A quick note on the whole occupy movement:
If a bunch of people with arguably lower than average IQ were camped out on your property, non-violent or not, how long would you tolerate it before you started macing the morons? Protest? Sure… within reason and within a reasonable time frame.. but any protest longer than say 72 hours is no longer a protest, but an attempt to FORCE authorities into actively removing them physically.
One of the articles covering the occupy UC Davis situation had this tidbit:
“”I had my arms around my girlfriend. I just kissed her on the forehead and then he sprayed us,” he said. “Immediately we were blinded. … He just sprayed us again and again and we were completely powerless to do anything.”
Here is an idea.. you COULD have walked away when they asked you to leave… course, that means having to think rationally rather than emotionally. Most of these idiots are wasting their time.
Here’s the thing… What caused the pepper spray incident in the first place? Did the campus police simply walk up to random people and spray them? No. The people were asked numerous times to vacate their tent city. They refused. They collectively ignored the requests from lawfully appointed representatives of the property to disperse. They were warned that they would be arrested and steps would be taken to remove them physically, again they ignored the requests. Any REASONABLE person would see that there was an escalation of their methods to end the protest. The low IQ protesters ignored all signs that bodily injury was possible. Was the campus police reaction warranted? It is arguable since I wasn’t there and the only media reports seem to ask people who are associated with the protest. A reasonable person doesn’t expect to be maced obviously, but a reasonable person can be expected to follow the law as well as those trying to keep it.
I am all for peaceful assembly. What I am against is a military occupation of property. I think it really all boils down to common sense. These idiots are no better than the facists campus police who used mace to deal with peaceful protesters (though again, seeing video I can see quite a few protesters who were ANYTHING but peaceful).
I’m pretty liberal… but i just think there are more constructive ways to change the system. Most of these geniuses staging protests would be much better off using that energy and passion to get involved in government and change it from the inside than sitting with a bunch of slackers wishing things were different.