tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379287241318002122.post7674908522017425903..comments2024-01-28T08:54:32.914-06:00Comments on That's interesting...: Pepper spraying at UC-DavisBill Garthrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08552459555883204060noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379287241318002122.post-25088071768843030972011-11-21T17:28:38.969-06:002011-11-21T17:28:38.969-06:00I'd like to believe that the average police pe...I'd like to believe that the average police person would not do what that guy did, even if they were trained to. It showed a tremendous lack of empathy. And I can't believe police procedures teach police to pepper spray like that. One article I read said it should be used 15 feet away from the person being sprayed. And if I was a cop I'd only use it on ass-holes actively causing trouble.<br /><br />All the cops had to do was walk up to a person in the line and say, "You'r under arrest, will you walk or will you be carried" and those people could have made their decision.Jim Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09953679196185650753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379287241318002122.post-23358902708721306272011-11-21T15:38:10.200-06:002011-11-21T15:38:10.200-06:00True, Jim. And if the crowd had become violent, th...True, Jim. And if the crowd had become violent, that would have justified the use of pepper-spray in the minds of the police, and in the minds of most Americans.<br /><br />That "shame on you" showed very clearly that they'd used very harsh tactics on perfectly peaceful protestors, ordinary people who were no threat to them or to anyone. I hope they started to realize that.<br /><br />But I"m not so sure this was an overly-zealous police officer. He didn't appear angry or scared. He was perfectly calm about it. He was, I'm sure, following the police procedures he'd been taught.<br /><br />The problem is, these days, we train the police to look on everyone as a terrorist. And if you can torture a prisoner to find out if he knows anything about terrorism, you can surely pepper-spray peaceful protestors. After all, the point is to maintain the peace, right?<br /><br />And the end justifies the means.Bill Garthrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08552459555883204060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379287241318002122.post-15317136165711182222011-11-21T13:59:02.559-06:002011-11-21T13:59:02.559-06:00Everyone is talking about the first part of the vi...Everyone is talking about the first part of the video, where the officer sprays the kids as casually as spraying for roaches. But no one is talking about the second half of the video, where the protesters keep chanting, "Shame on you, shame on you," until the police back away. I think the police realized that had done something wrong. Many of them looked guilty. I bet a lot of them wished they had stopped the the sprayer.<br /><br />But the chanting of "shame on you" became very effective. I wonder if the police began to realize that they would be living with this incident for the rest of their lives and changed their minds when they walked away, or were they just afraid of the crowd, or afraid of creating an even larger incident. Were these men and women even trained properly for non-violent protests?<br /><br />There are over zealot protesters that ruin a protest march, and their are over zealot police that ruin proper police procedures. There are times when pepper spray is needed, but this just wasn't one of them.Jim Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09953679196185650753noreply@blogger.com