Protesters intentionally block I75/85 downtown Atlanta traffic
10-23-2014, 10:12 AM
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Protesters intentionally block I75/85 downtown Atlanta traffic
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/protest...tlink_homepage
They walked out onto a 12 lane Interstate and managed to block all northbound traffic effectively crippling the city. I work 30 miles north of there, far outside of the downtown area and we still felt the effects. What good did crippling a major interstate in Atlanta do to help a dead thug in Missouri? I'm not even going to comment on that case as "facts" have become mindbogglingly muddled in recent days.
I agree that they do have the right to peaceful assembly, but they crossed the line into negligent and dangerous conduct. While I won't fault the police for their reactions, I would definitely like to see the figureheads brought up on endangerment charges. This resulted in countless traffic accidents around town, and while no fatalities that I know of, there were some injuries directly linked to accidents caused by the irregular traffic. And lets just consider for a moment the fact that the protesters were in the middle of a major interstate highway blocking traffic when the police arrived on scene. This is so stupid!
Our Six Flags theme park found scrutiny from police and legal officials over an hour of free admission which resulted in a major traffic jam, solely caused by people's incompetent behavior. They were stopping in lanes and letting children.... CHILDREN out of cars, unsupervised, in the middle of I20. Ultimately the park was relieved of responsibility as it turned away anyone on foot. However someone needs to held accountable before this becomes a regular activity. Several years ago the state and city erected fencing on every overpass due to a rash of "jumpers" (many were fakes) just looking for 15 minutes of fame and a slot on the 11 o'clock news. This started with a single man who snarled traffic for over 90 minutes before jumping to his demise, resulting in enormous media coverage and unthinkable traffic delays. When the issue snowballed with increasingly frequent copy-cats, our appointed officials took action. But since this is such a hot issue it seems everyone is just sitting on their thumbs, giving these people a pass.
Wednesday evening as protesters halted traffic. The incident was part of a protest in response to the Aug. 9 fatal shooting of a 18-year-old African-American by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo.
Atlanta police spokesman Officer John Chafee said a number of protesters were present on the Downtown Connector near Freedom Parkway. Their presence blocked traffic for a short time.
No arrests were made in connection to the protest, he added.
Southerners On New Ground field organizer Mary Hooks told the Associated Press that she and other grassroots organizers helped plan the protest as part of a national week of resistance to mass incarceration and police brutality. She said the protest was also connected to the Ferguson shooting.
People on Twitter were writing in support of the protest using the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.
Will Mason of Atlanta went to Wednesday’s protest not as part of any group, but said he knew some friends with various groups who were going to be in attendance, so he wanted to show solidarity with them.
The incident in Ferguson, he said, is just one of the latest examples of brutality from police across the country. He cited two examples from Georgia in recent years – the killing of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston in a botched 2006 drug raid, and the more recent raid in Habersham County in which a 19-month-old boy sustained injuries after a SWAT team member’s stun grenade landed in his playpen where he was sleeping.
“The police are becoming increasingly militarized, and there’s no real, sane explanation or justification for it from political leadership at any level,” Mason said. “People are getting tired of what essentially is looking more and more like fascism.”
The shooting in Ferguson, though, is the main reason he took part in Wednesday’s events.
Mason said the protest began with a rally in Woodruff Park. Participants then marched around the city, with some eventually reaching the highway.
Those who reached the Downtown Connector, he said, were able to shut down all its lanes for a little while.
“I’ve never seen anything like that in Atlanta. I think it’s an amazing protest event,” Mason said.
The protest had its supporters and critics on Twitter.
“Shut down NOW! I75/85 Atlanta s/b cuz #blacklivesmatter!!! #o22 o22walkout #ferguson #mikebrown,” wrote @PremTod.
“Folks in downtown Atlanta not playing abt Ferguson” tweeted @DecorusDea1.
“how is shutting the highway down at rush hour in Atlanta stopping police brutality in Ferguson?” asked @englishanj.
Atlanta police spokesman Officer John Chafee said a number of protesters were present on the Downtown Connector near Freedom Parkway. Their presence blocked traffic for a short time.
No arrests were made in connection to the protest, he added.
Southerners On New Ground field organizer Mary Hooks told the Associated Press that she and other grassroots organizers helped plan the protest as part of a national week of resistance to mass incarceration and police brutality. She said the protest was also connected to the Ferguson shooting.
People on Twitter were writing in support of the protest using the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.
Will Mason of Atlanta went to Wednesday’s protest not as part of any group, but said he knew some friends with various groups who were going to be in attendance, so he wanted to show solidarity with them.
