Amy and 2 producers get arrested at RNC protest-2/2

[cascadiance]

Run time: 10:51 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NHKsTsneBs   Posted on YouTube: September 03, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: September 04, 2008 By DU Member: cascadiance Views on DU: 564

 
Amy Goodman's interview with her two producers the next day on Democracy Now discussing the details of their arrests at the RNC. Part 2 of 2.

[sasquatch]

1. I suggest that we treat these officers like pedophiles and post their home addresses on the internet

[BREMPRO]

2. WTF... fascism at work in america. are we worse than china?

i'm not shocked, but disgusted at the attitude of the police. WHO TRAINS THESE ASSHOLES? WHO GIVE THEM THE ORDERS TO HARASS LEGITIMATE CREDENTIALED JOURNALISTS? IS THIS AMERICA?

[GTurck]

3. I am the mother of..

a police officer and a liberal Democrat. I am appalled by what happened to Amy Goodman and her crew but I do not believe that the police officers should be targeted either. They did wrong and I wonder do they understand what they did wrong and now regret their actions? Most police are decent enough people and often feel abandoned by their commanders and the public at large; so they have this us against them thing going on.
My son's family was once targeted by a drug dealer and all were threatened with murder (including his children) for arresting the offender and breaking up his enterprise. In other words for doing the job we citizens expected him to do. It would be wrong to put those officers families under that sort of stress. There has to be a way to talk to the police before and after stressful events such as a political convention so that these sorts of nazi like events are rare or non-existent.

[ghostsofgiants]

5. They are enforcing an inherently unjust power structure...

As individuals, yes, lots of good people are police officers, but part of their job becomes the enforcement of power over the people, and that's where the problem lies. Reminds me of a song my friend wrote: "When finally we rise up and take action, our protectors will in turn demand defeat." They're protecting us only until it's more mportant for them to protect power.

[GTurck]

6. That is the...

cynicism I would expect from a winger not someone on DU. Since Nixon the whole tenor of the country has slid deep into cynicism and it is killing the whole idea of commonality, community, and responsibility. We cannot let ourselves, as liberals, fall into that well. We will drown in it.
All power structures are inherently unjust and many police do have control issues but it is the active citizens who keep that power in check. I am well aware of the dynamics and distortions of power but it exists in all sorts of institutions;churches, schools, hospitals, families, factories, etc. When you thwart anyone for any reason you are exercising power and to the person being thwarted it feels like tyranny - just think of a 2 year olds tantrum. For every "tantrum" that the police deal with they must wonder why they have to deal with it at all. Why not condemn those that act as agent provocateurs who start trouble anonymously and then slink out of sight while those behaving properly must answer for the problem? Remember the phrase "it takes two to tango"? Well in the case of these planned events there are not two but dozens of sides and deciding which one is dangerous almost impossible in the heat of the moment. I truly wish that the police in St. Paul had better training or a firmer line of responsibility and that failure of command should be condemned and changed all around the country. When there is a real need for a police officer we want them NOW and don't care if they catch a criminal and then rough them up a bit. That is inconsistent and part of the problem.
I don't believe in throwing up my hands and becoming more cynical but in becoming more active in making things work for as many as any institution can. That is why I am on these pages.
I have noticed lately that our latent streak of self-rightgeousness and entitlement is bumping up against our ability to work together for the common good. Obama talks about the common good and people respond. McCain and his ilk talk about markets, wars, and control and people respond to that as well.

[ghostsofgiants]

7. Yeah, lots of "wingers" complain about police doing what they can to maintain the status quo.

:eyes:

I agree, active citizens must keep that power in check, but how do we keep power in check when this is the type opf response we get? To imply that I'm a "winger" because of my alleged "cynicism" is insulting. My cynicism comes from seeing time and time again the way the people are worked against by those who are supposed to protect them. That means police, government, et al. What you seem to be describing isn't cynisicm, it's apathy. "Cynicism" can drive people to become active. If I was in St. Paul I'd be right there amongst the protestors. Why? Because I see the need to stand up to that type of thing. Everything I said before has nothing to do with "self-righteousness" or "entitlement" and everything to with uniting against injustice.

[GTurck]

11. I was not slamming...

anyone. Cynicism often drives people to apathy. "What's the use they are all a bunch of crooks anyway". I was using Lakeoff's idea of framing. When we use the terms and ideas of the opponent to make our own point we make a circle back to them. As independents, liberals, Democrats or whatever I was cautioning against sounding like a winger when you seemed not to mean to. I am sorry if that was not conveyed well.
I have my own trouble with policing dating back to before 1968 in Chicago. I grew up there and remember how the police were often the most corrupt people on the street. They were to be avoided.One never knew though if there really was an honest, caring cop (there were) in the city. But back then, in Chicago, you only needed to know or be related to a policeman to get on the force and be of a certain height or weight. The training was all on the job - no psychological screening, no college, nothing but cronyism. 1968 was a watershed across the country and more and more departments started screening and demanding better trained applicants. There is still a long way to go. But I stick by my point that it is the 'us vs them' attitude, alas coming from both sides, that causes many problems. Add those who are dead set on making trouble and the situation is explosive.
Did you know that every community has a police board or liason from the city council? Did you know that you can testify before that board or to the liason - if not the entire council? Standing up to tyranny is great. For myself I work the system. When I see an injustice or something that I think needs to be done I jump in with both feet. That is how I became a library trustee in a district where people were being ignored for all the wrong reasons. That is how I became active in the Democratic Party. My protesting however is all done on paper in letters to my representatives and in the op-ed pages because I cannot see why an officer should have to decide if I am a threat to his/her safety or not and act accordingly.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. cynism is actually very lacking in this country. apathy is rampant

but actual cynicism is lacking.

to be a cynic you actually have to examine the issues.

historically cops/armies etc have been an instrument of the powerful to keep the hoipolloi in check. this is not cynicism. its just accurate history.

[GTurck]

12. The Hoi Polloi...

often make up the armies and the police.
I have known an awful lot of people in my 65 years who have no use for anyone or anything they didn't like. They knew the cost of it all but had not a clue as to its worth and never went further than their own understanding. It is not the class or the color or the creed or the job but the person themselves and their principles and ethics that should be strengthened and supported.
Again and again we have gotten the idea that there is an us and a them. Us always abused, brow-beaten. Them always abusing, holding the beater. But are we not all the same species with all the same ancestry.
What we hate and fear always comes back to destroy us,metaphorically. That is my caution passed on from experience.

[ghostsofgiants]

4. Is this getting any mainstream coverage at all?

If not, why the fuck not? This should be a big story.

[sattahipdeep]

9. life-after-Bagdad

Blackwater’s next venture: Civil Law Enforcement Training on a grand scale!

http://www.att-tactical.com/blog/?tag=domestic-operations

[goodgd_yall]

10. Sadists n/t