Well said for the most part although I cannot agree with your sentiment.

I do have to wonder why you think the OLYMPIA CITY COUNCIL can remove the THURSTON COUNTY SHERIFF? 

The story so far: In the beginning, the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people mad and been widely regarded as a bad idea. -The Restaurant at the end of the Universe

You won't get very far with them, at least if you continue in your anti cop/government rhetoric.  You are very articulate about it, which is more than most in that vein :-)

Of course I'm the guy walking around openly wearing a gun, so who am I to criticize the viewpoints of others?  :-)

Do you think if you went to a metting of the commissioners and presented a solid case with facts and ideals to back up your opinion you would get heard out?  Or do you think you will get dismissed as a kook? 

The story so far: In the beginning, the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people mad and been widely regarded as a bad idea. -The Restaurant at the end of the Universe

I'll italicize my responses...

"Historically, challenges to power have been met with fury and retribution in orders of magnitude larger than what could be considered fair and just.

Yes and no.  Government like any other entity will respond with enough force to protect it's existence.  In an ideal society that existence comes from the people, who will dictate the level of acceptable force.

One destroyed cop car is not equal to ten years in jail served by people used as scapegoats.

It goes beyond a single vehicle.  That is an emergency vehicle, which they are now one less short.  I am sure they have spares, but concievably this could limit a response before it is replaced when it may be needed.  That is why the punishment is so strong for this sort of action.

The police officers will receive no punishment for beating and dousing the public, yet again, with pepper spray, sending one student to the hospital with bruised ribs. Instead they will receive over time pay, which will continue to increase the costs of the incident."

You see it as beating and dousing the public, but many people will see it as standard crowd control techniques.  Believe me I am no great fan of law enforcement run amok and have been on the end of a "My partner has his gun out in case you try something" conversation and did not like it.  However pepper spray is fairly harmless in nearly all cases, and using batons to push and break up an unruly mob is not a great offence.  You may find it informative to study crowd control techniques.  Mobs are a great force to order, and remember there are reports of rioters trying to grap deputy's weapons.  Do you want those people to get the cop's guns?  What would have happened had they seized a weapon?  And for those who are about to say "Ahaha!  We shouldn't have guns on campus, it is illegal to carry a gun to an "outdoor music festival" already.

Just ask yourself, not in the context of "I don't like the man" but as a citizen, what do you do when a mob gets out of control?  What would have most likely turned into a brief detainment and release turned into something else entirely.   

The story so far: In the beginning, the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people mad and been widely regarded as a bad idea. -The Restaurant at the end of the Universe

Most socialists don't even pray for redistribution of wealth. That is too much to ask that billionaires give up their family inheritances. The top tier of the wealthiest in this country, those that have over around $3 million in wealth, usually stay wealthy for generations no matter how hard they work. Some work hard but they still started so far ahead that it is impossible to compete and near impossible for them to not make money with their money.

I'm sure you do work hard. I think by definition socialists aren't "wild eyed bomb throwing anarchists," instead most are poor people who want to work hard and do but get nothing in return. Very few are the extraordinary who start with nothing and shoot to the top. It is very nearly a myth. I think socialism is about making sure everyone has access to education for as long as they wish to learn and get good enough grades. That everyone has healthcare so that sickness won't leave your family without a provider. That people can rely that their jobs won't get shipped to Mexico. That maybe the richest among us and the poorest among us will still ride the bus together and when they do they might find some interesting things to talk about.

"Unfortunately the police are determined to seek retribution beyond what is fair. Unless we stop them, rationality and wisdom will be defeated by vengeance and abuse of power. "

Unfortunately?  I say fortunately.  An unruly mob of kids who think they are above the law destroyed government property while threatening officers of the law.  The police should be determined to seek retribution on behalf of the police department and the law abiding citizens of this great city who helped pay for the destroyed property. 

A group of individuals who believe they are above the law have no right to even try to stop them.  Do you seriously believe the police are solely seeking revenge and abusing power?  What if it was your car that was totaled while you were in class one day.  Wouldn't you want them to pursue the offenders?  Wouldn't you expect to be reimbursed?

