Look at all the riot police. (RNC Monday) (Added link to more photos)

[Fire Walk With Me]

Last edited Tue Aug 28, 2012, 01:00 PM - Edit history (3)

A march of some 300 comprised of various protest groups were marching through Tampa this morning and on their way back, encountered this:







Protesters were on the way back to their base camp, "Romneyville", after the legendary "Hoovervilles"...



"Less-lethal" weapons were in plain sight as was an easily-recognizable LRAD.

They had to prove they were using the $2,000,000 spent upon "dealing" with peaceful protesters (including emptying a 1,700 bed jail in anticipation of mass arrests).

The message? Protest and go to jail.

Routes were even fenced off on police whim. Secret Service vests were seen ("You're doing it wrong" said one astute Twitterer). National Guard were said to have been sighted.

After this a day or so earlier. Note that air and ground drones have not yet been deployed:





The 1st Amendment no longer matters. Whatever police say, they can get away with. I sure as hell don't want ANY politician having these sorts of weapons, and worse.

Any who feel inclined to argue for the police state, do it in someone else's thread.

LINK TO MORE PHOTOS:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3482907003485.2126302.1595640107&type=1




https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=358922074183356&set=a.215096311899267.50879.210233502385548&type=1&theater

[Downwinder]

1. They are just to protect you from

"Legitimate Rape." There are Republicans around.

[Fire Walk With Me]

3. There are plenty of strip clubs in Tampa and Republicans (and the club owners) all know this!

Keep them dang republicans off'n mah lawn!

[freshwest]

18. Yup!

[sadbear]

2. Mercenaries.

[jp11]

26. On first sight they look like private security not police.

[Wednesdays]

44. On first sight they look like storm troopers from Star Wars.

[PatSeg]

49. That was my reaction as well

That is a really scary sight in an American city.

[AnneD]

52. ITA....

Theme from Star Wars kept going through my mind too.

Edited to add...fascists on parade.

[Iwasthere]

4. Orwells 1984

If we don't stand up NOW we will be livin it. They already control most of the media...

[Dustlawyer]

41. Wonder why BP airs their "Come on down to the Gulf Coast" commercials up and down the

Gulf coast? They have been the largest advertiser on the coast for print, radio and TV for the past 2 years. How many stories have come out about all of the victims and the fact that thave not settled with 80 percent of them! Money talks, or at least pays for the talk.

[jillan]

5. Police? Ugh! How socialistic!

Unless of course they are privately funded police.

[limpyhobbler]

6. Tampa Police look ready to kick some ass.

[monmouth]

7. Cops from West Palm Beach are there. They like to party too. On or off duty..LOL..n/t

[FirstLight]

8. this is really disconcerting

I have to admit, it's more than excessive, and why does there need to be such a separation between those who govern and those whom are governed?

it's not cool, and it will also be prevalent at the DNC...probably more so after recent rw wingnut shootings....
I don't like it. not a bit...even though I also want to keep my President and the like 'safe'... a part of me says there HAS to be another way. and why atre protestors the ones who everyone thinks are the ones who will cause shit to happen? it's usually one or two crazies or infiltrators who go off the hook anyway.....wouldn't the $/manhours be spent better by working within the groups, getting to know the protestors, even recognize them, so if another contingent shows up it would be obvious to all?..... and the safety of ALL would be a COMMON goal?

[awoke_in_2003]

30. Why the separation?...

Because they fear us.

[nc4bo]

9. Omg. I read an earlier post where OP said it looked like Afghanistan...

these just reenforce it.

So sad that we can't even protest peacefully any more.

[RKP5637]

33. Reminds me of the occupying forces during WWII. n/t

[steve2470]

10. talk about extreme overkill.....

I recognize the need for *a few* cops to handle unforeseen problems, but wow this makes me think of really bad things.

A f************g tank ???? Or what is that exactly ?

[Ya Basta]

61. "Or what is that exactly"

That is a M113 armored personal carrier primarily used to carry infantrymen into battle mostly during the Vietnam era. Usually they would be armed with the M2 .50 CAL machine gun like the one in the bottom photo.

[steve2470]

78. thanks for that info nt

[burrowowl]

11. DAMN!

Are they Union?
Scary!

[nolabear]

12. Wow. Those must be some unruly Republicans.

[freshwest]

19. That they are, nolabear, that they are.

[sabrina 1]

13. Our so-called Civilian Police are going to war against the unarmed American people.

Why do they fear the Constitution so much?

Tampa has released over one thousand prisoners in order to make room for peaceful protesters.

As Dennis Kucinich once said in Congress: 'Wake up America'!

Either those prisoners never belonged in jail in the first place, or they just let dangerous criminals out of jail because they consider American Citizens exercising their 1st Amendment rights to be more dangerous than Criminals.

