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I think Jay's attempt to put this in context is worthwhile. The
police did go out of their way, leading up to the pepper spraying
incident, to get the student's to peacefully disperse. They made it
clear that force was to be used. This is much different than the
normal 30-second clip that makes it look it like they simply
pepper-sprayed them just for the sheer joy of it. If the students
hadn't been surrounding the police in a lame attempt to keep them
contained in order to force them to let the others go, the police
wouldn't have done what they did. For instance, if they had lined
up in two rows along the edge of the sidewalk, then I don't think
that anything would have happened. There are consequences for
trying to stop a police officer from making an arrest in the line of
duty.<br>
<br>
Having said that, though, I think the police officers went too far.
It was clear by how easy the police officer stepped over the line of
protesters that they were never in any real danger of being
contained. They could have left at any time. They could also have
moved the protesters bodily out of the way like they ended up doing
to many of them, anyway, especially after reinforcements arrived to
help. It was possible for them to have taken the students they had
arrested earlier on to the station in a way that didn't involve
assault with a chemical weapon. The protesters did most things
right. They didn't resist arrest, they didn't throw anything, they
didn't try to push the police around. They were being pretty stupid
when they decided to surround the police, though. I'd qualify that
as a threatening action. They thought they had found a way to keep
their buddies from being arrested. However, if you are going to go
the civil disobedience route, you should expect to get arrested.
That's how it works.<br>
<br>
Like most things in life, this was more complex than it looks on the
surface. It wasn't a bunch of innocent protesters sitting idly
around getting pepper sprayed for no reason, nor was pepper spraying
the protesters the only sane alternative. There were plenty of
actions both sides could have taken to have avoided this
confrontation.<br>
<br>
Paul<br>
<br>
On 12/07/2011 03:32 PM, Tom Hansen wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:2596FA8B-9A5C-4620-B748-567F63C500AC@moscow.com"
type="cite">
<div>Here's one (15 minutes) you missed, Mr. Borden. I am sure
that you simply overlooked it, right?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8Uj1cV97XQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8Uj1cV97XQ</a></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><br>
</span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">"</span><span
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">When Occupy
Davis protesters began to be arrested, students banded
together, chanting the police to release the captives and for
more students to come support. Later on, the protesters sat
down in linked arms, entrapping the police along with the
captive. After trying to negotiate, rather than stepping over
the students, the police pepper sprayed the students point
blank in the face. Many sources reports that there are around
10 protesters, that is not true. The police only chose to
spray these front individuals sitting near the roads. There
were countless more peaceful protesters surrounding them on
all sides! So there were not only 10! This video was shot
right before, during, and after the pepper spraying and
forceful removal of the protesters. I stood in disbelief as I
watched the violence. Skip to 4:05 to where the police talks
to the student one more time before bringing out the canister
of pepper spray."</span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">----------------------</span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br>
</span></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">We should
be happy the protestors were not carrying guns, a common
activity at Tea Party gatherings, huh?</span></font></div>
<div><br>
<div>Seeya round town, Moscow.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Tom Hansen</div>
<div>Moscow, Idaho</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>"If not us, who?</div>
<div>If not now, when?"</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>- Unknown</div>
</div>
<div><br>
On Dec 7, 2011, at 2:59 PM, Moscow Cares <<a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:moscowcares@moscow.com">moscowcares@moscow.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>
<div>Jay Borden stated . . .</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:
medium;"><span>I, however, am simply presenting the
viewpoint that (right or wrong on</span></span><span
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:
medium;"><span>the part of the officers), there is MORE TO
THE STORY than just that</span></span><span
class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:
medium;"><span>initial 30-second viral video."</span></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br>
</span></div>
<div><span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"
style="font-size: medium;">And just what is the "MORE TO
THE STORY" that justifies pepper spraying students . . .
sitting cross-legged on the ground . . . covering their
faces?</span></div>
<div><br>
<div>Seeya round town, Moscow.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Tom Hansen</div>
<div>Moscow, Idaho</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>"If not us, who?</div>
<div>If not now, when?"</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>- Unknown</div>
</div>
<div><br>
<br>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
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