Violent police reactions at protests: wwMLKd?

[Bucky]

In http://democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=760373&mesg_id=760373">another discussion thread, JanMichael brought up a very disturbing question on the topic of police violence at peace rallies. I thought this part of the matter deserved a separate thread.

The police are playing rough: shooting rubber bullets with seemingly little provocation, clubbing and choke holding grandmas at the demonstrations, and treating the protests like they were riots. The question is, given the police behavior, whether protestors should start dressing for "action".

That would mean wearing heavy vests, goggles, helmets, shin guards, and other protective gear. Ignore for the moment the irony of showing up at an anti-war rally dressed like an NFL lineman. Think about the consequences of going geared up instead of "naked" to a peace demonstration. Gearing up like this will encourage cops to escalate the violence. If someone's got a helmet on, a cop's more likely to swing the baton freely in an effort to exert control over the situation.

This is how things escalate, of course. The point of getting your eye popped out by a rubber bullet as a consequence of civil disobedience is to illustrate that civil violence does not work. If the peace protesters go dressed for war, then you all but guarentee that there will be "war" of some sort in the street.

I've had my head cracked open by a cop with a baton before. It bleeds coz it's on the head and it hurts like a mother. But if protestors start trying to protect themselves from that violence, then they are buying into the inevitability of violence.

What would Martin Luther King do? He'd wear a dapper tie and one of those snazzy summer weight suits that he was always getting arrested in. But he wouldn't wear a helmet to a peace rally. And, dammit, neither should we.

[aeon flux]

1. I think the protestors

are in dire need of a makeover. The average person sees a group of protestors on the street and thinks, 'man look at all those stinking hippies.'

So my suggestion for the demosntrators would be, lose the street clothes and put on a shirt and tie. I think it would significantly enhance their public image.

When reporters go out and see a bunch of protestors dressed in raggedy street clothes (ie: old jeans, sweatshirts, some donning all black, dark shades and face masks) they think, what a bunch of scary-looking bums! So naturally the media won't take them very seriously, no matter how valid their message may be. The protest suffers negative television/media coverage on as a result.

The cops will treat them just as bad if not worse. The vieweing audience isn't going to think very highly of them either. "Man, look at those scary protestors all dressed in black, they look like a bunch of hoodlums!"

If I were a reporter, I'd be more inclined (and much less afraid) to approach a stranger on the street for an interview if he/she were well-dressed/presentable to the camera than someone all dressed in black or cut-up jeans and a flannel shirt.

It's just like anyhwere. If the protestors want to be treated with some dignity, they need to dress the part. We live in an image conscious society. That doesn't mean they should go out and put on a 3-piece suit for a street demonstration, but people have to look a little more 'respectable.' Whether applying for a job or voicing opinions in public, you can't look like a bum if you want to be taken seriously.

[7th_Sephiroth]

2. a scary thought

150-200 cops show up to a demonstration by an average size group of protesters, with orders to stop them, without warning or hesitation the cops, knowing they cant arrest them all just start shooting into the crowd, and then pepper spraying the medical help, oh, wait that happened

[DUreader]

3. Padded clothing was declared illegal for the Miami Police Riot

on edit: I am not 100% sure of this