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Border Patrol Gets Violent Against No Borders Camp at End of Peaceful Week


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After a great week at the No Borders Camp in Calexico/Mexicali, activists met with overwhelming and inappropriate force wielded by the Border Patrol in downtown Calexico during a closing march.

The 5-day event featured numerous calm and measured interactions and negotions with the Border Patrol and local law enforcement. In general, The camp was considered a great success by organizers before last night's troubles, and included many workshops, cross-border communication and networking, art-making, and performances.

Activist protests and mobilizations often conclude with startlingly violent acts by law enforcement, when officers and agents, tired and frustrated after standing in the sun watching the activists have fun, take out their repressed annoyance on the innocent. Still, this brutality of the Border Patrol marred an otherwise very positive experience and was a disappointing and somewhat surprising development.

An archive of other news from the Camp can be found on http://noborderscamp.org.
Two previous and roughtly-cut videos of mine about the camp are here:
http://panleft.net/cms/node/211
http://panleft.net/cms/node/213
steev

6 responses // Border Patrol Gets Violent Against No Borders Camp at End of Peaceful Week

  • I wonder what the crowd here thinks of the effectivness of this type of protest? This one went violent--during which there were no points spoken nor taken and looked like just about anyplace planet earth where a protest went violent. But even when it wasn't violent, how much change actually ever occurs at these things--how much 'awareness' even gets out?

    Change occurs when people who don't agree with your point of view change their minds--how often does a passerby change their mind even at a non-violent protest? How often does a passerby even comprehend what they're doing at protests?

    Its my view that most effective change occurs far far away from the lines of confrontation...NGOs offices don't make for good tv, but they're better venues for a more effective dialogue on policy... Especially in the day of the internet and mass distribution in open societies--I think the protest could only be truly effective in places like Myanmar and Pakistan... where there's no other option, but as we're seeing in pakistan, once you're getting beaten and carried away to prison, you can't easily participate in an election or discussion of forwarding the finer points.
    dbeckmann
  • First of all, 'dbeckmann' chooses to describe the protest as one that 'got violent'. I think it's important to note that the protest did not 'get violent'- la Migra decided to beat, shoot and pepper spray a crowd that was unarmed, vastly outnumbered, and not a threat to anyone.

    I don't see what the effectiveness of the protest has to do with the brutality. Public protest is not necessarily to cause people who disagree to change their minds - there are many purposes, but the main purpose is probably simply to cause onlookers to become aware of the opinions and issues at stake, so that they can form their own opinions, and possibly even change their mind. If you care enough about an issue, you want to make it public. Many people do not consider political representation an adequate means of self expression - there are those of us who don't believe we can be better represented by people other than ourselves.
    not24601
  • ok, lets review, that was a horrible job with the camera if a documentary view is what you wanted, a non biased view, but, if you wanted to try and show the border patrol as the agressor, you made it. you did not show what happened to the left of the camera when things got out of hand and the caos started, you didn't pan left or right to show your group with their aggressive stance,(look at their feet, they show aggresion and confrontational) and also, if you listen to your own audio you can hear your group saying such catchy phrases as "Fuck You", I guess all that kissing got them a lil bit stirred up, so, all in all, a veru one sided attempt. and I hope they keep the (follow this term) Illegal's out, and if you want sooo much to support their interests, then, please by all means, move across the border and assist them in building their country into a mirror image of the country they want to take from.
    texascountryboy
  • "texascountryboy": First of all, your opinion of the protestors 'stance' as 'threatening' is meaningless when confronted with the solid facts; an unarmed and vastly outnumbered (at least 2 to 1, though probably more) crowd was attacked with painful chemicals and baton beatings by a majority wielding deadly weapons. It doesn't seem like your perception of 'stance' really enters into it when you think about the fact that every one of those in uniform were fully armed and capable of dispensing death. I guess we should be thankful that they just decided to shoot, beat and gas the (unarmed, dancing, singing, music-playing) crowd rather than kill them? Also, we need to take into account the power dynamics at work; if any one of the protestors steps out of line or does become a threat, the border guards, who outnumber them anyway, can unleash the total violence of the State (prison terms, executions, deportations). The protestors don't have big daddy government to run to to protect them; that's who was gassing them.

    And as for your cliche, xenophobic suggestion that people without documentation should be arrested and deported, and that those who don't think so should go help rebuild their country... you should think about how those countries end up indebted to the U.S. in the first place, and why so little opportunity exists there. It is in the best interests of transnational corporations to exploit and consume the resources of these nations. People who were once subsistence farmers have had their means of living destroyed and their land stolen, while their governments are bought off by Monsanto, Coca Cola, Pepsi, etc. And we do support those countries in their efforts to fight back against this and rebuild their lives. But we don't think that they should be driven away when they come here; especially when you look into the history of why they have to come here.
    not24601
  • good grief, then your bitch is with global corporation, you still did not address the piss poor camera shots, you didn't address the fact that we do not know, including you, what happened to left side to start the assualt that the camera focused on, you in fact did not address the the verbal taunts being tossed, hellfire man, you want a cause?, try the american indians, the real americans, of which I am a part, that is ancient history, I guess we might need to start a rebellion over the cival war results as well. as you can see, I dont care about them. period. I have my own problems. We have a become a society of whinners and cause fighters, go forth and multiply, I wish not to debate any of your causes, I stated the camera did a poor job of catching all the facts, and again,.you supported that fact. And how dare those big mean bullies on the border patrol, i will send a note to their mom and have milk and cookies taken away.

    I am done, you do yours,....and I will be right here............ doing mine.
    texascountryboy
  • "texascountryboy": My problem is with those who exploit, oppress, and dominate others. This includes transnational corporations. It also includes the State, and the little gun-wielding puppets of the State, that do the bidding of the ruling class; in the case of America, the ruling class is whoever has the money or influence to pull the strings. For instance, the 6 corporations that own virtually all mainstream media in the United States.

    As for the camera shots: I do not criticize the camera shots because I know, for one, that they aren't filming for a documentary; this isn't for your entertainment so you can continue sitting at home eating cheetoes and watching youtube. They were filming because they know that the tools of the state have a history of brutality, and any confrontation with them is likely to result in violence, no matter how 'non-violent' the crowd, and videos serve as compelling evidence.

    I don't know why you have this fixation with some event 'off to the left'. It seems clear that the initial target was the young man with the drum; I don't know why we need to fabricate some other provocation. Especially if you've seen some of the history of how police repression operates... check out a documentary called 'The Miami Model' if you'd like to see some more examples (with better camera shots, just for you, my friend).

    I strongly disagree that we have become a society of cause fighters, but I wish that were the case. It would be nice if people spent less time consuming shitty products they don't need, going to jobs they hate, getting wasted and obsessing over trivial things, and more time thinking about their place in the world and taking some responsibility for all they things they're just sitting by and letting happen.

    Lastly, I'm not sure why you belittle what the border patrol did in this video with your final statement, but it doesn't seem like anything to belittle. What if a group of armed men beat and gassed your kids? Would you be so willing to apologize for them? Have you been so well-trained that you'll kiss the ass of anyone with a badge?
    not24601

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