The incident in Ferguson, he said, is just one of the latest examples of brutality from police across the country. He cited two examples from Georgia in recent years – the killing of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston in a botched 2006 drug raid, and the more recent raid in Habersham County in which a 19-month-old boy sustained injuries after a SWAT team member’s stun grenade landed in his playpen where he was sleeping.
“The police are becoming increasingly militarized, and there’s no real, sane explanation or justification for it from political leadership at any level,” Mason said. “People are getting tired of what essentially is looking more and more like fascism.”
The shooting in Ferguson, though, is the main reason he took part in Wednesday’s events.
Mason said the protest began with a rally in Woodruff Park. Participants then marched around the city, with some eventually reaching the highway.
Those who reached the Downtown Connector, he said, were able to shut down all its lanes for a little while.
“I’ve never seen anything like that in Atlanta. I think it’s an amazing protest event,” Mason said.
The protest had its supporters and critics on Twitter.
“Shut down NOW! I75/85 Atlanta s/b cuz #blacklivesmatter!!! #o22 o22walkout #ferguson #mikebrown,” wrote @PremTod.
“Folks in downtown Atlanta not playing abt Ferguson” tweeted @DecorusDea1.
“how is shutting the highway down at rush hour in Atlanta stopping police brutality in Ferguson?” asked @englishanj.
They walked out onto a 12 lane Interstate and managed to block all northbound traffic effectively crippling the city. I work 30 miles north of there, far outside of the downtown area and we still felt the effects. What good did crippling a major interstate in Atlanta do to help a dead thug in Missouri? I'm not even going to comment on that case as "facts" have become mindbogglingly muddled in recent days.
I agree that they do have the right to peaceful assembly, but they crossed the line into negligent and dangerous conduct. While I won't fault the police for their reactions, I would definitely like to see the figureheads brought up on endangerment charges. This resulted in countless traffic accidents around town, and while no fatalities that I know of, there were some injuries directly linked to accidents caused by the irregular traffic. And lets just consider for a moment the fact that the protesters were in the middle of a major interstate highway blocking traffic when the police arrived on scene. This is so stupid!
Our Six Flags theme park found scrutiny from police and legal officials over an hour of free admission which resulted in a major traffic jam, solely caused by people's incompetent behavior. They were stopping in lanes and letting children.... CHILDREN out of cars, unsupervised, in the middle of I20. Ultimately the park was relieved of responsibility as it turned away anyone on foot. However someone needs to held accountable before this becomes a regular activity. Several years ago the state and city erected fencing on every overpass due to a rash of "jumpers" (many were fakes) just looking for 15 minutes of fame and a slot on the 11 o'clock news. This started with a single man who snarled traffic for over 90 minutes before jumping to his demise, resulting in enormous media coverage and unthinkable traffic delays. When the issue snowballed with increasingly frequent copy-cats, our appointed officials took action. But since this is such a hot issue it seems everyone is just sitting on their thumbs, giving these people a pass.
10-23-2014, 01:06 PM
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That's no longer a peaceful protest.
I would have matted the gas if they stepped out in front of me on a major interstate.
That whole mike brown story is getting really old and I for one can't want till Jesse Jackson dies. Especially after the sh*t he tried to pull with that Ebola patient. All he does is stir sh*t up like this and make racism more profound
I would have matted the gas if they stepped out in front of me on a major interstate.
That whole mike brown story is getting really old and I for one can't want till Jesse Jackson dies. Especially after the sh*t he tried to pull with that Ebola patient. All he does is stir sh*t up like this and make racism more profound
10-23-2014, 07:58 PM
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In recent days the facts have become increasingly clearer, and it does not fit the narrative of the race hustlers - so they are ginning up more astroturf prototests. The highway was jammed with Lenin's "Useful Idiots". SOME of us students of humanity already were 99.92% sure the facts were on the COP's side and the "what do we want?/justice!" crowd really only wants justice if it means a certain set of things happen but not if a different set of things happen.
The leaked autopsy showed the deceased was shot in the hand at close range. There was blood in the patrol truck. The audio recording matches the COP's story. The feds, with a couple of racist/race baiters giving direction (Obama/Holder) have every incentive to come up with SOMETHING to charge the COP with but they are saying it looks increasingly unlikely.
10-23-2014, 09:15 PM
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Much like moon landings or chemtrails, there are plausible theories that come from both sides of the argument - even in a case such as this where there is actual video footage of what happened, it's STILL nigh-on-impossible to marshal all the competing forces and influences at hand.
I think stocker makes a good point about 'useful idiots'. There are hoardes of people who will pick up a megaphone to spout their existing biases before they even receive one side of the facts, let alone a crisp court judgement.
I think stocker makes a good point about 'useful idiots'. There are hoardes of people who will pick up a megaphone to spout their existing biases before they even receive one side of the facts, let alone a crisp court judgement.