Show me what a police state looks like! (Graphic! Dial-up warning!) Updated with livestream link

[Fire Walk With Me]

Last edited Tue May 22, 2012, 11:44 PM - Edit history (8)

May 19 and 20, Chicago. Peaceful protesters engaging in their 1st Amendment rights.

Occupy Wall Street ‏@OccupyWallStNYC

Dear MSM: OWS does not "clash with the police" we are unarmed, peaceful protesters who are savagely attacked by the police. #MSM #noNATO


Never forget: Roid cops are a distraction to get Occupy to fight cops and not the 1%. Strategize. March on your favorite bank and hurt the 1% when their mad dogs hurt YOU.



The first few pics are what cops did to a peaceful, emotional Veteran's rally, where they renounced their medals and the infinite war machine and budget, the dishonorable use of soldiers to steal oil for the 1%, etc. Cops lined up several deep and made dispersal orders against an utterly peaceful 1st Amendment assembly, then beat and shoved those who resisted slowly out of the area, nearly causing some to be trampled. It's entirely upon the cops. At about 56:15 on the left, I believe that's the short-haired photographer seen below with a bleeding head wound; Freedom comments "you're bleeding"...so that's where he got it, for being peaceful. Cops even shoved the shit out of the pistashio-capped NLG Observers.

Link to recorded livestream taken just inside the mob of cops seen in the next three pics. Set the timer to 50:00 and play:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/22742223

And this:

'NATO war machine responsible for global violence', blaming protesters is ridiculous:

LRAD sound cannon:

[ohheckyeah]

1. It's heartbreaking what this

country has come to.

[1monster]

145. I'm reminded of the photos of the Pinkertons breaking Unionists' heads in

the '20s and '30s.

I guess the bastards (1%) have to be fought back every other generation or so. Chicago cops have a history of rioting against peaceful demonstrators and turning the protest into something dreadful.

[niyad]

2. this has not been a country I recognize for many years now.

[Archae]

3. I have seen it worse.

Oh yeah.

Back in 1968, I was 8 years old and saw on the news "Daley's Boys" playing "Beat up the Hippies."

[Fire Walk With Me]

5. I've added about five new photos in the last few minutes.

And

[RueVoltaire]

73. Fire Walk With Me - Yeah! So glad to see you on the front page again!

[Art_from_Ark]

13. In 1968, I wasn't even aware of the events in Chicago

I did not learn about them until I got my Children's Encyclopedia of American History the next year. But I was aware of the Prague Spring, and seeing the pictures and videos of the crowds in Czechoslovakia surrounding the paddy wagon containing Alexander Dupcek and demanding his release. And that was a Good Thing, because the People (of Czechoslovakia) were protesting against an unjust government.

[EFerrari]

161. Have your ever read the book "1968"?

I don't remember who gave it to me. It's an amazing rundown of that amazing year all over the world.

[Art_from_Ark]

162. It's a book I'll definitely have to get

I looked through it at a library once, but I should really have my own copy.

I have a particular fascination with 1968, in part because it was a year that really stuck in my memory, a "best of times and worst of times" year, both inside and outside of my own little world.

[EFerrari]

165. I was only 12 but that year seemed to change everything.

The way everything felt. All the joy and expansiveness was let out, like a big balloon deflating. Or, that was how all the adults around me reacted.

It's a great read, Art. I think you'll enjoy it. I should read it again, come to think of it.

[Art_from_Ark]

167. The adults around me seemed to have a different reaction

I was living in a very small, very sheltered town at the time, so there was undoubtedly a disconnect with a lot of those events that were far away. We had a family friend who often took us places, and she seemed to be always upbeat and never talked about politics or events outside of Arkansas. My friend's father would also take me to different places as well, and he always seemed to be cheerful as well and mainly discussed sports with us.

But I do remember a distinct change between the end of school in May and the beginning of school in late August. In late May, there was "Bobby fever", with just about every kid in my class saying that his/her parents were going to vote for Bobby Kennedy. In August, however, the mood had become quite somber, with some kids saying their parents were going to (grudgingly) vote for Humphrey. while others were saying their parents were voting for Wallace. There weren't too many Nixon supporters among my group. At any rate, the state ended up being one of 5 Southern states to vote for Wallace (Boo! Hiss!), but the state also re-elected its progressive Republican governor, Winthrop Rockefeller, and its liberal Democratic US Senator, J. William Fulbright. It was quite a schizophrenic year for Arkansas politics, to say the least.

[EFerrari]

171. My mom wasn't fettered by a husband (as she would put it) so that year, she worked hard

for the Kennedy campaign and left me to look after my brother who was a toddler.

That year was weird for me because I'd skipped a grade and landed in junior high, gone to El Salvador for a couple of months without my mother and was torn between my reading of 19th century novels and white gogo boots. lol

But, the day Bobby was shot, I'd gone to downtown San Jose with Mom to walk her precincts. It was so hot, I still remember it was airless, like an oven. And being Mom, she had two precincts to cover so we got home really tired to a late supper. And things went downhill from there. She was out of commission for days.

It was a huge deal in our family. My favorite uncle, younger than Mom, was also a big supporter and he was devastated. His response was to become a Republican. He was only 20 when JFK was killed and now this, maybe he figured he didn't want to wait around for Round Three. But, he became very bitter after that and for a long time. He was my surrogate father and the change in him was startling and even oppressive in some ways. He is a very private person and I can only imagine how much pain he was in if he let us see even that much of it.

My mom was also devastated. She just didn't hold things together as well as she had been and slipped into alcoholism for about seven years. Can't chalk it up to that event entirely but for sure there was the sense in our house that the center had not held and for some time, we were adrift.

I don't remember knowing about other places that year. My teachers may have tried to bring world events into the classroom but the pall around our little group was so heavy, I don't think I took much of it in beside the mechanical stuff needed to get through the school year. I don't remember Dr. King's death but do remember we stopped eating at the table that summer and took our meals on trays on the sofa in front of the television.

[Art_from_Ark]

172. Interesting contrast in experiences

My memory of the Bobby Kennedy assassination was one of going to my friend's house on the morning of June 6 and finding him and his sisters sitting around the TV crying their eyes out.

[dixiegrrrrl]

187. Mark Kurlansky's book?

My sons were born in '66 and '68, I gave them each a copy.

[hobbit709]

84. I was one of the hippies getting their head beat in.

I had a low opinion of the police before that and it got much lower after that.

[Fire Walk With Me]

114. Deep thanks for fighting the good fight!

Do not underestimate its positive effect.

[jwirr]

113. I watched that also. Today they pretend to be better. But I do not think they are. Still hateful

pricks who represent their over lords with a zeal that screams fascism.

[Fire Walk With Me]

146. BTW I'm certainly not attempting to one-up anyone's freedom movement.

All respect to the freedom fighters of the 60s!

[JDPriestly]

4. At the local level, we need to insist that our police officers are instructed

to defuse violence rather than to worsen it.

There are many things that the police could do to make violence by protesters or large groups of people less likely. Wearing armor and working in military formation are not among them.

