From Occupy Frankfurt. The German police took off their helmets and marched

[Fearless]

13. Thank you for calling me childish. It was nice to talk to you as well.

While yes, the police had "controlled" the protest, in that they only let them protest in this one place and arrested some 400 people who protested elsewhere. Using reorg's own post from the other thread:

"Sure, if you take away the ridiculous gear, German police officers look just like any other German, and some of them may even suggest that they don't take issue with the demonstration as such (as long as it remains non-"violent", as they will hasten to add, of course). That has always been the case."

I never stated that the police weren't controlling the rally. I never said that they weren't protecting shops or keeping people off side streets. Take issue with the title if you want I suppose. As I said again, it is not mine, it is from the link.

Regardless, the purpose for which I posted it is, as I said, to show that not every time people protest do they meet police batons and tear gas. You may counter by saying, well that's because everything was calm and moving smoothly and that they weren't allowed to go freely where they wanted. I would add, that violence is never helpful, by police or by protestors. If people got violent at a protest, I would expect police to do their job and remove those people from a protest. They do not benefit our cause in anyway but serve to radicalize it, frequently intentionally, and through the use of plants. And, I would say that I never claimed they were allowed to go wherever they wanted. One photo doesn't describe everything. It describes one thing. And the one thing it described is accurate. There was a peaceful protest, without violence for a little bit. Unlike, say, as I said, Oakland.