One destroyed cop car is not equal to ten years in jail served by people used as scapegoats.

While I agree 10 years is harsh, I'm sure that's just a maximum and none of those who flagrantly broke the law will ever serve 10 years.  As for scapegoats, let's call them what they really are:  criminals, felons, and law-breakers.  They are far from "scapegoats".

The police officers will receive no punishment for beating and dousing the public, yet again, with pepper spray, sending one student to the hospital with bruised ribs. Instead they will receive over time pay, which will continue to increase the costs of the incident.

The police officers shouldn't receive any punishment for doing their jobs.  They have as much right to protect themselves as you do.  They also have as much right to use whatever force necessary to protect property and lives.  The criminals who were threatening them were lucky they only got pepper sprayed and a few bruised ribs.  I don't know why you think they'll get overtime pay but again, half of your post is baseless theories, speculation and statements without facts.

Finding someone to blame is a priority for the police force.

Because it's their JOB.  When criminals create havoc and threaten the lives of officers of the law and destroy property, it's the policemen's job to investigate, charge (blame) & arrest the offenders. 

 Anyone who was there knows that it is impossible to fairly blame one person or even a small group of people. How many people were shouting ‘fuck the cops’? A hundred.

Shouting profanity isn't a crime.  So what?  Where your buddies went wrong was threatening the officers and damaging their property and stealing belongings from the car. 

I stood unable to stop the increasing mayhem, provoked by the police. I watched people getting angry as their friends and community members were crying from pain.

What were you doing to stop the increasing mayhem that certainly was not provoked by the police.  Again, they were doing their job.  Your friends and community members wouldn't have been crying from pain had they not rioted in the first place, damaged and stole government property and threatened lives.

 Sheriff Dan Kimball shows himself again to be a divider in our community, promoting repression. He has proven his inability or unwillingness to bridge divides, repeatedly using excessive force on the public. This has left Olympia grumbling and cost the taxpayers in unnecessary police overtime pay. I demand his removal from office by the Olympia City Council.

I completely disagree.  Dan Kimball and his officers acted within the laws and did their jobs. He neither divides our community or promotes repression.  If anybody has proven their inability or unwillingness to bridge divides, it's TESC.  If you read the comments from others at The O and listen to talk radio, people have had it with TESC, it's policies, it's teachings and the shenanigans of the student body.  Most are calling for the removal of TESC completely.  Close it down, stop funding it, etc.  If you truly want to bridge divides between TESC and the community, encourage those who were responsible to come forward.  Don't post propoganda like above encouraging others to hate police and paint your college and student body as little angels who did nothing wrong.  Don't destroy our city, it's name & reputation.

Evergreen has procedures for disciplinary action, counseling services, and a community who can better creatively determine a course of justice. We are willing and capable of handling this ourselves fairly without outside interference. We even have our own competent and intelligent police force. The city cops and courts must be stonewalled.

Obviously TESC's can't provide adequate policing services and neither are they a court of law or seperate entity entitled to a private justice system.  TESC is a member of the community of Olympia which requires it and it's student body to abide by the laws of the state and community, not their own made up rules and justice.

The riot was provoked by the cops and encouraged by the majority watching.

Only TESC believes this statement.  The police did not provoke or encourage the majority.  They were doing what they could to difuse the volitale situation and protect themselves.  I haven't seen or read anywhere where they jumped on bullhorns and encouraged rioting by others either.  This is seriously a delusional statement, one without fact or basis to back it up. 

Sentencing friends to ten years in prison for something we all have accountability for is intolerable. Do not help the police in their retaliation on our community. We can stop them and we must.

Sentencing felony criminals to ten years in prison for something they have accountability for is not only tolerable, it's required.  As a law abiding citizen of Olympia, I encourage others to help the police department seek the arrest and prosecution of these criminals who destroyed property I helped pay for on a college campus I am forced to fund.  We will not allow you to stop the police and you won't.  Justice for all and all for justice.  If you don't like the laws and don't want to live in society by them, move. 

"A point of view is only a view from a point..." ~ Unknown

to step back and convene a meeting with the activist community to reduce tensions and to give this particular instance of mob violence a pass.  