[just1voice]

95. Have fun with that

It's true but the police are pawns for their order-givers and are hired specifically to be that.

[JDPriestly]

178. But we elect the order-givers.

In the future, we need to ask questions about the candidates for order-giver with regard to their views on police brutality.

It is our own fault that we have not made this an issue.

[dixiegrrrrl]

188. But the corporations BUY the order givers, for the most part.

[boppers]

7. How many murdered, or "vanished" permanently, with no official record? How many rapes by police?

What's the death count up to, while privileged college kids compare their inconvenient protest experiences to any actual police-state kind of brutality?

Oh, zero still?

Nevermind.

[JoeyT]

12. So you're going to redefine "police state" enough

that it doesn't fit?

A cop raping someone wouldn't even be reported because all that would happen is cops and their bootlicks would blame the victim and the cop would get away with it because they're a special privileged class. You know, the same thing that happens when they beat the dogshit out of innocent protesters.

Are we counting the federal government in murdered or vanished permanently? Because they pretty much admit to it.

Rapes ain't necessarily part of the definition of police state. They happen, yeah. But they happen now. Murders and disappearances aren't either, thought they happen too. And when those are happening in the open the usual suspects will be screaming "Well yeah murders and rapes, but not MASS murders and rapes! Whiners!"

It's taking a huge amount of willpower just to remain remotely civil.

[boppers]

16. A person's outrage tends to reflect their experiences.

Some people get really pissed at their order not being right at Starbucks.

Others get pissed because their entire family has been killed, and dropped on their door step, in bloody, rotting pieces.

I am annoyed by people who think the two are similar, or related.

So, in that spectrum, how many were killed? Or had a bad latte?

[pinboy3niner]

18. Yes, comparing bloodied, beaten protesters to getting "a bad latte" is fair

You complain about hyperbole about a police state, but you have no compunctions about going to the other extreme. The brain damage inflicted on Scott Olsen by Oakland cops is just like getting a bad latte? Really?

[coalition_unwilling]

20. +1,000,000,000 x 1,000,000,000 - n/t

[boppers]

147. Latte and murder, glad you see there's a range.

A concussion or a laceration is a long way from death.

Unless you're George Zimmerman, of course.

[lunasun]

152. Scott Olsen was @ NATO/Chicago fyi nt

[sabrina 1]

135. Several have been nearly killed, all of them saved by protesters. Does that count?

Two Iraq War Vets, eg, were nearly killed, one 80 something year old woman who remembers Nazi Germany, I'll take her view of what happened to her. She was pulled to safety by protesters, but her interview later was enlightening as to what her thoughts are on the state of our militarized police today and her memories of a different time. A very brave woman.

At least three cars rammed into protesters sending several to the hospital, one this weekend driven by a cop. We do not know the condition of the person who was reported to be seriously injured, the cop was not arrested.

People in wheelchairs, one who was unable to breathe after being tear-gassed and left in the middle of the road, unable to leave, saved again by protesters, no police helped. And when people went to help Scott Olsen, the cops shot at THEM, preventing them from getting to him.

I could go on, but personally I think I've seen enough to convince me that someone in authority needs to step in, as requested by the UN, to protect the American people from the police, BEFORE someone dies.

There was a report over the weekend that a protester had died, thankfully that turned out not to be true, the person was injured.

No one in this country should end up in the hospital at the hands of the police whose salaries they pay to protect them, simply for going to a protest. The fact that so many have, is a disgrace.

[provis99]

26. quit whining and get off my lawn, you young punks!

[starroute]

45. The differences you cite are part of a finely-tuned equation of repression

America is still wealthy enough to bribe most of the middle class into acquiescence. More negative but still relatively mild repressive tactics are reserved for the poor and include stop-and-frisk, widescale imprisonment of young men, and threats of loss of food and housing benefits.

What you're seeing on the streets of Chicago is the second stage of repression, which gets pulled out only in times of actual civil unrest. It is based on the assumption that if you can beat up or arrest a lot of middle class kids in a very public manner, they will eventually get discouraged and go back to their video games. Show trials for people like Bradley Manning (and Julian Assange, if they ever get their hands on him) are also part of this tactic of criminalizing dissent.

We haven't seen third-world style disappearances and torture because so far they haven't been necessary -- but if they were, there would be nothing in our current system to prevent them from happening.

That is the basic logic of a police state: The police can pretty much do anything they want to without being questioned. They can say, "We had information these people were making Molotov cocktails" or "We heard someone would be carrying an IED in a backpack," and that gives them license to break in without a warrant, arrest people and keep them incommunicado for three days, or use violence to force peaceful crowds to disperse.

And it's the existence of that logic -- and not the level of actual atrocity -- that defines when you've moved into a police state and are no longer under the rule of law.

[dixiegrrrrl]

50. Bingo.

[CrispyQ]

60. Outstanding response.

[lib2DaBone]

66. We haven't seen disappearances and torture yet...

..but Mr. Obama did sign NDAA late on New Years Eve when no one was paying attention.

It's just a matter of time until that tool is pulled out of the handbag of oppression.

I also look for TSA to be armed and checkpoints set up on the Interstate Rest Areas.

[randome]

67. Damn! With all those fears, how do you manage to get out of bed in the morning?

[starroute]

125. Not being scared of phony terrorism plots leaves a lot of room for dealing with real threats

You'd be amazed at how different the world looks once you stop worrying about the things the authorities want you to worry about and start worrying about the stuff they're trying to hide behind the curtain.

Among other things, there's no way to take action against the fake threats, which is what leaves the people who buy into them too paralyzed to get out of bed in the morning.

In contrast, there are plenty of ways to take action against the real ones, and that in itself can be amazingly energizing.

It's funny how that works.

[randome]

129. They 'hid' an unnecessary war. Mass murder with no reasoning behind it other than to push.

All the fake terror threats were just icing on the cake for them.

[sabrina 1]

170. Better than being scared that there is a terrorist under every bed and as a result,

being willing to give up your freedom to travel without being harassed by the government.

I'm so not scared of what the government tells me I should be scared of, that I want to minimize the number of police we have except in areas where there is high crime, like Chicago eg, but where the police look the other as they did this weekend, while children are being murdered so they can 'crack some peaceful protester skulls' (caught on video just so you know).

I am far more likely to be harmed by our police than by foreign terrorists, as were Scott Olsen and Kayvan Sabeghi, who both survived the scary Iraqis but came home and were both nearly killed by the Oakland Police.

I would like to remove the useless TSA from our airports, and now they are moving into malls and other places, as predicted.

Are you really so scared that you are willing to give up your freedoms? That must be hard.

[just1voice]

100. GITMO, Abu-Gharib, Bagram, torture flights, torture bases in other countries

Also, herding and corralling peaceful protesters and innocent bystanders by the 100s and holding them for 24+ hours without food, water or medication is torture. Not to mention beating, pepper spraying, arresting reporters, tasering, being tied up, etc...

