CHICAGO, November 18, 2011― Stand-Up Chicago, a coalition of labor unions and community organizations, participated in the "National Day of Action" (N17). About one thousand people, mostly union activists, converged on the State of Illinois/Thompson Center Plaza in Chicago. They were joined by a small contingent from Occupy Chicago.
They marched, chanted and drummed. The main objective was to create government jobs using a transaction tax on derivatives contracts traded at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. They also oppose cuts in government spending.
At the end of the speeches, they claimed they were going to occupy the LaSalle Street Bridge. The protest was credible up to that point. From then on, it was a well planned, staged, and choreographed theater performance - a commercial.
They were led by the Chicago Police Department to the bridge. People wearing special blue clothing were designated for “arrest”.
Every one, including the police, played their part.
Not one arrestee was handcuffed. They were led or allowed to walk to a pre-designated spot with their hands behind their backs. They were issued citations and allowed to leave.
This so called “direct action” was a con job. It was not direct action, nor was it a protest. It was less political expression than performance art. It was a pre-planned publicity stunt for the media, a fact verified by an SEIU organizer on the scene and Chicago Police command personnel, and we ate it up.
The media dutifully reported the direct action on the bridge and the arrests, even though everyone knew it was phony. It is the story that counts, not the facts.
Why was taxpayer money wasted on police, fire, and other city personnel for a fraud? Because in Chicago the unions get whatever they want. If they want publicity, they get it from a very cooperative media. If they want to put up a sham takeover of a bridge with phony arrests, they get it and all the publicity that goes with it.
The taxpayers be damned. A commercial had to be made and it was made.
Stand-Up Chicago is a publicity group created by the major unions, especially SEIU. It appears they will stage more fake protests, generate more publicity, and get the thousand or so useful idiots out in the street. The media will go along, instead of ignoring or exposing it.
The public is being led to believe there was civil disobedience and the Chicago Police handled it with professionalism. Pre-arranged civil disturbances are not civil disobedience. They are pure acting by trained street thespians.
The unions got their message out, and that is all that counts. It is a pity the media allows itself to be used this way. It is a shame they even reported this as a protest. Hollywood could not have done a better scripting job than the city and the unions did with this. Everyone comes out looking good.
Stand-Up Chicago, the City of Chicago, and the media who fell for this farce should be ashamed, but in Chicago politics there is no shame. Nor are there ethics, morals, or honesty. There are only optics.
It's a pity that people will fall for this. One would hope the next time something of this magnitude occurs, the media would ignore it, but they will all show up. They will all report on the march and the so called arrests as if it were real. They are part of the fiction. It is their job to cooperate or lose access.
Fiction is what happened today in Chicago. It will be written and reported as real news. Everyone will be happy.
Especially the mayor, the city council, and their union buddies
Peter Bella is a retired Chicago Police Officer, freelance writer, freelance photographer, and consultant. He is a passionate cook and eater. He likes to be the sharp stick that pokes, annoys, and provokes. His opinions are his and his alone.
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