An Oakland police officer escorts a protester after he and a large group attempted to block Interstate 880 following a rally for the national Day of Action against school funding cuts and tuition increases March 4, 2010 in Oakland. (Getty)
It's too bad that a day of passionate but largely peaceful demonstrations in protest of budget cuts to California's struggling public school system will be remembered for the uglier moments.
--A face-off at UC Davis where police used pellet guns and pepper spray to stop about 100 students from blocking freeway traffic.
--Over two dozen protesters at UC Santa Cruz smashed the rear and side windows of a car while the driver was still in it. (He was unhurt).
--And worst of all, because it received the most coverage of all, the more than 150 protesters arrested on Interstate 880 in Oakland who used an exit ramp to walk onto the freeway and shut down rush hour traffic for nearly an hour. Many wore black, identified themselves as anarchists and carried a banner that read, "Occupy everything," according to the San Francisco Chronicle .
One student told local TV, "They'll get on the news. That was the point of today, so they achieved some kind of success, I guess."
Bad guess, kid, which makes me wonder if the fundamental lesson to be gleaned from this intemperate behavior will be lost upon those who need it the most --the students.
The act of protest is in the highest traditions of our nation and it's in the highest traditions of American history, which I hope these students are learning.