Tar Sands Action: Are You Discouraged, or a Flaming Firebagger?

[bananas]

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2011/08/21/tar-sands-action-are-you-discouraged-or-a-flaming-firebagger/

Tar Sands Action: Are You Discouraged, or a Flaming Firebagger?
By: Jane Hamsher Sunday August 21, 2011 1:32 pm

Yesterday I was arrested along with Dan Choi, Bill McKibben and John Chandley (Scarecrow). I was released last night, but Dan, Bill and Scarecrow are all still in jail. They have been told they will remain there until we all go to court on Monday at 2pm.

The Tar Sands organizers were negotiating with park police for days in advance of the 2 week sit-in. They had been told repeatedly that they could expect that protesters would be given $100 tickets and released, because that’s their standard operating procedure. They repeated that to the organizers shortly before the sit-in started yesterday. And that is what normally happens — Dan Ellsberg was released after paying what amounts to a parking ticket after the last two White House protests he participated in, an anti-war protest in December 2010 and the other on behalf of Bradley Manning in March of this year.

But after we arrived at the Park Police station, we were immediately told that we would be held until Monday when the courts open, so we would be in jail for two nights. The same park police claimed that this was their standard operating procedure (it’s not).

All 65 of us were crammed into four 6 x 8 holding cells (we measured) with a toilet at the end. I was held with other women who took part in the demonstration. There were more men than women, so some of the men were held in the sally port because of the overcrowding. But that meant there were about 14 women in my room, with a few rotating out periodically for booking, making phone calls, etc.

<snip>

[xchrom]

1. Invisible rec. Nt

[Donnachaidh]

2. k&r n/t.

[Hydra]

3. GWB would be proud

Tar sands + Protest suppression.

[FBaggins]

4. I think it is SOP if you're not local.

I remember seeing the same thing on a video of arrests for dancin at the Jefferson memorial.

Either way, it's a pretty silly complaint. I travel to the capital to protest and hopefully make a statement by getting arrested for something I believe in... but whine that they don't just slap me on the wrist? I want them to look heavy-handed but not actually DO anything?

On edit - Jane Hamsher is reportedly a DC resident, so that fits my recollection since she was released and the others were told they had to wait until Monday.