I am not keen about this kind of activity, but I was not there, I do not know what went on.  I do believe that the activist community has significant resentment simmering against the City and various pds at this time.  

Sometimes, the smart move is to step back instead of squaring off.  

A few clarifications...

1. A sheriff is an elected position. This is why the sheriff doesn't care what people think about him. If you don't like the way his department does business, you can vote him out in the next election.

It will still be funny when a bunch of people show up to an Olympia City Council meeting asking them to do something. It'll be even more funny if members of the council think they can.

This is also why the sheriff's department is far more likely to go out and enforce the law. With a police department, the chief has to answer to the city council and/or city manager.

2. Sheriff's Department: Deputies

Police Department: Officers

I really dislike this conversation. The first reason is I am totally for people going through proper channels to changing the law or defending their rights. If they have the tenacity, knowledge and resources they should go for it. I work through the system all the time, and have no problem with navigating through never ending bureaucracy and overcoming endless forms, meetings, procedures and blocks from people. I enjoy it.

However, I reserve the right to work for change in a more direct way, knowing that the consequences might be overwhelmingly bad. The reason is I want people who are in power who choose to not represent the interests of the public to be worried. If people in power think they can get away with murder, they will murder.

If a riot every now and then succeeds in making our public officials and our ruthless CEOs worried then I'm ok with that. If it shakes out a few concessions for a better life or makes people come together and confront the stark reality of poverty, social injustice, institutional racism, and thousands of people getting evicted from their homes by banks, then terrific.  

The first response to this will most assuredly be "how dare you compare The Boston Tea Party with a "riot" at TESC!!". They were both acts of rebellion, acts of revolt. The police have, maybe since the beginning of police, come down hard on youth, poor people, non-whites, queer people, etc. What happened at TESC was an example of a group of people realizing they had the upper hand against the police and saying, "We aren't going to let you win this time. You will not take one of us today."

Yes, there were people who had been drinking, and people who had been smoking weed, and maybe a couple of people looking for trouble. It was also a group of people that have studied or seen first hand the way police control The People with violence in order to protect capital.

Events like this are not to be taken lightly, it would be incredibly unwise to just right this off as if they were soccer hooligans, or drunks blowing off steam. Events like this provide a spark that can ignite a movement. As a community, I believe it is in our best interests to start a conversation about the police and how they do their jobs. Now that this has happened, the police will undoubtedly ramp up their reactions to college students, especially at protests. If we want to live in the kind of society we dream of, with real freedom, and real access to community, we have to come together and support one another. We can't criticize each other and bicker because that only does our "enemy's" job for them. Everybody is needed, every idea is valuable, every tactic is a step closer to accomplishing our goals.

"It's only criminals and their enablers who feel the police are out of control."

I hope you are only speaking in relation to the recent events at Evergreen. Because I have misgivings about the behavior of our police force on a few occassions during the last round of port protests. I had no probelm when the police enforced the laws by arresting the women who were blocking the street or their reaction to outbreaks of violence. But I have serious problems with the level of force they used on some other passive protesters. We clearly do not agree on whether or not any police actions constituted excessive use of force that week, but I hope you are not characterizing my concerns about the 4th and 14th ammendments as "enabling." Since you are a reasonably fair person, I can only imagine you are speaking about the most recent events.

Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.! --John Maynard Keynes

The lack of consciousness about the benefits provided by being a white male in this society is disturbing. There is a mistaken sense of entitlement and that we have worked to get where we are in this community. We have worked to get where we are compared to white males from a similar economic and cultural class, but our advantage over minorities and women are astounding and based upon no qualitative value.

If you are happy with how things are right now it is because the scope of your vision and empathy doesn't much leave your living room. You must also have little imagination for what possibilities of a better world exist.

Wake up. This is a wake up call for you and others like you who sit comfortably while many suffer. Those many will start causing you problems unless changes happen. If you want those changes to be a more tolitarian system then expect more problems. If you want changes towards a more just equitable society then watch those changes make these events go away.

I'm going to post an e-mail on my blog I sent out a while ago about some facts on prisons. Look for it.