Posted on 09/27/2009 11:20:21 AM PDT by Starman417
I spent the entire night of September 25-26, 2009 following the g20 protests on Twitter, YouTube, and many related websites that were steaming live information about the event and I drew many important lessons from a night that will go down in infamy in American history.
On the 25th, thousands of protesters (possibly millions according to some online accounts) descended upon Pittsburgh, PA to demonstrate for various causes at the G20 Summit. It was the second day of marching. There were socialists, anarchists, and environmentalists; everyone from veteran protesters who were marching in the 60s to wide-eyed college kids drawn by the idealism and excitement. Some were there to protest peacefully while others were there to cause violence and property damage.
One man, who has yet to reveal his real name, caused over $20,000 of damage singlehandedly by smashing between 12-15 shop windows during the march.
To contain such instigators, and to keep demonstrators on the marching path, the Pittsburgh Police Department was dispatched in full riot gear. For a currently unknown reason, violence broke out. Both sides claim that the other acted first. As seen in the video link below there were helicopters with floodlights, APCs with loudspeakers and sound cannons, tear gas, rubber bullets, ballistic beanbags, and German Shepherds (as seen in another video taken on site.) Police did not hold back when attempting to disperse crowds and used all legal force at their disposal. They were caught off guard in February, they wouldn't be caught off guard now. There was general chaos in the city and it spilled over into a university campus and involved innocent bystanders.
In some YouTube videos, sizable crowds of college kids can be seen running for safety away from police.
This video gives an excellent sense of the police crackdown from a student's point of view.
From this perspective it may seem that we live in a fascist state that oppresses those who speak out against government policies. However, a closer examination of the organizers of the march reveals the truth behind the violence and subsequent propaganda.
On Twitter an energetic young woman tweeted a link to a video which seems to show police oppressing peaceful protesters who are simply acting under the 1st amendment.
See the video here.
A closer look reveals that the man with the megaphone who is spontaneously spouting libertarian rhetoric on a spur of the moment feeling is actually a grizzled revolutionary with a track record of arrests and public disruption.
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net
My original thread was HERE.
From everything I saw personally and heard about later the police acted professionally with great restraint. I can imagine the disappointment of the protestors for having such a pathetic showing and of the ACLU types for not having any bloody shirts to wave around.
Belated ping.
Thanx for the ping.
Yeah, the mostly unarmed college kids looked awfully threatening to me.
Totally overblown.
This ought to scare the crap out of Americans.
I hear all the time here at FR about how the military and police won’t act against the constitution—BUNK!
They will follow whatever orders are handed down to them from their increasingly tyrannical leaders.
It would appear that FReepers will show up late to this fact.
Advanced weaponry, dogs, tear gas, rubber bullets for college kids.
Just another day. Nothing to see here.
Land of the ‘free’ home of the LRAD.
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