March 27, 2003

No More 'Catch and Release'

So what was it, exactly, that I missed by being excluded from this morning's press conference? Details on how much money the City says antiwar protests are, and are going to, cost in terms of things such as police overtime. Plus -- this being, of course, the part that most directly interests local dissenters -- the announcement that starting today, the police policies of "catch and release" that have been applied to many protestors are out the window.

If you're arrested at local protests at any time beginning today, you will spend time in jail unless you can make bail. So, if you're arrested, say, this evening, and don't have bail money, expect to be in jail until Monday because the courts are closed on Fridays.

As to the financial costs, while I don't disagree that it's something to keep an eye on and at least have open discussions about, I am stung by the irony. While I won't attribute such motivations to the City, this "protests costs money" line has sped through media markets across the country in the last 24-36 hours. There's clearly a concerted campaign out there on the part of the pro-war crowd to use this as a means to discredit the antiwar movement.

Problem is, these same pro-war people are the ones who disdain the argument that we shouldn't be spending billions of dollars on an unprovoked war at a time when our own nation's states, cities, and social services are falling through the cracks.

Now, suddenly, we're supposed to accept the same basic argument from them, but turned around to their own political advantage?

As I said, I don't attribute that motivation to the City. They just went through a marathon and tiring bargaining process over local school funding. I'm sure they don't look forward to having to shuffle more money around. But the larger context of this sudden "protests costs money" issue needed to be pointed out.

Details (in a mainstream sense, as opposed my attempts here at simply transcribing the entirety of my notes from such events) on this press conference can be found via KATU and KGW.

No word yet from the "reporter" from the Portland Business Alliance who was granted access to the news conference.

Posted at 03:35 PM | PermalinkComments (0) | TrackBacks (1)
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