Torture and people whom fully support it are free to do so in America as we the people are told to look ahead and don't look back.

BULLSHT

[sabrina 1]

138. Excellent post, thank you. And proving you correct regarding 'the police can say anything they want'

two of them committed perjury last week, lied under oath in the first two OWS cases in NYC. They were proven to be the liars most already knew they were when video was produced showing that not only did lie under oath, but they made two false arrests which they knew to be false when they filed their charges.

Nothing will happen to them, as you pointed out, I am told, because they supposedly have some kind of immunity. I do hope they can be sued however.

[Aerows]

62. How bad

do things have to get for people like you to decide that we don't want this kind of shit going on in OUR country? Because for me, this is too much. WAY too much.

You may sit around and wait for things to get so bad that people do get "vanished" before you say anything, but I won't. None are so blind as those who refuse to see, and the handwriting is right there on the wall about where we are headed if we don't stand up and say "Enough".

But like I said, YOU can sit around and wait for it to get that bad, but many of us will not.

[boppers]

183. People like me? Personally?

I don't think 50 people, without leadership, and established control systems, is a safe group.

I do not trust humans.

Even with 50 people, I don't think a KKK lynch mob should have a "right to assemble".

Perhaps you trust a KKK lynch mob. I do not.

Once enough people assemble, and they start to act like pack creatures, it's time for them to disperse.

[sabrina 1]

90. Do you really want some stats on rapes by cops?

Or on people incarcerated for years because of lying cops? See just last week re the first OWS case to make it to court, and then the second one. Cops commit perjury on the stand, willing to help disappear protesters to one of our 'humane' prisons'. The only reason they failed was because of citizen journalists who had video showing they were lying, that they made false arrests and the cases were dismissed.

The cops wanted it made illegal to photograph them. They lost that battle last week, FOR NOW.

I guess you want to wait until it has gone so far it will be too late to do anything about it. For many Muslims of course, that already happened, you can't bring people back from the dead. You can't undo the devastating effects of torture or years of detention for no reason other you are of a certain ethnicity. But hey, they are not US. Of course throughout history whenever a government has its willingness to treat 'other people' so brutally and so unfairly, eventually it comes to their home countries. And the targets of that same mindset will always be the dissenters.

The very fact that we are not quite there yet, as far as Americans are concerned, even with the signs we already see, is BECAUSE OF THE PROTESTERS, and the courageous patriotic attorneys like the NLG, and the attorneys who got the NDAA altered to PREVENT what you say has not happened yet.

It was about to happen, but Americans, thank God, are fighting hard against what has succeeded in other countries, not so long ago. THAT is why you can say you just said, NOT because they are not trying to control the people, because of brave people who refuse to allow it.

Thank a protester today, for making it possible for you make the statements you just made. Because without them, you would be like so many other people asking yourself 'how did this happen to my country'. Thankfully others are doing the job for you of preventing it. Prevention is always better than cure.

[Egalitarian Thug]

109. None of the authoritarian cheerleaders here want anything like facts.

It's 'far more comforting to close you eyes, fingers firmly plunged into ears, and pretend it has nothing to do with them.

[U4ikLefty]

154. This particular authoritarian thinks that pot causes overdose deaths

and there are no worries about genetically modified salmon.

No use in arguing with them.

[truedelphi]

134. Give it a year.

And while you are at it, go to YouTube, and in the search button, list "santa cruz" plus expressions "military" + "armored vehicles."
Why are endless flat cars of armored cars, drones, tanks et al being transferred from Southern Calif to Northern California?

Either there is some political hanky panky with a senator needing to boost freight business between San Francisco and Afghanistan via the Port of San Francisco (the stuff is produced far south of San Francisco - the port that ships it out should be Port of Los Angeles)
or the powers that be have some real major shit heading the way of the major population centers.

[quakerboy]

140. How many?

If there is no official record how would we know? I do know that I see stories about the police mudering unarmed civilians on a regular basis, and then no more is ever said about it, except a few months later there might be a minor page 23 type news story about how the policeman was exonerated by the review board.

Granted, that is not for political protest. But it is still happening on a seemingly regular basis

I will give you that our police are better about using nonlethal violence against protestors than those in your average dictatorship. But their aggression is still unnecessary. And the whole picture is still quite clearly that of our police forces becoming less and less accountable for the actions they choose to take against those they are supposed to be protecting. And it is disturbing to some of us.

[reACTIONary]

148. +1 - But there was Kent State (nt)

[coalition_unwilling]

8. I am ashamed to be an American tonight and ashamed that I once

called myself a Democrat.

Shame on the Chicago PD, shame on Rahm and Obama and shame on the American people for allowing their youth to be sacrificed on the altar of the 1%.

[TBF]

39. I hear you. There was a time I couldn't possibly

imagine leaving this country. Now I am married to someone with dual citizenship and looking for the right opportunity to leave (or at least get to California - his company has an office there as well as several in overseas locations). I don't think it is going to get better anytime soon.

[micraphone]

9. The looks on those cops faces

Some of them look like they are ENJOYING it....

[Fire Walk With Me]

10. In the second photo, the cop in the upper left is very clearly enjoying it.

Over in Los Angeles, we're used to smiling cops:

[pinboy3niner]

14. The Smiling Cops of the LAPD...

...sounds like a harmless Playboy photo spread, lol! But those smiles are deceptive, as we've seen how brutal they can be. And I've seen them push you around, Fire, with no justification at all.

We're going to be in for an interesting summer. Hope to see you out there again soon. We have a good contingent of DUers doing #Occupy L..A. actions!

[Fire Walk With Me]

115. Indeed good sir!

[micraphone]

31. Thanks for these Fire

Looks like beating up the hippies is SOP nowadays - and a pleasurable pastime.

[ClayZ]

11. Ewww! The evil smile on the 2nd photo 2nd row cop.

He likes being in the second row of HELL! CREEPY!

[UnrepentantLiberal]

15. This is what a beating looks like.

[DeSwiss]

17. K&R

''Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.'' ~Isaac Asimov

[Enrique]

19. this one

[dixiegrrrrl]

51. Yes!

I grabbed that one too..

I hope that pic keeps cropping up again and again.

[arikara]

68. Rather surreal isn't it.

Could use it to attract tourism I guess.

[FirstLight]

21. frightening

my dear FWWM thank you for bringing this to the forefront...

while I know that voting for Obama is better than the alternative...we still have serious work to do with our own HUMAN RIGHTS

this is just horrible

[vaberella]

22. I hate cops. I hate cops. I hate cops and will always hate cops. n/t

[AtheistCrusader]

23. Look at the rage on the face of the cop winding up a haymaker in pic 8

Just fuming RAGE.

[coalition_unwilling]

25. Actually, I see it more as casual cruelty, the same kind that

blithely dispatches drones to kill terrorists disguised as children or that jokes about not being able to find those danged WMDs under office furniture.

[geardaddy]

83. Yep, that one caught my eye too.

That's battery right there.

