Tuesday July 16--Protests in L.A. are continuing to grow, as is police presence--and thus tax payer-funded LAPD overtime. Public officials, including Mayor Eric Garcetti, and media are vilifying a small group of violent protesters, blaming them for police presence/aggression. (However, it was noted on Pacifica's Letters and Politics
Tuesday, July 16, 2013 that neither government nor media cares when much greater damage is done after sporting events (e.g., Giants winning the World Series in San Francisco).) Meanwhile, demonstrators blame the police and media for escalating tensions. A speaker on Letters and Politics stressed the importance of peaceful protest, saying that small business and property owners should not be alienated. Others have said glass is replaceable, lives are not. According to Pacifica Evening News, 14 arrests have been made--most for failure to disperse--and over 350 officers activated.
KPFK's Ernesto Arce reports that demonstrators in Leimert Park Village are sick of disrespectful and racist portrayals of African Americans by outside media. "I couldn't agree more," Arce says. "Of all the communities I cover, the black community is the most honest, the most real, the most righteously indignant, and the most beautiful of all."
Photos and videos: Saturday and Sunday Trayvon Martin Protests by jk | More Trayvon Martin Photos by imc volunteer | A Justice 4 Trayvon Martin Scrapbook
A Week of Trayvon Martin Protests