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Police And Tear Gas Clash At Occupy Oakland (PHOTOS)

I’m hearing reports from the field about throwing bottles and cans in Oakland. I understand the frustration – I over-stand it!  But real change – the change that got blacks the right the vote, that freed South Africa, that ended Vietnam – they were all NON-VIOLENT.  For a reason.  They had MORAL POWER.  This is the power that Christ harnessed.

I saw today a young black man, the newly designated Acting Police Chief of Oakland, and he was SCARED.  We need to bring these people on our side, not fight them.  If they are ordered to fight us, we will not fight back.  We will call for the removal of those leaders who are forcing them fight their own brothers and sisters.

Throwing cans and bottles can may make you feel OK, but it’s not real change.  It’s a distraction.  We don’t NEED bottles.  What we have that they didn’t have during the 60′s, we have a new way to organize. We are connected via mobile phone, facebook, twitter, and platforms like GlobalGrind.com.  We got the people! America is with us. 88% of America AGREES that corporate power has too much influence on poltiics and Washington.  They AGREE with getting our government away from the grips of corporate control.

They will provoke you.  They will vilify you.  They will shoot our heroes in the head with rubber bullets.  They will burn our eyes with chemicals.  But, real courage is staying true to the principals of non-violent complete radical change for the 99%.  Every bottle we throw is a bullet in the heart of our own movement.  FIGHT RIGHT OR GO HOME!

~Russell Simmons