[The Wizard]

24. Some things never change

[pacalo]

27. How one human being could allow himself to be that aggressive toward another human being

is creepy -- especially when protesters have been peaceful & compliant. It's just as creepy that it is the public servants who are doing the assaulting on the people they swore to serve & protect. And we're paying their salaries to attack people who have done nothing wrong.

I really like the picture of the guy holding up his arm...




and the shot of the crowd under the el...




They are really afraid of us to go to this extreme.






Good to see you, Fire Walk.

[pinboy3niner]

28. That's not unusual at all

Just substitute 'cop rage' for 'road rage.'

But police training is supposed to teach cops to put emotions aside...and if this is the result, they're failing miserably. At least, from our perspective. From another perspective, it's all just fine and dandy...

[pacalo]

34. It's mainly the willingness to do it that I don't get.

Has police training changed since Homeland Security took over? We're seeing so much meanness & violence from police officers, from traffic stops to peaceful protests.

[TBF]

40. Really good point re homeland security -

maybe there have been significant changes to police departments since then. From photos I've seen here it looks like some are getting military-style equipment, etc ... Looking back historically years from now I'm sure 9/11 and homeland security/the Patriot Act will be shown to be a definite turning point in this country.

ETA - Of course when I talked to my mom about Occupy she talked about the kids who were killed at Kent State when she was young. So, perhaps just a more prevalent attitude now - but it happened in the 60s too.

[eppur_se_muova]

29. There's no riot like a police riot.

No other group in the country riots more often or more dangerously than the police.

[harmonicon]

87. That's why they're called "riot police" - duh!! (nt)

[PufPuf23]

30. Ugly

The cops are pathetic and anti-American.

[meaculpa2011]

32. "The police aren't here to...

create disorder. They're here to preserve disorder."

[Meiko]

33. What set it off

does anyone know? There is usually some kind of trigger. My guess is that the police got too aggressive, which is usually the case, the protesters responded and game on. The police are responsible for this. They are charged with maintaining order not instigating a riot. You can see how they are putting pressure on the crowd and forcing a conflict. They are assholes but their orders came from somewhere higher up.

[Fire Walk With Me]

117. Marches were peaceful the day before and all that day. I watched livestream

and followed FB and Twitter feeds from various sources.

The first photos of riot cops, six+ deep, is from afternoon yesterday, when there was a completely peaceful and emotionally moving presentation from several Veterans who were throwing away their war medals because having been used to steal oil and line the pockets of the 1% is not honorable. Scott Olsen participated. There should be video on youtube by now, many people said how emotionally moving it was.

Then intel came in about hundreds of riot cops on the move. They began lining up at this rally as it continued, then afterward, when they were several deep, demanded the crowd disperse, that they were unlawful and would be met with arrest, force, chemical agents, and various "less-lethal" technologies (bet Scott Olsen loved to hear that). Some protesters left; many stood their ground, and cops eventually used force and bludgeoning to drive the protesters back.

I watched OccupyFreedomLA's livestream on ustream.tv. She knew what was developing, and that if cops managed to scare the protesters that some or many could be trampled (by cops as well). She and others -were- very nearly trampled a couple of times, as cops repeatedly beat them back. It was terrible to witness, having been in the same sort of situation (but lesser) in LA. Hell, Freedom was there that day as well, March 17, or "M17"; see the Video and Multimedia section for the video "speak truth to power" or close...

Cops were entirely to blame. They showed up to a peaceful, legal, 1st Amendment rally and proceeded to give illegal, unConstitutional orders and then forced and beat everyone out of the area. Period.

[randome]

121. "Cops were entirely to blame". There is a different opinion on that.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002712548

[rhett o rick]

150. Yes the Right Wing Authoritarian opinion supports the head bashing by the police.

And you.

[DLevine]

35. Absolutely disgusting and shameful. Police state indeed. n/t

[fasttense]

36. Wow, look at that huge crowd.

Watching corporate liar's media, you would think there were only a couple thousand protesters. But 6+ blocks of 4 lanes of highway filled with people does not add up to only a couple thousand protesters.

[starroute]

47. Figures I find online say you can estimate 2000 - 10,000 people per city block

This depends on how closely packed they are, with stationary crowds typically being much denser than marchers.

But a total of 15,000-20,000 people sounds plausible and about in line with what I heard livestreamers guessing yesterday.

[SammyWinstonJack]

37. Disgusting! PIGS! THUGS! How proud their families must be of their actions against peaceful

protesters.

What awesome role models.


The look on some of their faces............

[Magoo48]

38. Thanks Fire.....

Yes, the Black And Blue Gang is huge, armed, and dangerous. We The People hire this gang, arm this gang, and pay this gang. Sounds sorta weird don't ya think? When ordered to turn their deadly arms upon us, how many will obey? We'll see. Let's hope it doesn't ever come to that...

[Blue_Tires]

41. excellent photos

kick for truth

[99Forever]

42. The growing anger and outrage is palpable.

The only question left, is just how long will We the People allow this police mob violence to continue?

[truedelphi]

133. + My household. n/t

[Marrah_G]

43. I hate seeing this shit

At some point the police are going to need to make a choice. Either they are on the side of their peers or they are paid lackeys for the one percent.

[Javaman]

44. Why does the song, "Holiday in Cambodia" keep running through my head? nt

[Dawson Leery]

46. Break all law enforcement unions.

[ZombieHorde]

63. I think we should get rid of the occupation all together.

We should not have any police.

I think we need a whole new system for dealing with criminals.

[randome]

48. Some fine pictures but they don't prove a police state.

The police were deployed to keep protesters from taking a certain path. Sorry to say this, but a city has every right to set rules for where mass groups of people can go. Otherwise, you would be free to hold a protest inside a day care center or a church.

A police state is typically defined as law enforcement thugs being able to demand papers of you, search your home without a warrant, etc. We are not in a police state.

Granted, abuses do sometimes occur. On both sides. The police also stopped 3 would-be terrorists from throwing a Molotov cocktail party for themselves. They showed remarkable restraint when a protester threw a bucket at them.

Any time you have two large groups of people set up against one another, shit happens.

[socialist_n_TN]

52. There IS a difference between........

A day care center or church could probably be defined as private property. Keeping protesters from using certain streets smacks of "Free Speech Zones".

As to having papers demanded of you and searching your home without a warrent, that happens every time somebody is pulled over for DWB or DWH (Driving While Hippie). And the initial raid on the Bridgeport was apparently warrentless.

[randome]

53. The Bridgeport Three were under surveillance.

I'm sure there are legal exceptions for situations of imminent danger.

I have never been pulled over for DWH. But once I was pulled over with my girlfriend for no clear reason and was told that I had been drinking and was driving erratically. None of which was true.

But that did not make me believe that all police are thugs.

I believe some situations require reasonable 'Non-Free Speech Zones' but hey, I'm not wedded to the concept, either.

[harmonicon]

93. Can you tell us what other Bush and neo-con policies you enjoy?

I'm interested to know. Along with having designated "free speech zones" are you for torture? Warrantless wire-tapping? Clearly I have a lot to learn and grow to understand about these sort of things.