[proReality]

48. You got it!

"...they consider American Citizens exercising their 1st Amendment rights to be more dangerous than Criminals."

Protesting is telling the truth, and truth is dangerous to those who don't want us to know it.

[lunatica]

65. American civilians aren't "unarmed", but I know what you mean

Most Democratic protesters protesting outside the RNC Convention wouldn't be carrying guns.

But those photos would make me think twice about ever attending a protest rally. But I guess that's their intent. It's sad to see this happening in our country, but it is happening.

[tridim]

14. That's crazy, and sad.

[limpyhobbler]

15. With all this weaponry out on the streets, it'll be a miracle if nobody gets hurt.

[baldguy]

16. Why does the Imperial March from Star Wars keep running through my head?

[freshwest]

17. Employing half the poor to deal with the other half works every time.

[Fire Walk With Me]

24. Exactly. And it's very funny to the chessmasters as well.

[freshwest]

32. It's also why I say there isn't a 99% as far as they're concerned. Remember pepper spray boy in CA?

That man was making more money than some people have to live on for a decade. Oh, it pays well, and it's a deep problem. And they ain't going away, either, any more than the ever loving MIC is. As Carlin said, 'We love war.'

[bullwinkle428]

73. "Proven effective since 1861!"

[HooptieWagon]

20. Its not that bad.

A) The newspaper article was flat out wrong. There are no drones. That was floated out by a local drone manufacturer, who wanted to operate them on his own. He didn't get permission from the FAA.
B) While police pressence is big, most of them are in khaki shorts, no helmets or riot gear, etc. I have been following the protests, etc, on local community radio. There have neen no mass arrests, several interviewed protestors said the police watching them where even smiling. One cop told a protestor: "I'm in the 99% also".

So, so far everything has been fairly calm, almost no arrests.

[Fire Walk With Me]

22. Watching Tim Pool's livestream, there were at least 100 cops in riot gear lining up 2 or 3 deep

at at least two intersections. This is of course separate from those in khaki, those in gear saying "secret service" (yes, there are photos), those from the National Guard who were supposedly sighted, and the horse cops too...the point being, all this against peaceful protesters who were on the way back to their base. It was pure intimidation and utter overkill. It is terrorism as the FBI define it: the use of force, intimidation, or threatened force to get a group to change their behavior, especially if it is politically involved.

There used to be a right to assemble called the 1st Amendment. People are getting used to it being gone.

[RKP5637]

36. It's conditioning for the police state. Get people used to intimidation and being

corralled and herded along like cattle in a police state with any right to protest allowed only in highly controlled conditions, and as much out of sight out of mind as possible with minimal visibility to the masses.

[NCTraveler]

77. 100 cops in riot gear.

Before the weather event, they were expecting protesters in the thousands. 5 thousand up. 100 is not too many. Tampa PD will do a great job of protecting the protesters, businesses, and RNC. That is what they do. I find it hard to believe you think 100 cops in riot gear is overkill for an expected 5000+ people.

[sabrina 1]

23. They've let 1,700 people out of prison, presumably people who have committed crimes,

to make room for people exercising their 1st Amendment rights. So, the message is clear, whatever those prisoners did to land themselves in jail, trying to exercise your 1st Amendment rights is a worse crime. Welcome to the Land of the Free.

And the people presence is outrageous. The American People are NOT Al Queda, but it would be hard to tell. They sure are not there to protect the American People. So who are they protecting?

[HooptieWagon]

37. No, they were transfered from a jail in the city,

To a county jail outside the city. Very few were actually released.

[freshwest]

79. Well, there goes that worry, anyway. They didn't a thousand violent criminals loose, then.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. And now you know

NOBODY show up, to protest...

I mean it is obvious who showed up for a riot, and it wasn't the s'posed anarchists. But one way to show just how amazingly stupid this is, well people stay home... or go take your photos of the cops, and post them all over social media.

[Phlem]

25. What's with all the protection?

Do people not like the RNC?



-p

[kestrel91316]

55. Well, there's that, lol. But the protection is because the RNC is afraid

of the First Amendment's free exercise.

[freshwest]

80. Yes, as shown on this thread: 'The anti-GOP protests in Florida continue - pics'

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101751991

Looks like they definitely made their point. Very good showing and the story of the pictures is there too.

Thanks to Kadie we have lots of pictures of people telling the GOP what they think of them. She posted a link to more pictures and gave instructions to find more:

http://www.news.daylife.com

and do a search on whatever. I think I did searches on Tampa, and GOP, and Republican.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101751991#post4

[midnight]

27. Is that a military tank?

[HooptieWagon]

42. Its a silly armored personell vehicle.

PD had a budget to spend, they bought all kinds of crap. Much of it useless. They could have at least bought stuff usefull after the convention.

