Occupy Oakland's 'ugly' strike: What did it accomplish?

A day-long, Occupy-inspired "general strike" in Oakland, Calif., turned violent late Wednesday, with police in riot gear arresting dozens of protesters after crowds took over a vacant building, shattered windows, sprayed graffiti, and set fires downtown. Occupy Oakland organizers declared the demonstrations a success after protesters blocked the entrance to the Port of Oakland, shutting down one of the nation's busiest shipping hubs for several hours. What did Occupy Oakland really accomplish?

All these thugs did was discredit themselves: So much for the left-wing nonsense that the Occupy movement is a liberal version of the Tea Party, says Michelle Malkin at her blog. The Occupy Oakland anarchists spelled out exactly what they stand for — in graffiti. They "hate capitalism," and they "heart communism." Oh, and they believe in using "ugly" tactics that would get them kicked out of a peaceful Tea Party protest.

"More ugly Occupy Oakland pictures that won't make MSM front pages"

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But the protesters didn't hurt anyone: It's fair to say things got "chaotic" after demonstrators "defiled the sanctity of a local Whole Foods" and police started "tossing tear gas and projectiles and cuffing demonstrators by the dozen," says Lauri Apple at Gawker. But the only person who hurt anyone was the driver of a Mercedes who drove into two protesters. "Seriously, how much more symbolic of these protests can you get"?

"Occupy Oakland: Protesters run down, port shut down, tear gas all around"

It wasn't pretty, but it worked: Occupy Oakland certainly accomplished what it set out to do, says Jason Motlagh at TIME. The group rallied thousands of committed people and got its message across with the whole world watching, showing why this offshoot of Occupy Wall Street is becoming the movement's new focal point. It's the ability to pull off this kind of show that has allowed a small core of activists "to build a broader movement with substantial public sympathy."

"How Occupy Oakland is stealing Occupy Wall Street's mojo"