[randome]

96. I am in favor of none of the things you mentioned.

I don't have too much of a problem with 'free speech zones' because we always have 'non free speech' zones, like day care centers, theaters, churches, etc.

[harmonicon]

101. Do you not understand the distinction between private and public? (nt)

[randome]

104. Schools are not generally privately owned.

All I'm saying, again, is that we accept restrictions on free speech all the time. You and I can agree to disagree on some aspect of this, but i don't think it has to do with the larger point that we are not in a police state and we still have rights.

[harmonicon]

106. Apparently we no longer have the right to peaceful assembly. (nt)

[dixiegrrrrl]

54. We are not in a police state?????

"A police state is typically defined as law enforcement thugs being able to demand papers of you,
search your home without a warrant, etc."

Supreme Court OKs Warrantless House Search
published May 16, 2011
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2015072154_scotus17.html

Justice Ginsburg dissented:
She said the Fourth Amendment's "core requirement" is that officers have probable cause and a search warrant before they break into a house.
"How 'secure' do our homes remain if police, armed with no warrant, can pound on doors at will and ... forcibly enter?" Ginsburg asked.

An expert on criminal searches agreed, saying the decision would encourage police to undertake "knock and talk" raids.

[randome]

65. That decision relates to when evidence is being destroyed.

I'm not saying I'm in support of it but it is certainly not evidence of a police state.

There are more than 800,000 officers in more than 581,000 cities in America. Different cities with different rules in different states with different rules. Do you really think they are being coordinated into some type of police state?

[dixiegrrrrl]

70. Apparently you have not followed the nation wide attacks on Occupy groups

which occurred at the same time of the early morning darkness.

To answer you question more directly, and for the last time, there is enough evidence ( news reports, blogs, etc)
to show that attacks on any protesters are coordinated.

One example:
Justice Dept: Homeland Security Advised Raids On Occupy Wall Street Camps
http://gothamist.com/2011/11/16/justice_dept_official_raids_of_occu.php

EOM

[randome]

72. Offering advice is not the same as 'coordination'.

Don't police departments have the right to ask questions of other law enforcement entities?

Now if you want to abolish DHS, I'm all for that!

[snooper2]

186. LOL, you guys dropped that thread when the actual PDF's were linked to

With all the emails from the FOIA with stuff like,



Yo, Coast Gaurd here, FYI "Occupy" is "taking over" a port-

Yo, tell folks to take a different route to the federal building for lunch so they don't cause any conflict with the protesters..


Yo, what's for dinner?

[dixiegrrrrl]

57. definition of a police state:

Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines a “police state” as:

a political unit (as a nation) characterized by repressive governmental control of
political,
economic,
and social life
usually by an arbitrary exercise of power by the police
and especially secret police
in place of the regular operation of the administrative and judicial organs of the government according to established legal processes:
a totalitarian state.

[harmonicon]

89. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

A city has no right (cities have rights now? I thought people had rights... hmm...) to tell a person where they can and cannot go in public. This is no different for crowds. That is a right guaranteed to us in the constitution.

Day care centers and churches are not public spaces.

We'll see what happens with these "3 would-be terrorists" if they even ever go to trial. That story smells like BS to me.

[randome]

91. When I say 'city', I mean that city's 'elected officials'.

Those elected officials have the right and the duty to protect their citizens the way they see fit.

And if you read the court documents about the Chicago 3, you may see that the evidence is pretty extensive. Sure, it could all have been planted by someone but, geeze, it could also be that there are at least 3 people in the world who might want to cause violence.

[harmonicon]

94. No city official has the right - or power - to deny us our constitutional rights. (nt)

[randome]

97. We accept free speech restrictions every day.

You can't yell 'Fire!' in a crowded theater. I'm only trying to understand both sides of the issue. Walking down a specific avenue in Chicago where VIPs are meeting? Doesn't sound like a good idea when the security of those VIPs is on us.

So, no, I don't have a problem with the police trying to keep protesters off a specific street.

[harmonicon]

99. So some of us are more equal to others?

Hmm... maybe the poor shouldn't be allowed to walk down the same streets as the rich. I mean, they could mug the rich person. Better to just be safe than sorry, huh?

[reACTIONary]

149. +1 (nt)

[mistiksky]

175. question:

NDAA ?

[randome]

176. NDAA, like the Patriot Act, is abominable.

And since a portion of NDAA seems about to be stripped, that makes it a little less abominable.

I confess to not having delved into all the other details it encompasses, though.

[gkhouston]

177. National Defense Authorization Act.

Welcome to DU!

[lonestarnot]

49. So now, this is what freedom looks like.

cops and agent provocateurs.

[EFerrari]

55. The Powell Doctrine comes to Chicago.

[PatSeg]

56. You know

if this happened in another country, our government would express outrage at the human rights violations and police brutality. When it happens here, we hear nothing.

44 years have passed and Chicago looks pretty much the same as during the Democratic convention. What have we learned? I'm having my doubts about evolution.

[adigal]

58. Those people are trying to scramble away, while the cops run them over with horses

That is the one that bothers me the most. They are unarmed, and running. These cops are really assholes. I can't believe they are getting away with this, in the age of the video phone. When I get home, I am going to put these pics on my facebook, for all my republican cousins to see. Of course, they will say, "Dirty hippies, should be out working," even though it was a weekend.

I do like the pic of the guy with a respirator. Smart fellow.

[LanternWaste]

59. Do police states afford the opportunity for...

Do police states afford the opportunity for public criticism, available on web sites accessible to anyone who wishes to see it? Or are we merely slipping through the net, undetected?

[L0oniX]

61. It's only a few bad apples.

[ZombieHorde]

64. I don't think police officer should be a job in the US.

I think we would be better off with out them.

[midnight]

69. Why our leaders go to foreign countries to protect the rights of people in other countries

to protest, but not people in this country?

[randome]

71. We have a hell of a lot of rights in this country.

Maybe not all that we SHOULD have but they are there.

[leveymg]

78. Yes, and we're rapidly losing them

Because some people refuse to pay attention or acknowledge the obvious. If one chooses to exercise freedom of dissent and to demonstrate in this country, you stand an increasing risk of learning just how much they have been lost.

[sabrina 1]

82. On paper, we sure do have a lot of rights. But try exercising them

and see how many we actually have. Not to forget that there are other 'papers', legislation that has removed the nice words granting us those rights in the Constitution.

The latest being the NDAA. I sure hope this president will do as he promised and veto that bill.

[randome]

88. As do I.

Both NDAA and the abominable Patriot Act should never have seen the light of day.

[EFerrari]

163. They don't, really. They say they do

and that claim gives them the right to do anything they want in other countries. If you push on any cant about free speech or democracy in any other country, you find a "US" interest that is being furthered.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

74. I especially like the "Chicago is my kind of town" picture. LOL! nt

[Rex]

75. So sad, say goodbye to the 'officers of the peace'

and say hello to our new 'corporate thugs dressed in battle rattle'.

