For the “Occupy” movement to keep growing and not lose the goodwill that has been generated so far, a few things deserve a much broader discussion than I have heard to date:

1) The motivations and tactics of anarchists are not the same as those of non-violent civil disobedience practitioners;

2) Political leaders call the shots on physical force being used against civilian populations, and the buck ultimately stops with them. This is true whether it’s military forces overseas or the local police. The current situation in Oakland has brought a long-simmering dysfunction in City Hall to a head;

3) Instances of police brutality certainly exist, and they need to be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted whenever and wherever they occur. But the police in general are not alien storm troopers out of a science fiction film. The corporate media that profits off such two-dimensional, sensationalist stereotypes is part of the problem, not the solution (although, capitalism being essentially amoral, it will hopefully prove itself capable of evolving…)