[midnight]

57. Thanks... I looks like it could do a lot of damage...

[HooptieWagon]

76. To the street probably.

I don't think its armed... Maybe it has a tear gas shooter or something. Its armored, cops inside are protected from gunfire. Could do the same thing with a dump truck . Tracked vehicles tear up pavement every time they turn. Plus, they are high maintenence. I don't see this ting as useful or a good investment. TPD was just blowing money given to them on toys.

[Zalatix]

28. I keep saying America's law enforcement system is rotten all the way to the core.

One day everyone on DU says I'm crazy. The next day reality delivers a hard lesson like this.

When are we gonna learn? These cops are more dangerous than the criminals. We're on the verge of a police state.

Defund them. NOW. Rebuild America's law enforcement system FROM SCRATCH.

[plethoro]

67. Not on the verge........We now have police state. When

the people no longer accept anything their fraudulent government tells them, the government must begin to manage them with extreme force. The next step is revolution.

[Zalatix]

68. And the cops are programmed to stomp a rebellion to death.

Most people think of the police as gods. There won't even be a rebellion.

However there may be food riots as food gets more expensive and rare...

[tama]

83. Revolution = evolution

Every step of evolutionary adaptation - e.g replacing lawn with organic garden, using bike instead of car - is a revolutionary act. Every step which gives the top of power hierarchy less control over our lives. This revolution has been going on for a long time and growing organically, mostly beneath the radar, as corporate media's attention is self-centered from and towards to top of hierarchy (and shock) - not grass roots basics of life.

Guy loses a job in banking sector and gets evicted from MacMansion, goes to live with relatives or friends and realizes that his life and happiness depends from the community and generosity of people, not from position in power hierarchy. Revolutionary act.

Government forced to reveal it's purely violent nature more clearly from year to year, from Bush Wars to brutality against Occupy movement, is a sign of weakness, not strength. Weakness of losing legitimaty and credibility, hearts and minds. The machinery of violent oppression maintains enormous capability to do harm, and people are becoming more and more anxious and impatient towards getting rid of that capability. But at the same time there is lot of fear and insecurity and ignorance of what is to follow and how to replace and rebuild what they consider valuable and important.

Some seek regime change at the top of the power hierarchy through various means, and that too can be revolutionary act, a step of adaptive evolution. Or it can leave the rigid power hierarchy intact and make it even more oppressive and violent, in which case the lesson is that repetition is the mother of study. Any case evolution of revolution consists of billions and billions of small steps of we the people who talk the talk and walk the walk. And it never ends.

[Zalatix]

84. Billions and billions of small steps, all at once.

Civilization as we know it won't be around much longer with the help of anything less than that.

You've heard about the talk of a big global resource crash, right?

[tama]

85. Since the Club of Rome report 'Limits of Growth'

and Carter era oil crisis. I was kid then. The urgency really hit me soon after 2000 when I had kids of my own. And in 2008 it became clear that the PO was already fact.

So I looked into Anarcho-Primitivism, Deep Ecology, Shamanism and what not and gave upon Civilization As We Know (The Cancer! ) and lived a while in ecovillages. Learned a lot, e.g. that at least "Garden Planet" is doable with available know how, should social reality bend that way, and not at all bad option, vision and also current way of life. But there may be also many other options and combinations of, equally good or better.

[RKP5637]

29. You could change the language a bit in the pictures and they would have looked like

occupying forces out of WWII. This, has clearly turned into a police state, the 1% will be protected at any cost. People don't matter much anymore in the USA, only $$$ for the 1%.

[MrMickeysMom]

31. Fucking drones...

Not only have they been deployed for the RNC, they ARE the RNC.

This reminds me of G-20 and Pittsburgh... like a ghost town with nothing but big bad muthas walking around ready to blow your ear drums off!

[HooptieWagon]

43. No drones, story was 100% wrong.

Tampa Tribune is a RW fishwrap with low journalistic standards.

[Fire Walk With Me]

53. I've updated the OP; drones were threatened but have not (yet) been deployed.

Regardless, a scare tactic to quell protest.

[progressoid]

34. USA! USA! USA!

Freedom ain't free and shit.

[SunSeeker]

35. Wait, didn't the MSM say the protesters were scared away by the storm?

Why do they need an army with tanks?

[Bonobo]

38. We have become so inured to this that they no longer even maintain the pretense.

Yes, it is a police state. Yes, this is intimidation. Yes, this is fascism.

[chollybocker]

39. I feel safer already.

<eyes rolling out of my head, flying out of my face and plopping onto the floor>


I like your posting rule addendum, FWWM; it seems to be working. You may be on to something....

