43 replies to this topic

[Bone]

Echos of Kent State...not to mention Tahrir Square.

Discuss.

[Waser Lave]

How dare they sit down in a public area!

[Romy]

Not. Fucking. Cool.

[Tomo]

An alumni from my school was one of those students. Sucks. ): I felt so bad for him.

Not to mention that these pepper sprays aren't like those small bottles that girls carry around. These are the LEGIT kinds. If you were to walk into a room that had been sprayed by pepper spray from a minute before, your eyes would burn even if it wasn't sprayed directly at you.
THIS is just cruel. The damn police sprayed it in their faces. It's like they were spraying insects -_- Damn bastards.

Edited by Languor, 22 November 2011 - 03:42 PM.

[Boggart]

I read about this. I don't understand how this can continue happening. Ugh

[oldasianswag]

[Bone]

An alumni from my school was one of those students. Sucks. ): I felt so bad for him.

Not to mention that these pepper sprays aren't like those small bottles that girls carry around. These are the LEGIT kinds. If you were to walk into a room that had been sprayed by pepper spray from a minute before, your eyes would burn even if it wasn't sprayed directly at you.
THIS is just cruel. The damn police sprayed it in their faces. It's like they were spraying insects -_- Damn bastards.

There have been reports that the police sprayed directly into some kid's throat...what the fuck.
But then you have Fox News saying it's essentially a food product.

[iargue]

What happened to the constitutional right to peacefully assemble?

[Hydrogen]

An alumni from my school was one of those students. Sucks. ): I felt so bad for him.

Not to mention that these pepper sprays aren't like those small bottles that girls carry around. These are the LEGIT kinds. If you were to walk into a room that had been sprayed by pepper spray from a minute before, your eyes would burn even if it wasn't sprayed directly at you.
THIS is just cruel. The damn police sprayed it in their faces. It's like they were spraying insects -_- Damn bastards.

Like he was watering the lawn.

There have been reports that the police sprayed directly into some kid's throat...what the fuck.
But then you have Fox News saying it's essentially a food product.

wat

---

I am a UC Davis alumni and, while I did see my fair share of protests, I have never seen anything like this. This is disgusting. I saw on the news last night that the UC Davis Police Chief was put on administrative leave along with the two officers on the force who actually used the pepper spray. They are saying that the decision to use pepper spray was the decision of one officer. I'm not sure if I believe that, especially considering that the PR department put out some spin the evening of the event that students had surrounded the officers and that the officers feared for their safety and were forced to use pepper spray. Horse shit. They had to retract that statement in embaressment after so much video evidence was produced that that was clearly not what had happened.

These liars disgust me. I'd like to know how they sleep at night. Their strategy is sure to solve insomnia for the masses.

[Waser Lave]

There have been reports that the police sprayed directly into some kid's throat...what the fuck.
But then you have Fox News saying it's essentially a food product.

Technically it is essentially a food product in that it's derived from a plant which we use for food purposes but that's like saying that something such as ricin is also essentially a food product...I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to ingest either of them.

[Hydrogen]

They were maced AFTER they were given 24 hours notice that they couldn't block the sidewalk, and after the cop told each one of them individually what exactly was going to happen if they didn't move...............

I have no sympathy for these students. Whether you agree with the cops methods, when they give you an order and you don't comply then you can bet there will be consequences. They asked for it, and they got it. You don't get to whine afterwards. It's what the students wanted, why is everyone getting riled up over it. They got exactly what they wanted!

The cops may be punished, the kids will come out as heroes, and will not have learned a damned thing.

You almost got me... then I saw your avatar . Good one .

[luvsmyncis]

You almost got me... then I saw your avatar . Good one .

He's being honest. But honestly, his opinion stinks.

There is no reason for a peaceful demonstration to be met with violence. Even if he had used a water hose on the protesters, it would have been unacceptable.

Why couldn't they be there on the sidewalk, though? It looks like there's enough room to go around them, and the officer seemed to have no trouble stepping over them. The way he used the pepper spray was just plain brutality. He might as well have used a taser. They ended up having to drag the kids off the sidewalk anyway. They couldn't have done that without the pepper spray? Usually I'm on the side of the law officers instead of the tree hugging activists, but this was just wrong.

[Bone]

They were maced AFTER they were given 24 hours notice that they couldn't block the sidewalk, and after the cop told each one of them individually what exactly was going to happen if they didn't move...............

I have no sympathy for these students. Whether you agree with the cops methods, when they give you an order and you don't comply then you can bet there will be consequences. They asked for it, and they got it. You don't get to whine afterwards. It's what the students wanted, why is everyone getting riled up over it. They got exactly what they wanted!

The cops may be punished, the kids will come out as heroes, and will not have learned a damned thing.

You know, you're right. Next time a government official tells me I have no right to peacefully assemble, I should just go back home and watch some more Fox News. They absolutely have the right to spray potentially fatal chemicals into my eyes if I don't comply with everything they demand!

[MsRose]

If pricks like Western Baptist Church are allowed to peacefully protest, then certainly these kids deserved the same right.

[fallendevilz]

And they wonder why the police are hated...
"What did you do at work today honey?"
"Oooh I sprayed a few students in the face with pepper-spray for sitting in our way"
Fuck the police

[Hydrogen]

And they wonder why the police are hated...
"What did you do at work today honey?"
"Oooh I sprayed a few students in the face with pepper-spray for sitting in our way"
Fuck the police

Interesting thing, that. One day this man will regret what he did. But it will be too late. He will never be able to change his actions and never be able to repay his crime.

