Why we are proud of our protestors!

Great thread. There was a lot of bravery shown that weekend, in the face of overwhelming, state-sanctioned violent aggression. Kudos!

I wonder though if the same level of smuggery would be on the faces of the police if everyone around them were sporting baseball bats.

Well yes, that was evident.  I didn't see any objections either, which speaks to the effects of institutionalized patriarchy, and the cover thy back mentality regardless of circumstances.

That type of provocation can't be reasoned with you know.  Nor can it be addressed in a court of law to where a different outcome could be expected the next time around.  The act of arresting those protestors is an act of state sanctioned violence against young, peaceful citizens who may have previously reasoned that they were dealing with an entity which respects democracy and the rule of law.  That battleground is no place for peaceniks, who will only get themselves trampled on.  It's a better venue for the far left, who may be willing to devise a more appropriate response than soap bubbles.

Great thread - thanks for this, Cueball.

Slumberjack, this comes across like some more big swinging dick, to be honest. More dick isn't what I need in the streets.

It also seems like a real effort you aren't letting up on - that there is only one way to be a protester to be proud of. Otherwise you are a weak little thing that needs pwotection. The "w" is on purpose. The notion is infantilizing. Something done to women far too much as it is. If the vanguard to the possible new world represents more of the same, no thanks.

It would be great to keep this thread focused on positive examples, from each of our varied perspectives, rather than yet another fest of pulling down the others' tactics.

How is your imagined magic land of gender equity working out on the streets? And why is it that your imagining of this balance is so powerful that you didn't bother to mention it until now?

The bubble blower is female. And she doesn't seem to ask for a thug to intervene and be a mirror to the cop.

Please, don't speak for me. Thanks.

writer wrote:

How is your imagined magic land of gender equity working out on the streets? And why is it that your imagining of this balance is so powerful that you didn't bother to mention it until now?

I don't recall mentioning 'power' as one of my motivations for commenting in this fashion.  You'll just have to take my word, or not, that the interests of representation would be best served by having those subjected to the beatings and arrests trained to do something other than being led to police wagons for the impudence of blowing soap bubbles.

Slumberjack wrote:

Seems to me that the left needs a protection force of its own for these occasions, outfitted with similar gear to what the corporate police use, in order to protect people against the random violence of bastards with badges.  A rough guesstimate, but five hundred or so willing volunteers drawn from across the country for these events should be enough to impress upon the police that they cannot act with impunity against defenceless people without consequences.

You will never win by playing the police's game on their field with their rules. Frankly, this is football.

(edit) but yes. Sorry to digress into tactics.

Slumberjack wrote:

Seems to me that the left needs a protection force of its own for these occasions, outfitted with similar gear to what the corporate police use, in order to protect people against the random violence of bastards with badges.  A rough guesstimate, but five hundred or so willing volunteers drawn from across the country for these events should be enough to impress upon the police that they cannot act with impunity against defenceless people without consequences.

I support this concept of a citizens' protest protection force. During the Douglas Lake Blockade in 1995, the people of the Indigenous community involved were deemed to have violated a provincial injunction against impeding the operations of the Douglas Lake Cattle Ranch. The RCMP were set to invade at dawn.

That evening, after an amazing community dinner complete with entertainment, people were separated into groups and given specific tasks by way of responding to the impending police raid. Some were given pads and pencils, posted to specific geographic locations along the blockade route the police would be forcing entry to, and given detailed instructions to record what they witnessed. Some had cameras, some had tape recorders. Other action groups were given their own tasks and instructions for the morning.

The physical resistance to the police raid was also organized. My particular favourite aspect was a very large heavy knotted rope which would be strung across the narrow, one-lane entry road, between two groups of mounted riders on each side of the road. At a certain point where the police formation would march along this road, the rope would be used to sweep them off their jackboots and knock them over like so many bowling pins. I saw it tested and it was very effective and impressive. As well the community fire-engine was ready to aim some high pressure water jets against the invasion force as well.

It would never have occurred to that amazing and creative community to just go limp and allow themselves to be manhandled into custody without struggle by the police or not to make an attempt to actually oppose and prevent the breaking of their blockade and the defeat of their struggle/action. As it happened negotiations negated the necessity. Of course you can't do this with just any porous come one come all mixed bag rabble.

Personally, I am not constitutionally inclined or prepared to permit an abusive police assault upon my person without struggle. I am not alone in this. I realize that a 'protest' or march is not necessarily the same thing as the story I relate, but it certainly makes sense to me to have some people prepared and trained to resist or respond to a police attack in some way. I agree with Writer though, that the big swinging dickhead mentality is absolutely NOT what is required. Macho meat-headed morons are the last thing one needs in such a formation.  I would envisage such a defence component to be composed of both men and women of various types and thoroughly creative in the uses and possibilities of physical resistance. They are really just the logical development of the protest 'marshall' concept perhaps.

Perhaps the main point that emerges here - is that just as the PTB are constantly revising and 'improving' their tactics and strategies against people's oppositions and demonstrations, so too should those on the receiving end of police and state oppression, try to learn from past mistakes and dated ineffective responses. There should be systematic study and research into tools and strategies for successful physical resistance to police aggression.  Many people the world over have been attacked by the police. Some of the responses can be shown to be more effective than others in mitigating or defeating these. 

Slumberjack's proposal is a worthy one in my view and deserves more careful consideration.

6079_Smith_W wrote:

 You will never win by playing the police's game on their field with their rules. Frankly, this is football.

Just as it seems that people who feel it is their right to protest what we should all protest, without fear of being assaulted on the streets of their own communities, will never be able to effectively communicate their objections to police brutality unless they learn to speak to them in the only language that they appear to understand. It becomes a matter of determining how many people beaten up and arrested in the streets society is willing to tolerate before deciding that something should be done about it. Being personally against violence, I don't really have the answer to this problem, just a share of the anger that comes from seeing this uncompromising spectacle of power in Toronto, and elsewhere on other occasions. By comparison though, the voices of those who council pacifism at any cost in the face of this brutality sound more and more like pied pipers leading everyone over the cliff of indefinite servitude.

I think I understand your intent here writer.  You simply do not like what I have to say, so you feel the need to rudely and disrespectfully deflect the substance of the remarks with repetitive and disruptive topic conformity drivel.  Fine enough then.

Thank you, it comes as a welcomed relief for me.

but seriously, yes...you fought a hopeless battle using hopeless tactics...and you probably accomplished very little...

i cant help but respect that!

ill probably join you folks for the next one

Toronto police are set to release a "top 10 most wanted list" of protesters they suspect caused vandalism and violence during the G20 weekend.

The police's G20 investigative team will hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET to ask for the public's help in identifying people they are accusing of criminal activity during the protests, particularly on June 26, the first day of the two-day summit.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/07/14/g20-most-wanted576.html#ixzz0tg9Gg5Ty