Comments

2

As the late Chicago mayor Richard Daley famously quipped: ""The policeman isn't there to create disorder; he's there to preserve disorder." Those words are just as true today as ever.

3

Yep. Because responding to a protest about police brutality with increased brutality will make the situation SO much better. /s

Why So Many Police Are Handling the Protests Wrong
Disproportionate use of force can turn a peaceful protest violent, research shows.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/06/01/why-so-many-police-are-handling-the-protests-wrong

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/police-keep-using-force-against-peaceful-protesters-prompting-sustained-criticism-about-tactics-and-training/2020/06/03/5d2f51d4-a5cf-11ea-bb20-ebf0921f3bbd_story.html

Facing Protests Over Use of Force, Police Respond With More Force
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/police-tactics-floyd-protests.html

De-escalation Keeps Protesters And Police Safer.
Departments Respond With Force Anyway.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/de-escalation-keeps-protesters-and-police-safer-heres-why-departments-respond-with-force-anyway/

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/police-brutality-minneapolis-floyd-blm-trump

4

@2: It was verbal gaffe, not some profound epiphany from one of the most corrupt Democratic mayors this nation has ever had.

A gaffe that mixes up two clauses in the intended sentence. Happened with George W. Bush all the time.

From the Wikipedia page:

Daley, who never lost his blue-collar Chicago accent, was known for often mangling his syntax and other verbal gaffes. Daley made one of his most memorable verbal missteps in 1968, while defending what the news media reported as police misconduct during that year's violent Democratic Convention, stating, "Gentlemen, get the thing straight once and for all – the policeman isn't there to create disorder, the policeman is there to preserve disorder." Daley's reputation for misspeaking was such that his press secretary Earl Bush would tell reporters, "Write what he means, not what he says."[35]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_J._Daley

5

Okay, we all want non-violent cops, 100% agreement.
So do we all want completely non-violent protests? I dunno, not so clear-cut.
Legal non violent protests would be what, marches and picketing?
The voracious, jaded news cycles that we have grown accustomed to make these type of conventional protests seem not dramatic enough to be meaningful unless the numbers get huge, and then there develops the counter-narrative of the people inconvenienced.
So back in the civil rights era we had both violent cops and non-violent protests. Plenty dramatic at times, but what really fueled a lot of those demonstrations was the simple concept of civil disobedience. ie, getting arrested.
The concept is predicated on having a critical mass of people willing to be arrested - that's what I am getting at.
Most white Americans nowadays are terrified at the prospect of going to jail and having an arrest record.
I know I am and I am too old to have it really matter any more.
So one potential strategy for the left here would be to plan for events of civil disobedience where the consequences of arrest are mapped out ahead of time- how and when bail can be arranged, pro bono legal help provided, protesters guided through what to expect in processing, etc.
Now this of course implies organization, something anathema in this day & age, but that seems the choice to me- between a semi-organized campaign of civil disobedience or these spasmodic, organic violent outbreaks.

6

Cop shoots and kills kneeling protester:

https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Attorney-identifies-SF-resident-fatally-shot-by-15315301.php

7

Images of police using violence against peaceful protesters are going viral
Police responded to protests across the nation with excessive force.

https://www.vox.com/2020/5/31/21275994/police-violence-peaceful-protesters-images

8

@4:

That's what psychiatrists call "a Freudian slip".

9

@8: absolutely!

10

And you know what that actually means, yes?

11

@5 - 100% non-violent protests will occur when all people --all parties-- are heard and their democratic voice is taken seriously as a part of decision-making/ laws/ actions/ etc.

..."we must understand that riot is the voice of the unheard"... and indeed, it is when decisions get made that negatively impact others that the potential for riot is created.

If the "powers-that-be" don't want "violent" protests, they would truly LISTEN to the non-violent protests, demonstrations, and marches and make those opinions a part of the decision-making process.

All done in the spirit of the Precautionary Principle, which states "the introduction of a new product or process whose ultimate effects are disputed or unknown should be resisted."
Simply put: First, Do No Harm.

...and no harm will come of it.

12

@5 - (And I find it endearingly amusing that you are unaware that the left has indeed engaged in planned civil disobedience with all of the bail, legal-help, & preparation you mention. This is a well-known and frequently deployed strategy.) --- (If you are 'too old for it to matter', then I heartily encourage you to go out, put yourself on the line, and be willing to get arrested. What do you have to lose? And what can you help to gain...) --- (That said: Every American should experience getting arrested, IMHO, esp. while standing up for our rights. It is a crucial and important experience to understand the "justice system" as a subject thereof.)

13

ENVIRONMENT: Study Finds Controlled Washington, D.C. Wildfires Crucial For Restoring Healthy Political Environment

https://politics.theonion.com/study-finds-controlled-washington-d-c-wildfires-cruci-1819578392


Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.