Forwarded to SYITS:
POST AND CROSS POST!
To see more pictures click on the below link:
http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q229/YOUR_protest_pictures/2008-09-21%20UCLA%20Demos/?albumview=slideshow Los Angeles: September 21st, 2008
The most recent UCLA demos against those who imprison, cut up, assault and kill
non-human primates for a living was, on the one hand rather frustrating, yet on the
other, EXTREMELY satisfying. The frustrating part was having the police constantly
violate activists' civil rights to seek redress of their grievances by legally
picketing on public side walks and chanting political speech to educate neighbors,
as they exposed the selfish greed and self-promotion of UCLA primate killers.
The first stop was the home of Nelson Freimer, at 453 12th Street in Santa Monica.
Freimer does horrible stress experiments on primates, like separating mothers from
their babies and depriving them of water. As a crowd of neighbors gathered to hear
what Freimer does for a living, all was going smoothly until the Santa Monica police
popped up and attempted to intimidate activists by pulling out a "noise meter" and
threatening to arrest anyone who goes over the "ambient noise level" plus 15%. Since
"ambient noise level" is virtual silence, this formula is ludicrous. A problem
exists here because the police are too stupid to know how to use these "noise
meters" correctly and have no concept whatsoever as to Supreme Court decisions
allowing for political speech to be less restricted than, for instance, a leaf
blower or a jack hammer or a "boom box", which these noise ordinances were created
to address. Firstly, political speech is NOT NOISE and, secondly these "noise
meters" are supposed to be used in a very limited manner. Instead, one male cop
followed activists around holding his "meter reader" in front of his belt like a
phallic symbol to prove his masculinity!
Unfortunately, cops are known make to illegal arrests and then let the courts decide
the arrest was unjustified. There are, however, ways to deal with this stupidity;
one is for someone willing to get arrested for allegedly violating this noise
ordinance and then take it up the chain to the higher courts in order to get the
ordinance over-turned or at least defined to eliminate political speech from the
ordinance code. Another way is for those who are unwilling to risk arrest to remain
silent when close to a noise meter and simply hold their posters with determination
showing the horrendous photos of primates during vivisection. Another possibility is
to have an attorney file an injunction against the police for depriving activists of
their first amendment rights of free speech. But one thing is clear, activists
rights are being violated by the misuse of this ordinance and it's frustrating.
On the other hand, the extremely satisfying part of the demos against UCLA primate
vivisectors was definitely having so much attention from the police let activists
know they are being very, very effective. If you go to a demo and there aren't any
police, then most likely you aren't being very efficacious. The police are there to
protect the animal abusers and those in power who want to maintain the status quo of
torturing and killing animals. There is a direct relationship between police
repression and effective activism. When activists are standing holding signs on a
busy street with traffic whizzing by, many times police don't even show up to these
"fluffy" demos. This translates into the fact that even the police don't think that
the protestors are doing much to change the 'status quo" so why should the police
bother to curtail eating their jelly donuts and show up to a picket? But when the
status quo is screwed with, when those who are seen as weak stand up against those
who are used to being in control and all powerful, aka the state, then the police
are sent in to make sure that those "trouble makers" don't get the idea that they
can actually make changes to a system based on animal repression, oppression,
slavery and murder. BOY, ARE THEY WRONG! This is what all successful social
struggles of the past have taught the powerful; that when push comes to shove, you
can't stop a train that has already left the station; and the ANIMAL LIBERATION
TRAIN is already steaming down the tracks and cannot be turned around even by those
who THINK they have the power.
With that said, activists went on to the next venue, Edythe London's swanky home at
1056 Edgley Place in LA. London addicts primates to Crystal Meth and nicotine as
well as doing other horrendous things to monkeys. At this spot a female police
officer, K. Musick, tried as usual to get directly in the faces of activists with
her video camera, that is until she was called out by activists who made it crystal
clear that she does NOT have the right to intimidate or harass, even if she is a
cop. These heavy-handed cops have got to be held accountable for their violations of
activists' civil rights. Around this time, someone, either a neighbor or perhaps
London's husband, crawled up on the roof of London's home and began taking pictures
of activists. WOW! Look at what people go through in response to activists simply
speaking the truth of the immense amount of blood Edythe has dripping from her
hands. Whoever this unidentified male was hiding on top of the roof, the whole
incident was quite bizarre, which fits London's character perfectly!
Lastly was Arthur Rosenbaum, at 465 Loring Avenue, a primate vivisector living in a
multi-million dollar home while his day-job consists of overseeing a lab where Botox
is injected into primates eye muscles, then gluing metal coils onto their eyeballs.
His full-time security guard stood in front of his home taking pictures of picketers
while an unmarked car sat across the street from protestors watching them. This same
unmarked vehicle had been following picketers the entire day, many times violating
driving laws and endangering other drivers in its attempt to remain behind the
picketers vehicles. Whenever an activist would attempt to go over to the unmarked
vehicle to find out who was following them, the vehicle would speed away. Finally,
several activists walked up to the car when it was parked near Arthur Rosenbaums
home and attempted one more time to get the names of the driver and passenger of the
car. They refused to lower their window to identify themselves. "Why are THEY trying
to hide their identities?" One activist did notice a gun on the lap of the passenger
in the vehicle seen through the darkened window. With this type of violative conduct
by UCLA, backed by the state, no wonder some activists are even MORE determined to
continue exercising their rights. The state is targeting above-ground legal
activists knowing full well that those who commit underground actions historically
would never attend protests in order to remain "below the radar." But the legal
activists are fighting back by continuing to engage in constitutionally-protected
activities, and will do so until primate vivisection is cashiered.
The demo wrap up is not intended to encourage the violation of any laws, including
the newly implemented AB2296. Specifically, it is not "intended to cause another
person to imminently use the information to commit a crime involving violence or a
threat of violence against the academic researcher or his or her immediate family
member . " The above is simply an account forwarded to See You In The Streets
regarding three legal pickets which took place on Sunday September 21, 2008.
See You In The Streets List Serve is not an official "organization," but rather a
posting group forwarding announcements of animal rights events, articles, news, and
upcoming demonstrations and their " wrap up's" in or around Los Angeles. SYITS does
not advocate or encourage illegal activity and assumes no responsibility for written
content it receives and forwards or occurrences at demonstrations it announces.