Be are scared, and they damned well should be, thus their overreactions to peaceful protest. The concept
of the people losing faith in the system that made the 1% who they are, does not compute to them.
Before I end this rant - remember Ronniebaby's little quote about Government being the problem and not the solution?
Here's a quote that should go viral, and I hope I hear it Mic-Checked repeatedly over the coming months:
"Corporate America Is Not The Solution To The Problem. Corporate America IS The Problem."
