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For the complete account of how I got hit, here's my story.

There was definitely a very different vibe among the couple hundreds protesters who clashed with police. Some identify themselves as anarchists and have been involved in other recent clashes out here, including violent confrontations following the verdict against a transit officer who shot an unarmed black man shortly after New Year's in 2009. Yesterday's protests were very peaceful, for the most part, and police were barely visible. This will be a continuing challenge for the movement.

There's a really intriguing dynamic playing out here. Often when things begin to get tense, the protesters will argue amongst themselves over how far to go.

You can see this in our story on the port closure.

As some protesters set upon a longshoreman and began rocking his truck, others chanted: "Peaceful! Peaceful!"

I think the biggest controversy out here revolves around Oakland Mayor Jean Quan. She ordered the initial raid on the Occupy encampment, which resulted in violence and injuries to police and protesters. A day later she reversed herself and tried to align herself with the movement, but she has alienated the protesters, the police and the business community. 

This will become a huge issue, if it isn't already. Even before yesterday, Oakland had spent over $1 million dealing with this crisis. That cost almost certainly go up, in a city facing a $50 million budget deficit, a homicide epidemic and dramatic cuts the the police department.

I think this is the question in every city, right? Out here the weather issue is not as dramatic as it is in other places, but just today the temperature dropped 20 degrees, and rain is threatening. How long can people hold out? That may be the ultimate test of the movement. 

The first time I was out there, it seemed to me there were a lot of professional activists, of which we have many out here. That has changed. Yesterday the streets were filled with unionists, college and high school students, teachers. In the Oakland Unified School District, 360 teachers called in sick and at least a couple schools were closed (Link).

n extension of Burning Man. But that has changed. 

I think our staff has done a fantastic job on this story. That said, I don't feel any more pressure editorially at The Bay Citizen than I did during my 10 years at The Washington Post. Our founder Warren Hellman is one of the richest men in San Francisco. I haven't had a single conversation with him about this issue. 

Some people have alleged that the violence is being stoked by informant, but we see no indication of that. The truth is some people are out there looking for a pretext. 

Well, there is an Occupy San Jose, although it doesn't seem to resonate as much as Oakland. Nor does San Francisco, for that matter. Our culture editor Reyhan Harmanci wrote an interesting piece Thursday on the historical roots of the Oakland protest movement, which includes the last general strike in the US and the Black Panthers.  Link

The port and the longshoremen have argued exactly this point. So has the small business community in Oakland, which was hit hard by yesterday's strike. In one of our stories -- you can see complete coverage at baycitizen.org -- a longshoreman got into a conversation with the protesters and basically said he was supporting them, even though he was giving up nearly $600 by missing his shift. On that basis, one might conclude the logic is skewed. But it's no small thing to close down a port the size of Oakland's, and one could also argue that symbolically it's a huge success.

I'll try to answer based on what I've seen and heard, and have read in our own coverage and elsewhere. I think many of these people honestly believe that the deck is stacked, politically and economically, in favor of a small percentage of people who control the most wealth. I find it a little hard to tell how much this is resonating nationally, but in the Bay Area, which is basically a one-party state, this message has gained a lot of support. 

I do think it would help to distill it. I think a lot of people still don't really understand what the movement is about. Our own organization has had a lot of internal debate over exactly this issue; how do you cover it when you don't really know what it is? I think I've come around a little on this issue. Whether one supports it is one thing. But I think that the message is getting clearer: After two unpopular wars, the bailout, a lingering recession -- Oakland's unemployment rate is 16 percent, and the state's is 12 -- many people feel shut out right now, politically and economically. 

I think the political dance going on around this, locally and nationally, is almost comical. You can't imagine the verbal gymnastics that are going on out here, as politicians try to placate protesters who are calling for their heads in a very specific way. One of the most interesting issues will be how this plays out in next year's election. Obama and Pelosi -- like Jean Quan -- will quickly learn, if they haven't already, that this is not necessarily their crowd. 

Thanks everyone for the great questions. Please come check us out at baycitizen.org.