How has it come to this?

[RueVoltaire]

76. K&R

[leveymg]

77. This photo, in particular, sums it up perfectly:

[Zorra]

79. Thanks so much for bringing this important message from the 1% to us, Fire.

We, the People, totally get it, loud and clear.

We, the People, are not deserving of any respect or consideration.

We, the People, are sometimes useful, but always disposable.

Let's collectively disarm these abusive, authoritarian bullies. All of them, from the top down.

No quarter.

[MagickMuffin]

80. Crosby Stills Nash and Young "Chicago" revisited with film footage from '68 protest

Though your brother's bound and gagged
And they've chained him to a chair
Won't you please come to Chicago
Just to sing
In a land that's known as freedom
How can such a thing be fair
Won't you please come to Chicago
For the help we can bring
We can change the world -
Re-arrange the world
It's dying - to get better
Politicians sit yourself down,
There's nothing for you here
Won't you please come to Chicago
For a ride
Don't ask Jack to help you
Cause he'll turn the other ear
Won't you please come to Chicago
Or else join the other side
We can change the world -
Re-arrange the world
It's dying - if you believe in justice
It's dying - and if you believe in freedom
It's dying - let a man live it's own life
It's dying - rules and regulations, who needs them
Open up the door
Somehow people must be free
I hope the day comes soon
Won't you please come to Chicago
Show your face
From the bottom to the ocean
To the mountains of the moon
Won't you please come to Chicago
No one else can take your place
We can change the world -
Re-arrange the world
It's dying - if you believe in justice
It's dying - and if you believe in freedom
It's dying - let a man live it's own life
It's dying - rules and regulations, who needs them
Open up the door
We can change the world

[sabrina 1]

86. Wow, nothing has changed. It's sad that the song is hopeful such a long time ago, but

rather than make things better, they have only gotten worse. "We can change the world"!

I wonder what Crosby thinks about all of this now. I know he was at the OWS protests in NYC. So, he hasn't changed his politics.

[sabrina 1]

81. These pictures made me cry!

And yes, this IS what a police state looks like.

I wonder if they are teaching them to hate? The way they were teaching the NYPD to hate the Muslim Community. Which has been exposed?

How do you teach cops to hate their people though?

But they sure look like they hate the American People daring to exercise their rights.




Thank you Occupiers! The only hope we have of stopping all of this.

And where are our elected officials?? Why have they not moved to protect the American from this militarized ARMY that has proven over and over again, they are a threat to the safety and well-being of the American people?? Shame on all of them.

[FayeKane]

155. How do you teach cops to hate their people?

You don't have to "teach" cops to be like that. They've wanted to be cops ever since they were schoolyard bullies, and if they couldn't be cops, they'd be collecting "protection" payments for the mafia.

It's why our people called them "pigs" a lifetime ago, when people had pubic hair.

It may be genetic or it may be fucked-up parents or it may be the lead paint chips they ate; but that doesn't really matter. Everything that happens has an antecedent; so what? What matters is what the cops DO, not what's going on in their diminutive brains while they hit people with wooden clubs, gleefully, excessively, and repeatedly.

Trying to "figure them out" is only meaningful if it lets us predict their actions. But that's not really very hard. They're not a complex system to model, they're COPS. Bad ones. Stupid, angry, violent ones.

That's all we need to know about them because there isn't really anything else to know that matters. I'm not dehumanizing them; they dehumanized themselves when they used that nightstick on a peaceful people.

All you need to know about a rabies dog is that it has rabies. Its breed and name and pedigree and coat don't matter. The plumage don't enter into it.

Similarly, all that matters for US is what WE do. That's the only thing that has any effect. Yes, we need to plan, and this forum is good. But I see too much talk and not enough action. Occupy wall street took over, the whole world really WAS watching... and then they didn't DO anything. They just sat there for weeks, eating pizza, smoking dope, doing webcasts, and holding their dicks--but not making any demands.

Just like Obama in his first months, we had the evil motherfuckers by the balls. A fortuitous confluence of circumstance gave us control of everything, but we failed to DO anything. Jupiter's moons were lined up for a moment, but we didn't enter the stargate. And when the moment passed, we (and he) lost that control and now the re: pig lickin' party runs the show again. All we can do is gawk 'n squawk on this forum.

DO or do NOT. There IS no "why".

♥,

-- faye kane homeless brain
Autistic savant astrophysics chick who got so disgusted by the 1% that she moved into a cave in the woods, 3 years ago, hacked into the pwr grid for A/C & wireless net, and reads hyperbolic geometry naked by festive, colored christmas-tree lights. Here: nude pix of a reeeeally smart girl because I like being deliciously humiliated and embarrassed. Fuck Steinem. Paglia was right.

So was Magneto.

[sabrina 1]

181. Good post, generally agree with most of it. Can't agree that OWS did nothing

though, they were under a coordinated attack across the country to remove them from the public square to cut off their ability to stay in touch with the people, to feed the poor, to remain close to each other etc. It worked of course but not end the movement or their activities. They just moved on to other pursuits, such as occupying foreclosed on homes and saved a few people from being thrown out on the street. For the winter they pretty much dedicated their efforts to these kinds of activities. Too band Cogress wasn't trying to save people's homes.

Now they are regrouping and planning more big events and some are looking for permanent places to stay. Their goals include taking over abandoned buildings to help house the homeless etc.

Anyhow, welcome to DU.

[firenewt]

85. Cops: Filled with hate, in fear of anyone or anything different and fueled by 'roid' rage. These

are the storm troopers of the far Right. I do not trust police. I was beaten and arrested during an anti-war demonstration in 1971 . I know there are good cops but they are becoming fewer. We are heading for a darkness few can even imagine.

[harmonicon]

98. I don't know if the good cops are becoming fewer...

perhaps technology is just making the bad ones more visible.

I'm definitely not one of these "cops are bad!! grrr!!!" people, because the police do an awful lot of good. I think the real criticism should not go to the police - that is, blaming that large block for the actions of a few - but to those who ordered this operation. The buck stops where? These cops didn't spontaneously decide to assemble like this. Unlike the protesters, they were ordered to assemble - with weapons.

[randome]

102. That sounds like a reasonable way to look at the matter.

After all this time, why aren't the police better trained to deal with protests? I think protests will become much more common in the next few years so training is essential.

[harmonicon]

103. Better trained? That's still blaming the police.

The real question is, why were they there in the first place? Why the riot gear?

[randome]

105. I don't know. I suppose it was because there was the possibility of a riot?

Maybe because they were outnumbered a thousand to one? Part of their responsibilities are to protect themselves, too.

[secondvariety]

110. "...they were outnumbered a thousand to one..."

It might be smart for the po-lice to think about the implications of such a lop sided division of forces and show a little restraint. Things could quickly get very, very ugly for them.

[sabrina 1]

112. Protect themselves from what? Your comment is vague.

Were protesters armed? Did you know that the biggest and most peaceful march took place in Oakland with over one hundred thousand protesters, the day that there were hardly any police around? Iow, without the presence of the police no one got hurt, and that was over the course of a whole day. Do you know why there so little police presence that day?

