Occupy Wall Street Protests
So.. was anyone else disappointed to read about the Occupy Wall Street protests being broken up by police? I'm not writing about the movement's politics, which I find difficult to pin down. I don't know what they stand for, exactly, so I don't know whether I'm for or against it. I DO know that they should have the right to mass on Wall Street and chant to their hearts' content. What's with the police getting in the way?
Watch the video, which appears after a Wells Fargo ad (lol).
I have been involved in exactly one protest in my life. This was in the days leading up to the Prop 8 vote in California. During that march, the cops were present. They actually seemed pleasant. They gave the impression of being there to protect us and to keep everyone safe. I don't recall any concerted effort to thwart our plans, to prevent us from taking photos or videos, or really to interact with us at all. They just remained on the sidelines. I think one of them let me pet his horse. It's entirely possible that I simply didn't witness any arrests, media censorship, or blockades. We were a big group marching through a large portion of L.A. My memory of the event, however, is that it was entirely peaceful and legal.
Coming from a positive (although ultimately unsuccessful) experience in L.A., the video of the police pretty actively trying to break up these peaceful protests on Wall Street astonishes me. The right to peaceful assembly is fundamental to the formation and continuation of our country. The cops shouldn't be forming barriers and human walls to divert traffic away from citizens'' intended point of convergence. They shouldn't arrest peaceful citizens who are merely sitting or standing on public sidewalks. They shouldn't tell citizens to stop photographing events. Freedom of the press is yet another right that helps to define us as a nation. Even allowing for bias in the article linked to above, I think the NYPD should be ashamed. People should be allowed to congregate on public streets and chant until their lungs give out. That's just part of how our democracy works. Any law that impedes this ability is suspect and probably unconstitutional. The law enforcement officers portrayed in this video need to check their loyalities.
Watch the video, which appears after a Wells Fargo ad (lol).
I have been involved in exactly one protest in my life. This was in the days leading up to the Prop 8 vote in California. During that march, the cops were present. They actually seemed pleasant. They gave the impression of being there to protect us and to keep everyone safe. I don't recall any concerted effort to thwart our plans, to prevent us from taking photos or videos, or really to interact with us at all. They just remained on the sidelines. I think one of them let me pet his horse. It's entirely possible that I simply didn't witness any arrests, media censorship, or blockades. We were a big group marching through a large portion of L.A. My memory of the event, however, is that it was entirely peaceful and legal.
Coming from a positive (although ultimately unsuccessful) experience in L.A., the video of the police pretty actively trying to break up these peaceful protests on Wall Street astonishes me. The right to peaceful assembly is fundamental to the formation and continuation of our country. The cops shouldn't be forming barriers and human walls to divert traffic away from citizens'' intended point of convergence. They shouldn't arrest peaceful citizens who are merely sitting or standing on public sidewalks. They shouldn't tell citizens to stop photographing events. Freedom of the press is yet another right that helps to define us as a nation. Even allowing for bias in the article linked to above, I think the NYPD should be ashamed. People should be allowed to congregate on public streets and chant until their lungs give out. That's just part of how our democracy works. Any law that impedes this ability is suspect and probably unconstitutional. The law enforcement officers portrayed in this video need to check their loyalities.