Posted on 10/26/2011 4:23:57 PM PDT by EBH
You know this guy got shot in the face, right? By, probably, a "rubber" bullet. When the whole time, the cops had tear gas and were using it quite effectively.
Given those facts, what's your theory?
I don’t wish harm on the guy. But I also believe we are accountable for our actions.
Nobody twisted this guy’s arm (that I know of) to put himself on that street at that point in time.
I am waiting to see when the police let loose on the Tea Party.
Still waiting...
Guy lost it or something.
When I was a kid my little brother would annoy me until I over-reacted and beat him up. Then he would run Mom & Dad and I would get in trouble. Everything I know a bout being an OWS protester I learned in kindergarten.
Right, since there's no obligation for police to use appropriate force. Hell, the whole crown is lucky they weren't machine-gunned to death and then napalmed.
After all, they were told to disperse.
What else is there to consider?
My theory is that perhaps the guy was unintentionally hit in the face by a rubber bullet that was poorly aimed or a ricochet.
I don’t have any training in crowd control with those devices, but I know for a fact they are not trained (in this country) to deliberately aim them at people’s heads, be it a beanbag or a rubber bullet.
Yeah. Seems to be a lot of people creating accounts in the past few months engaging in that type of behavior.
I read reports that he was hit by tear gas cannister.
Well, I surely don’t doubt he was concussed, whether he was hit in the head with a rubber bullet, a beanbag or a canister.
Being hit with an airborne tear gas canister sure seems to me it could fracture your skull or concuss you.
My personal feeling is that there are people in these various movements (in the model of Abbie Hoffman and Tom Hayden) who wish for useful idiots (like this injured guy) to serve as cannon fodder for their “change” to be implemented and accelerated.
That's what happened to a college girl outside of Fenway park after the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004.
Okay My Fellow Freepers, let me ask you all this: At what point does a protest of the government no longer follow the government edicts. For example, we all know that the citizenry has the basic natural right to petition the government for its grievances. When the government ignores the petition for redress-do citizens have the natural right to press the government even further?
I do not agree with OWS at all. They are flailing at the wind. But what about when the Tea Party or the 53%’ers decide to have a protracted protest? When they fail to disperse, should they? Or, should they take the bullets and move this thing to its ultimate conclusion, which is either the citizens win, or the government wins.
I only see one outcome here, and so far it is that the Government wins with its natural road toward fascism/totalitarianism.
Looks like he got the well-deserved Zot.
“But what about when the Tea Party or the 53%’ers decide to have a protracted protest?”
I wonder if we’re having that protracted protest right now. Can you remember this country ever being so divided as it is right now?
Bottom line, the police are trained to fire those things at the legs, not the head, but I don't doubt for a second that a hothead cop would, in the heat of the moment, fire one at someone's head (especially if they had just been hit with a beer bottle or a rock)
I think it is silly to imagine them strategizing about it beforehand, as some imply. I can just see the guy in charge saying "Jones...you have the tear gas gun. I want you to plant one in the forehead of the nearest protester. The rest of you, when he goes down, toss a flash bang right in the middle of the group that tries to deliver aid. Any questions?"
That's what the whole argument is. They made the decision to press this thing so they moved forward into the flying tear gas canisters and rubber bullets. They made their choice, knowing they would probably get hurt. I'm sorry he got hurt but I'm not sorry for the decision he made.
Now if it was some innocent bystander getting beaned by a canister completely away from the scene then the cops should be held accountable.
I think Ann Coulter was spot on in her recent book “Demonic”. One of the reasons America has been successful is that we do not generally succumb to the rule of the mob, and haven’t tolerated it. George Washington personally put down the Whiskey Rebellion and set the tone.
At what point does a legal protest become an illegal protest? I think these Occupy Whatever people, from Oakland to Boston, have crossed the line already and are counting on the tolerance and restraint of law enforcement to continue.
I say this and I am removed from it. If I lived within hearing, smelling or seeing distance of one of these abominations, I would demand the authorities put an end to it, especially with them crapping on my lawn and banging drums.
People have to take sides in this. Does the rule of law mean anything, or is it the rule of the mob, the law is whatever the mob feels it is that day? I don’t see totalitarianism in this, I see the enforcement of the rule of law.
I am not being pedantic here, but it is important to define "Citizen" and "Government".
In my opinion, I submit to representative government because it will provide some things for me that I may not be able to efficiently provide for myself, such as security, law and order.
We have laws, and if people are breaking laws that my representative government has enacted on my behalf and with my consent, does the government interfering with the actions of those people mean that the "Citizens" lose?
I don't really think so.
I see your point. But, again, I return to the premise, if the government no longer represents the citizenry, but its own self interest, or perhaps corporate owners, does the citizenry have the right to protracted protest?
Remember, only about 30% of the colonials ever backed the rebellion against their fellow british.
So, if this is a battle against the crown, at what point do we as citizens say “your laws and regulations” no longer apply?
It is my personal opinion that it will matter not one twit what happens at the ballot box come 2012. The fix is in, we are just arguing whether we want totalitarianism lite/ or totalitarianism heavy. The boot on the back of the neck will be a boot just the same.
The nonsense of this “leftist” theater of the street is just that, nonsense. But, we can all agree that there “is something happening here...” We can all agree that things have changed within our own lifetimes and it ain’t for the good.
If the Tea party, or the 53%’ers every really take to the streets, TBTB will not wait a month to tamp it down, it will be done within hours.
Can’t you feel it in the air? Hell, the TSA is stopping random folks along highways and bus stations. How long before the citizenry says enough to this nonsense?
There was a riot here in Columbus on the OSU campus after the OSU-Michigan game several years ago. A kid was hit in the head by a “knee-knocker” projectile (he recovered), the victim of a bad bounce. The Columbus Police policy is to fire into the pavement in order to hit in the legs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
