#BlackLivesMatter protesters caused major traffic jams for commuters in Boston on Thursday by attaching themselves to 1200-lb. barrels on a major freeway and earning themselves the title “#Douchebarrels” on social media. In San Francisco, #BARTFriday protesters who blocked commuters from getting to work the following morning earned themselves the same title while causing a cacophony of irritating noises, using spoons, that immobilized the working masses for a while.
@Cameron_Gray well, when you move to San Francisco, you have to expect high levels of douchery.
— Amelia (@AmeliaHammy) January 16, 2015
BART announced on its own Twitter page that 5-15 minute delays were to be expected following the “civil unrest” that had been carried out by the protesters at Montgomery Station. And those spoons that were requested by the organizers of the protests? Essentially, loud noise is a weapon in and of itself:
Why? RT @VivianHo: Pounding spoon on East Bay train that paused but won’t stop at Montgomery in SF #BARTFridayhttps://t.co/0iP7Nys4MR
— Cameron Gray (@Cameron_Gray) January 16, 2015
What does it take to cause rampant BART delays? #BARTFriday#fbpic.twitter.com/VWyCZKxvus
— Josh Wolf (@joshwolf) January 16, 2015
#BARTFriday No stops at Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell. Shut down due to ‘spoon tapping.’ The fear of dissent is real, y’all.
— Shazzarazza (@shazza_razza) January 16, 2015
The protests over grand jury decisions in Ferguson, Missouri and New York, had briefly lost their gusto after being drowned out by global outcry over terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalists in Paris last week.
The protests are not over, however. Friday’s protests were just the launch party to kick off 96 hours of civil unrest leading up to Monday’s celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which #BlackLivesMatter protesters are referring to as #ReclaimMLK.
“We are not stopping, we are just starting,” protest speaker who refused to give name. #BARTFriday @insidebayarea pic.twitter.com/06Nrj8R7pE
— Natalie Neysa Alund (@nataliealund) January 16, 2015
Saturday, Sunday and Monday will still prove challenging for BART commuters:
List of Oakland/SF #ReclaimMLK events for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/mYW1jBmvAN — OccupythePort (@occupytheport) January 16, 2015
And it appears this #BARTFriday protest could become a recurring theme:
@SFBART police lieutenant said officers will be prepared for this again next Friday #BARTFriday@insidebayareapic.twitter.com/gTpt6wjKha — Natalie Neysa Alund (@nataliealund) January 16, 2015
BART activists also made their way to the Alameda Courthouse to protest the auctioning off of homes belonging to people who have been evicted–also framed as a racial issue:
“Evictions = War on Black Lives” #gentrificationisviolence #ReclaimMLK #Oakland pic.twitter.com/OIgA0P6TLO
— Not Frantz Fanon (@violentfanon) January 16, 2015
Cops protecting property, like cops do. Not black folks’ property, though… #gentrificationisviolence #ReclaimMLK pic.twitter.com/NBGOAgQp9e
— Not Frantz Fanon (@violentfanon) January 16, 2015
Photo: file
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter: @AdelleNaz.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.