[Crunch]

I just wish the Occupy movements would end. There will always be corporate greed. There's no way that will stop.
But, I don't agree with the pepper spraying.

[Waser Lave]

I just wish the Occupy movements would end. There will always be corporate greed. There's no way that will stop.
But, I don't agree with the pepper spraying.

Apathy like this is part of the problem.

[Hydrogen]

I just wish the Occupy movements would end. There will always be corporate greed. There's no way that will stop.
But, I don't agree with the pepper spraying.

I'm not sure about other occupy encampments, but the one in San Francisco, near where I live, has had its message unfortunately overshadowed by tomfoolery. From the uncleanliness, to the homeless occupying the occupation itself, to the utter anarchy of disputes, the occupy movement in San Francisco, and perhaps in general, needs to figure out what its message is, what its goals are, and how it wants to achieve them. Until then, they are going to be glazed over as misguided. For example, the local news played a video of a group of protesters in a heated argument over whether a graffittied door could stay in the encampment. Perhaps it was an effort by the local media to smear their efforts. As a challenger to the status quo, such events are unacceptable, however. The general public will always look to discredit dissedents. Giving them their ammunition is just daft.

While I am sympathetic to their cause, they need to get their act together and make their demands, and methods of achieving those demands, clear if they want to see real progress.

If you are curious, the door ended up staying in the encampment.

[Crunch]

I'm not sure about other occupy encampments, but the one in San Francisco, near where I live, has had its message unfortunately overshadowed by tomfoolery. From the uncleanliness, to the homeless occupying the occupation itself, to the utter anarchy of disputes, the occupy movement in San Francisco, and perhaps in general, needs to figure out what its message is, what its goals are, and how it wants to achieve its goals. Until then, they are going to be glazed over as misguided.

While I am sympathetic to their cause, they need to get their act together and make their demands, and methods of achieving those demands, clear if they want to see real progress.

I agree completely.

[Melchoire]

What were they protesting?

[MsRose]

In Egypt women protesters are raped, Libya 84 people are gunned down in three days, and then there is Occupy Wallstreet, who can't even decide what they're protesting for.

Edit: While on the topic of Occupy Wallstreet, I wish someone could explain to me how they're "fighting corporations" by blocking off road-ways intended for the general public.

Edited by MsRose, 23 November 2011 - 12:54 PM.

[Abradix]

What happened to the constitutional right to peacefully assemble?

Its being stripped away... Just like all the other rights we had once upon a time.

I'm pretty sure the people talking smack about OWS haven't actually visited an encampment and therefore have no room to speak. What you saw on the news is completely legitimate, you should always take your information from a third party. Especially a third party with an agenda.

[MsRose]

I'm pretty sure the people talking smack about OWS haven't actually visited an encampment and therefore have no room to speak. What you saw on the news is completely legitimate, you should always take your information from a third party. Especially a third party with an agenda.

Oh? Tbqh, I'm actually sincerely interested in what their viewpoints/goals are. Shoot.

[Abradix]

This manifesto is posted at all Occupy encampments.

"As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

"As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power.

"We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

• They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
• They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
• They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
• They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
• They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, human and non, and actively hide these practices.
• They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
• They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
• They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.
• They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
• They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
• They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
• They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press. They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
• They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
• They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.
• They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
• They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives or provide relief in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit.
• They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
• They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
• They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
• They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad. They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
• They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.*

"To the people of the world,"We, the Los Angeles General Assembly occupying Los Angeles City Hall, urge you to assert your power.

"Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

"To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

"Join us and make your voices heard!"

*NOTE - These grievances are not all-inclusive.

__________________________________________________________________________________



The chaos comes because everyone's solution seems to be different. Some people want community gardens, other people want to march downtown and torch a Wells Fargo... Personally, I believe we simply need to get back to the principles that this country was founded on. There is no document we should be forced to live by except for the Constitution. People have a moral compass, and we should be allowed to use it. When manners are enforced, they are no longer manners. Laws are strangling the innovation that the US was once so renound for. America is not a Democracy, it is a Constitutional Republic with SOME Democratic principles... Your rights should be inalienable, 99% of the country can never take them away from you. Yet somewhere along the line, someone managed a 51% vote (during a time of extreme panic) and now I can't fly on an airplane without suspending my 4th Amendment. I can't buy a gun because my name is on a list, even though the 2nd Amendment clearly states that it is my right. I can't exercise my right to peaceful assembly, or redress of grievances because it interferes with some grandiose scheme that has been laid out for me, and that (apparently) must be followed to the letter, under threat of flashbangs, tear gas, and usage of rubber bullets on unarmed citizens.

Democracy is the absolute worst form of government, if only for the reason that the government is the one to tell you what YOU voted for. They'll tell you from here to doomsday that its all for your protection. THEY'RE LYING!! Don't listen to a god damn word these snakes say, but watch very carefully what they do... And the people who are paying attention to the signs can see this country headed in a very scary direction. Rather than defame our character because Faux News said we're all drug addicts, why not help us pump the brakes? I've posted some of this before, but I thank you for reading this far... I'll end here with a quote from economist Herbert Stein: "If something cannot go on forever, it will stop." Deceptively simple, yet massively profound. So perhaps the mainstream is right... We don't have to find a way to stop the derivative-driven war machine, we're seeing the signs that it can't go on forever so its going to stop anyways. The truth is inarguable, if you're careening along a road toward a collapsed bridge (and we most assuredly are), you'll certainly stop, one way or the other. But it makes quite a bit of difference, at least to you, whether you skid to a halt four yards before the cliff's edge or whether you come to rest at the bottom of the ravine...

Edited by Abradix, 23 November 2011 - 03:46 PM.