Did you know that the policy of this movement is to befriend the police? Did you know that on this weekend protesters offered the food and drinks and that they threw them away, angrily?

I have to ask, do you know anything about this movement? You seem to me to be very misinformed frankly. But anything you want to know, feel free to ask.

[randome]

118. As I said, I wasn't privy to the decisions that were made.

Nor the rationale behind them. If you want answers, maybe you could start a dialog with the police or city authorities.

All this distracts from the initial point I made, which is that police do thousands of heroic, life-risking activities every single day.

So to say it is evidence of a police state because some protesters got injured is hyperbolic, to my way of thinking.

The police are not blameless in everything they do. Neither are protesters. As in the protester who threw a bucket at the police. As in the 3 who were arrested.

The only thing I care about is to see things for how they truly are.

We are not in a police state. Not even close.

On edit:
I suppose you've seen this thread.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002712548

[sabrina 1]

122. Well, you have not addressed anything I said in my post.

We are talking about the actions of the police in every demonstration since this movement began. As most people have seen with their own eyes, because no protests have been more photographed or video-taped, (in anticipation of lies being told), that over 99% of the violence at every one of these protests was initiated by the cops.

The OP did not say we live in a police state. He said 'this is what a police state looks like'. Do you deny that?

Are 86 year old women, simply standing peacefully watching what is going on, a serious threat to an army of police armed with military style weapons? A person in a wheelchair? Pregnant women? Journalists? Elected officials?? All have been brutally attacked by the police. You are choosing to ignore the facts. There is video of all of it. Reams of video.

Now show me some small amount of video that even comes close to the evidence against the police, of where the violence has come from protesters. Remember there are hours and hours, days of video by now, and so little of it shows any violence from the protesters that it is barely worth mentioning, yet out of all that, YOU have focused only on that miniscule amount of reaction from a very, very few people.

Do you know what it looks like eg, to people overseas? Are you aware that we now have a reputation of being a 'police state' in many countries around the world? Unfair? Yes, but that is the fault of the police and the elected officials who gave them their orders, that is not the fault of the protesters.

If they do not want to be compared to police in oppressive countries, the solution is simple. Either stay away from the protests which seem to do fine UNTIL the police begin acting violently, or stop attacking peaceful protesters. It is a crime to do so. Problem solved.

[sabrina 1]

123. Oh and I have talked to the police btw, and to city council members.

They were ashamed and did not deny the image they are portraying. But as one cop said to me 'I understand your concerns for the protesters, but I am not in charge, you would need to speak to the chief'. I did try to speak to the chief, but the chief was not taking calls.

[randome]

124. I agree that police sometimes behave abominably.

But have you been to this latest thread about Chicago? It seems there is always more to the story than just 'Cops Gone Wild'.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=712548

[sabrina 1]

131. Lol, I did, I noticed the omission of the most important photo. But not to worry

we will get the video soon and like all other situations where someone tries to defend the brutality, as in the case of Kayvan Sabeghi, Iraq War Vet whose was beaten to the point of rupturing his spleen, and then thrown in jail and left with no medical attention for 18 hours, the defense was 'but he must have done something to deserve it', until what they thought did not exist, the video showed up. His own account of what happened turned out to be completely accurate.

What do you think of the police beating up Iraq War Veterans, in that case, to a point where his life was threatened? Simply for walking on the street, a whole mob of robo cops against one peaceful, unarmed, War Veteran and respected member of the business community in his town? You have not commented at all on these brutal attacks, which got the UN HR Rappateur involved to request that the US Government step in to protect the people?

Their behavior is shocking for a democracy, it has been from the first few days, they armed, as foreign media has pointed out, as if they are going to battle with an armed insurgency, rather than protect unarmed US Citizens.

Sorry, but this has been tried from the beginning, the effort to try to defend this behavior, the reaons it has failed, is because of the Police and the Mayors who are responsible for it.

Tell you what, why don't you call a few of them and ask them why they are armed as if going to war against an armed insurgency rather than what should be in any democracy, a run of the mill protest made up of unarmed American people?

Ask Rahm's office eg, why he spent over one million dollars on Blue Helmets, did he know the contractor, and other police 'equipment' when his city he says, needs to close down Mental Health Clinics because they 'have no money'??

No money for Mental Health Clinics, but plenty of money for Blue Helmets. Someone made a killing on that and we will be asking who that was and who they know.

[randome]

136. I don't know how many times I need to say the same thing.

The police behave abominably at times. They also risk their lives on a daily basis. And sometimes protesters behave abominably.

We are not even close to being in a police state but I suppose we can agree to disagree there.

[sabrina 1]

142. We are talking about the Global Cops, many of them now revealed to have trained with

the brutal Bahrain police, you know, the ones who have been killing their own citizens on the orders of their brutal dictatorship. Also with the Israeli Border patrol, renowned for their brutality and universally condemned by HR Organizations everywhere. Why are our civilian police doing this?

Why are these riot patrols being used at peaceful legal protests in the US? Why are they being armed with military weapons? We have an army, the police are CIVILIAN police, totally separate and for good reason, from the military.

I think you need to do some studying about what has been going on since 9/11 with these departments before criticizing the protesters.

We are NOT talking about little town cops here, we are talking about a whole new issue, a militarization of the police, a centrally controlled military style police force, supplied with weapons by the Department of Homeland Security, now being used to suppress dissent, NOT being use for the purpose police are supposed to be used for, to 'protect and serve' the American people who pay their salaries.

You have avoided addressing an issue that has caused concern now even to former Police Chiefs and to the UN. Let me say it again. This country has an army, a huge army. Now we have a second army, armed and being used against the American people. Sooner or later someone is going to die, as many already nearly have, a fact that does should concern everyone. You have offered no logical reason why peaceful protesters are being treated with such brutality. Who are these cops working for, if not the people?

As one CNN reporter said while watching the brutality this weekend, trying his best to be 'fair', 'does ANYONE need to be treated like this'? And that is my question also. These are NOT as you are attempting to portray, isolated incidents, they are sustained attacks on the American people for now over seven months. NOT a few 'bad apples'. An army of robo cops who present a clear threat to the American people exercising their rights.

[woo me with science]

92. This is what happens when Democrats pretend

that our party isn't desperately sick and purchased, too, and that the authoritarian, civil-rights-destroying, corporate fascism is coming only from the other side.

None of this goes away until we are united against it, whether it is coming from Republicans or Democrats, or both. Demand the money out of our government. Demand that our party stand against tyranny. Wake up and join the occupation.

[Fire Walk With Me]

119. Stunning amounts of silence from the democratic party and presidency, isn't there?

Seven+ months of it.

[donheld]

158. OMG

[Pachamama]

107. This makes me want to cry.....

....sick, absolutely sick.

We have become a police state and the police are being used by the 1% to show the rest of the population who has the power and control.

