I have been saying to friends that many post-9/11 reactions need to be rolled back, no matter who the next president is. We have gone too far in our reaction to 9/11 in many areas, and now need to regain some perspective. One of the areas must be the treatment of protesters around political conventions. In 2004, we saw huge new restrictions placed on protesters in the name of safety and protection for politicos. But now these restrictions have escalated to the point that it is impossible for person A protesting person B to get anywhere near them. And the police are encouraged to do whatever is possible to contain protesters. Consider this article and this video from Denver.
Now, Denver has the added excuse of the last Democratic Convention there having turned ugly, and threats from some demonstrators beforehand to do the same. So, I cut them a lot of slack. But the fact is that the Republican Convention will be as locked down, in Minneapolis. Protest is a fundamental thread of the American experience, and more needs to be done to allow it at these monuments of political theater. A political convention where no dissenting voice is allowed is simply a show with no heart and no point.
wow! it's unfortunate that discourse has come to this point.
YanıtlaSilyou have to be kidding me... ok... I will start with the base facts. The crowd was estimated at just over 300 not "Thousands". The police report submitted stated that 3 officers deployed their pepper spray and NO rubber bullets or paintballs were used by the police. The "reporter" was seen leading the crowd, the protesters were stopping traffic and creating a disturbance, they were getting violent with the officers AND they were wearing masks in a public place... which is a crime in any major city in order to prevent the lack of accountability that these anarchists were involved in.
YanıtlaSilI have heard Nomad's argument before about rolling back some 9/11 securities. I agree and think that the argument is well thought out and valid. This is NOT the example or the topic that I would have used to prove it. There is not one shred of truth in the entire piece, and for good measure, just look at some of the other pieces of propaganda that were offered on that page.
Nomand... seriously.
Here is a more accurate reporting on the subject.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-protests26-2008aug26,0,6408951.story
BH, Two points:
YanıtlaSil1. This was posted prior to larger reporting of the incident, so if corrections came out then they were later in the day.
2. My point is NOT that what happened here shows police brutality or that the protesters were reasonable people. My point is that it was a peaceful protest that was never allowed anywhere NEAR the convention. It was not allowed even within shouting distance of the event. Policies which "allow protest" but say anyone who gets anywhere near what they are protesting is going to be arrested is more akin to China than the USA.
Overall, whatever you think of this particular event and these particular protesters, I think it DOES show the overreaction of the current policies toward political dissent are too extreme.