July 22, 2020
Here was a crowd of protesters numbering almost a thousand. Over there were Trump's "federal" troops -- a de facto private police force. In the middle, a line of moms in yellow T shirts with their hands in the air, singing. They were tear gassed, along with dads who came with them.
The same night, the same federal thugs had no problem beating up a shambling bear of a middle-aged Navy vet who was there merely to talk to them -- to remind the veterans among them of their oath. Christopher David stood there and let them beat him and injure his hand severely until a faceful of pepper-spray forced him to walk away.
There is a line of civility that few governments will cross in public. Tear gassing peaceful protestors used to be one of them. Beating nonviolent protesters did too. Both defy our Constitutional right to peaceably assemble.
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The Denver police used flashbangs and tear gas for crowd control at a George Floyd protest on May 30, 2020. Federal troops used similar tactics on the ""wall of moms." |
We've seen it from local police forces since George Floyd died of suffocation under a policeman's knee. According to ProPublica.org, some 40 cities have vowed to make changes in how police perform their jobs.
But that was not in response to the overly forceful treatment of protesters who have merely made the police nervous. That remains an obvious problem. ProPublica outlines several recent incidents.
But that was not in response to the overly forceful treatment of protesters who have merely made the police nervous. That remains an obvious problem. ProPublica outlines several recent incidents.
The Civil Rights movement made progress, in part, because of outrage, particularly from the violence caught on film and broadcast across America. The outrage of brutality by Alabama troopers, clubbing peaceful protestors, including John Lewis, at the Edmond Pettus Bridge.
They were fighting Jim Crow. Today, we're fighting for freedoms we thought we already had, rights guaranteed in the Constitution. The time for outrage against federal overreach is now.
Are there better, more peaceful ways to manage large groups of protesters? Do you see any clear-cut line between what can be allowed and what should never be? What will you do?
Are there better, more peaceful ways to manage large groups of protesters? Do you see any clear-cut line between what can be allowed and what should never be? What will you do?
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