Meanwhile, some of those police think they are doing their job and others within the police are fascist thugs themselves who just see these people as punks and criminals that they have the right to beat and abuse. Sadly, the cops who think they are doing their job, dont realize they have become the tools of the 1% and that they really have more to agree with the protesters.

I have been watching the footage and especially the international press. While there may be some anarchists and trouble makers, the vast majority of people are protesting peacefully. But the police presence and tactics is very disturbing.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

108. The bosses and their thugs get testy when challenged.

[unhappycamper]

111. So who is Officer 15952?

He should be immortalized on the Thug Wall of Shame with Lt. Pike and that NYPD asshole who was sent to Staten Island for macing a blind girl.

[RZM]

116. Sure. Here you go

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_indices_of_freedom

Scroll down to click on the Freedom House column until the 'not free' countries are clustered at the top. Then do some digging on those. Most are police states.

After that I'll teach you how to Dougie:

[AzDar]

120. Bulls on parade...

[WhoIsNumberNone]

126. You can stomp those Black Blok dildos all you like

As far as I'm concerned they might as well be working for the other side.


Where were they during the Teabagger rallies? Probably holding 'Obama is a Nazi' signs....

[Fire Walk With Me]

128. There was just a Tweet that cops were spotted changing into bb gear

and there was a similar one yesterday! Cops were caught in Canada dressed as protesters, attempting to get them violent, and the police department had to publicly apologize. Never forget they definitely do that!

[WhoIsNumberNone]

130. I believe it

The cops have been doing this since the Bush Administration. I remember seeing a video in 2007 of some cops getting caught infiltrating a protest in Canada wearing Black Blok style clothes.

[FedUp_Queer]

127. The first thing that came to mind...

North Korea.

[Swede Atlanta]

132. Reminds me of the 1968 protests at the Democratic National Convention.....

This is police brutality against the Constitution but who will challenge? The Reich-wing love the beating up of Americans because they beat them up economically so why not physically? They probably get some sexual gratification over this.

We have become a nation of the haves versus the have nots and, guess what, there are more of the have nots and at some point this will boil over and a revolution will be ignited.

I don't think this is going to happen immediately but soon..very soon and the wealthy may need to consider their actions to protect their families because, unfortunately, unruly crowds do very impertinent actions.

[Liberal_in_LA]

137. wow. thanks for the pics.

[progressoid]

139. Rahm must be pleased.

[Prometheus Bound]

141. I smell fear.

And it isn't from the protesters.

[jillan]

143. What I want to know is where are the mobs of cops when teabaggers show up where

the President is speaking dressed like this:



[img][/img]

Where are the cops?

[Fire Walk With Me]

144. Same thing when the white supremacists/neo-nazis march.

Cops don't beat them up either.

[lunasun]

153. Well around Chicago some citizens have taken that on themselves recently!

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/12658014-418/source-group-beaten-at-tinley-park-restaurant-were-white-supremacists.html

[RZM]

157. LOL

Do you find it ironic that you're praising what has been condemned on this thread?

[chollybocker]

151. Who are these people?

I mean, who signs up to be a cop these days? Are new recruits trained/brainwashed into this eventuality? At what point do they decide to conform absolutely to authority and violence? Do they never consider quitting the force on the spot? Who the fuck are these people? Are they raised on farms like cattle, or in biolabs like mutants? WTF.

[Fire Walk With Me]

160. Like attracts like. And sadly

if you search the web for "cop IQ" or similar you'll see that some state forces won't hire people with IQs higher than about 100.

"Just following orders" cannot possibly be accepted as an excuse any more. I've spent enough time speaking truth to cops to wear out my vocal cords. A couple have listened, but the rest...sometimes grin shark grins at me.

[chollybocker]

168. I don't need to search very far.

I can hear black helicopters hovering over my apt every night, for a few weeks now. The student protesters have overtaken the city streets every night (till 11:00 pm; we protest civily). The police create nothing but havoc and arrest innocent people; the government passes unconstitutional laws at whim.

Montreal is currently 100 times more fucked up than any weekend in Chicago; ignore the MSM and plan your summer vacation accordingly.

[EFerrari]

164. I don't know who they are but they aren't community police any more.

Their departments get big post-9/11 money from the Feds directly and from the Feds through the state. So, the guys running these police departments don't have their heads in the community any more but in the incoming $$$. They're not community police, they're urban militias with no local oversight, really.

[datasuspect]

189. neighborhood guys and gals for the most part

Chicago neighborhoods (working class, blue collar) aren't breeding grounds of understanding and compassion.

in some place you either become a cop or a gangbanger.

[U4ikLefty]

156. Fantastic thread Fire. Now I'm all riled up again

Now I'm all riled up again.

Quite a few OLA folks are in Chicago.

I hope they're safe.

[Fire Walk With Me]

159. Buses have already pulled out of town

but cops were in heavy evidence until then. Hoping they don't interfere along the route. @OccupyFreedomLA is tweeting and streaming.

[limpyhobbler]

166. Video: Police try to murder protester by running him over

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002714688

[Fire Walk With Me]

169. Just before first pic, added link to recorded livestream of what happened in those first three pics

[andrewserin]

173. Show me what a police state looks like! (Graphic! Dial-up warning!) Updated with livestream link

[IMG][/IMG]

So over Saturday and Sunday, OccupyDenver, OccupyAustin, OccupyPortland OccupyLongBeach, and OccupyRichmond (Virginia) were all raided.

I don’t know much about OccupyLongBeach.

OccupyAustin had a few dozen arrests, and two folding tables confiscated. I’m not sure on their status right now either.

Portland police used horses to divide media and observers from the arrestees.

There were a few times on the livestream where the horses got skittish too close to seated demonstrators in what was, at times, a tense scene that echoed an even tenser scene in Times Square that avoided sheer disaster by a (horse) hair’s breadth. (Seriously police, when dealing with crowds, horses quickly make bad situations worse.)

[randome]

174. Are you kidding?

Last edited Tue May 22, 2012, 02:15 PM - Edit history (1)

Confiscated folding tables and skittish horses. That's your evidence of a police state?

Was there supposed to be a link, too?

On edit:
That original subject line was way harsher than it should have been.

[Fire Walk With Me]

179. Occupy Long Beach are fine people, good folk.

I hadn't heard about this and hope that everyone everywhere is okay

[treestar]

180. In a police state, those crowds to protest don't exist

People can't do it in the first place. There are no trials and no warrants. There are no juries and no appeals.

This is like when the right wing calls a few regulations "socialism" or "communism."

It's like you are admitting everything in the photos is OK unless you can fit the label "police state" to it.

[RedCappedBandit]

182. Interesting Contrast:

Photo shared by Occupy Canada's FB page:




http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303360504577414370915099252.html

[woo me with science]

184. Kick

[woo me with science]

185. Kick

[truedelphi]

190. Although horrified at the images, I am

Glad you posted this, Fire Walk With Me, and even gladder to see that over 150 people have rec'ced it.

[Fire Walk With Me]

191. Looking back over this is upsetting :(

2008, but definitely related.