Editorial: First night of G-20 leaves Oakland disheveled

Day one: disaster.

Oakland. 11:19 p.m. Clouds of crowd control gas roll down Bigelow Boulevard outside the Cathedral. Echoing pops reverberate, too many to count. Forbes Avenue is a mess — broken windows scar storefronts along the avenue. This is vaguely reminiscent of the Feb. 1 post-Super Bowl riots. Except this is worse.

Lawrenceville and North Oakland saw their share of G-20 protesters today. Crowds formed in Arsenal Park and marched toward Downtown. Police quickly responded with repellent gas and incessant warnings from their loudspeakers. By evening, we expected a lull. We hoped for a lull. We didn’t expect this.

Students line the windows of the Hillman peering out at the mayhem. The building, like many others, was locked down. Dozens of police officers tread past the Union down Forbes Avenue. The light of the screaming red and blue sirens bounces off their masks and shields. This is madness.

We expected a degree of subversive behavior after the Super Bowl and we anticipated protests and disorder during the G-20. But this time, there’s no revelry. This time, it feels genuine. What caused this eruption? All we know is that we hope today will be a better day.