[Smilo]

40. The more I see - the more I am

reminded that absolute power corrupts.

Seriously, we can't protest anymore - we are unable to practice our rights under the First Amendment - this country is becoming more like Nazi Germany every day.

[Jamaal510]

47. Of course you can protest--as long as you do so for the Tea Party

or some other RW cause. Those folks were actually armed and had anti-Obama signs, yet there was never this type of police presence for them.

[RevStPatrick]

45. Do you think guys who dress like that know how silly they look?

I've always wondered that.
Don't those guys realize that the rest of us think they're a bunch of pussies?
I mean, they have to dress like that and get armed to the teeth to face what, a bunch of hippies and grannies and kids holding signs?

They need a frikkin' tank?
Wankers...

[Bonobo]

46. The Federal govt. should protect the right to assemble peacefully without intimidation. nt

[Solly Mack]

50. Land of the free...home of the brave

[Alduin]

51. Makes me ill.

[MFrohike]

54. National Guard will be in Charlotte

I felt a little sick when I read that in the Charlotte Observer. The last time I saw the military performing police functions, outside a military base, was in Korea. Given the bunch of wackjobs with a huge army who are just 40 miles north of Seoul, it was understandable. This sort of thing, in Tampa and Charlotte, is simply ridiculous. Are they expecting the Cuban Army to parachute in like in the beginning of Red Dawn?

[Bonobo]

56. If this were Thailand or Mexico or China or a dozen other places, it would be immediately clear...

what we are looking at.

Maybe American exceptionalism is actually its exceptional ability to stick its head in the sand and say:

"We're not a police state! This isn't police intimidation! We're still free to protest!"

[ellisonz]

58. Weather is keeping the protest numbers down. n/t

[leveymg]

59. You think this is an excessive display of force? Just wait until the real wars in Syria and Iran.

They're going to try to refloat the US and western economy by some means. War has been the method they seem to prefer.

Only, it won't work and this will be the last time.

[RKP5637]

64. ... but, but, but the US is a peace loving nation bringing peace to all of the world ...

(and bringing money back to ourselves at any cost to others.)
Go MIC!!! Go MIC!!! Go MIC!!!

[Fire Walk With Me]

70. Against peaceful protesters and the 1st Amendment, this is an outrageous display of force,

actual or implied (which is terrorism: the use of force or intimidation to get people to change their behavior, especially if its political).

Yes, they will try war with Iran. These things are not the same.

[leveymg]

72. Agreed this is excessive and outrageous. But, it's nothing compared to what's likely to come

after the elections, regardless. It just seems that some things, like regime change, PNAC-style, are part of "the Washington consensus."

[freshwest]

81. I'm not impressed, having been to demonstrations in D.C. with a lot more police. When the number of

Peaceful protesters exceeded 100,000, the peace we created overrode the zealous forces that were sent to confront us, that surrounded us as we filled the streets. There were 7 different kinds of police on hand in the Nixon days. Those who came to test them were expelled from our groups and only able to act to get police reactions on the distant fringe of the crowd.

They didn't stop us from exercising our right to peaceably assemble and protest. That requires large numbers, but as Kadie posted in this thread, they got to exercise their First Amendment rights:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1017&pid=51991

Being able to do that doesn't mean the rest of society, who don't show at protests or are employed as police, have to agree with the ideas presented. That's not the way it has ever been in history. I'm glad these folks got out there and showed how they feel to the world.

[DLevine]

60. Sickening. n/t

[onethatcares]

62. but I just saw the Tampa Police Chief on the shnews and

she said the riot police were there to keep everyone safe, , and this is not what a police state looks

like.

[Capt. Obvious]

63. I'm glad Charlotte will look nothing like that

[Heywood J]

66. Reminds me of this:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-126-0347-09A,_Paris,_Deutsche_Truppen_am_Arc_de_Triomphe.jpg

[eppur_se_muova]

69. They're certainly prepared for an outbreak of violence ...

thus pretty much guaranteeing one will occur.

(Otherwise, it would be a lot of expense for nothing.)

[FloriTexan]

71. Can't help but think about...

this weeks arrest of some in our military who were just arrested for planning their little coup up in Georgia...how many of their members are on the streets in Tampa right now? On the other hand, or not, these riot police look a bit bored.

[csziggy]

74. They're just stormtroopers headed for DragonCon in Atlanta

http://atlinsider.atlanta.net/photos/dragoncon/images/original/Storm-Troopers-Parade.aspx

[valerief]

75. Death to citizens of America!

That's the message I'm hearing from these pix.

[Erose999]

82. If only the riot police were there to keep the GOP in instead of keeping protesters out... haha.