8 ms·

There have been numerous videos recorded of police brutally assaulting peaceful protestors without any kind of provocation. Just look at Buffalo PD shoving an e

There have been numerous videos recorded of police brutally assaulting peaceful protestors without any kind of provocation. Just look at Buffalo PD shoving an elderly man to the ground and creating a distraction as the cameras start turning on, or the bystander in Austin who was watching away from any crowds and was sniped with a bean bag round that fractured his skull. There’s been an unbelievable amount of violence perpetrated by police these last few weeks. You cannot stand by this argument if you’ve been watching the footage.

koolba 6y ago
> There’s been an unbelievable amount of violence perpetrated by police these last few weeks. You cannot stand by this argument if you’ve been watching the footage. There’s no way you can say with a straight face that the police have committed more acts of violence and destruction than the rioters.
- augustt 6y ago
  One side is state sanctioned, you don't see why that might be important? And I'm absolutely willing to bet that more _people_, not property have been injured by police than protesters.
- darkerside 6y ago
  Per capita
- save_ferris 6y ago
  So police violence is OK as long as it’s less than what the protestors do? That’s an absurd argument. Our taxes pay their salaries, and our taxes also pay their legal settlements and fees when they get caught up killing unarmed black men and women. They live in a system fundamentally devoid of accountability. They deploy tools like tears gas and poorly tested “less lethal” ammunition that still has the ability to permanently and critically injure targets. No amount of violence against peaceful protestors should be tolerated. The police exist to protect the public, not treat them like enemy combatants.
  - mindslight 6y ago
    > They deploy tools like tears gas and poorly tested “less lethal” ammunition Let's stop using abstract passive words like "deploy", and say what the police are actually doing - opening fire on crowds of protestors. I guess they're being nice by using ammo other than lead bullets like at Kent State, but fundamentally they're still shooting projectiles and innocent people are still being killed and maimed.
  - koolba 6y ago
    Anyone that showed up to an 11pm “protest” the day after looters and rioters commandeered the previous night’s gathering knows exactly what they’re enabling and and the risks involved. At that point you’re aiding and abetting the actions of the small minority that are directly causing the damage and in doing so you can’t complain to be caught in the literal crossfire. If a crowd of 1000 people has one person throw a brick at the police. I think it’s well within their rights to tear gas the entire group to disperse them.
    - augustt 6y ago
      My turn: if one cop in a crowd of 1000 commits an act of brutality, then it's well within our rights to defund them all.
      - roenxi 6y ago
        If by 'our' you mean the Public at Large, it is within your rights to defund them all. The main counterargument is how would that help? The violent cop would still be violent. If the police were abolished they'd sign up as a violent gang member, and if a new not-police body is created they'd sign up to that instead. There is always a most-violent gang on the streets; we just call them the police if they are state-sponsored and ask them to follow the law rather than their own opinions. Defunding the police won't help that dynamic.
    - save_ferris 6y ago
      > If a crowd of 1000 people has one person throw a brick at the police. I think it’s well within their rights to tear gas the entire group to disperse them. This is exactly what far right provocateurs want, to embed themselves inside legitimate protests and misbehave so that all are punished. Does that seem appropriate? Also, both cases of brutality I described above happened in broad daylight. Please tell me how this specific incident[0] represents appropriate conduct by the police. 0: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QFeewU0HhNE https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QFeewU0HhNE
- save_ferris 6y ago
  > There’s no way you can say with a straight face that the police have committed more acts of violence and destruction than the rioters. By this logic, the George Floyd death shouldn’t even be a controversy because the public at large commits more crime in aggregate than the police do.
- 8note 6y ago
  Medical costs are pretty high in the US. I don't imagine it takes many injured people to make the police damage more expensive than the rioters
- mulmen 6y ago
  Nobody made that claim. Your straw man cannot stand. There are many examples of unprovoked police violence nationwide. No amount of looting and rioting justifies unprovoked attacks on peaceful protesters. This isn't a game, there is no score.

koolba 6y ago

> There’s been an unbelievable amount of violence perpetrated by police these last few weeks. You cannot stand by this argument if you’ve been watching the footage. There’s no way you can say with a straight face that the police have committed more acts of violence and destruction than the rioters.

augustt 6y ago
One side is state sanctioned, you don't see why that might be important? And I'm absolutely willing to bet that more _people_, not property have been injured by police than protesters.
darkerside 6y ago
Per capita
save_ferris 6y ago
So police violence is OK as long as it’s less than what the protestors do? That’s an absurd argument. Our taxes pay their salaries, and our taxes also pay their legal settlements and fees when they get caught up killing unarmed black men and women. They live in a system fundamentally devoid of accountability. They deploy tools like tears gas and poorly tested “less lethal” ammunition that still has the ability to permanently and critically injure targets. No amount of violence against peaceful protestors should be tolerated. The police exist to protect the public, not treat them like enemy combatants.
- mindslight 6y ago
  > They deploy tools like tears gas and poorly tested “less lethal” ammunition Let's stop using abstract passive words like "deploy", and say what the police are actually doing - opening fire on crowds of protestors. I guess they're being nice by using ammo other than lead bullets like at Kent State, but fundamentally they're still shooting projectiles and innocent people are still being killed and maimed.
- koolba 6y ago
  Anyone that showed up to an 11pm “protest” the day after looters and rioters commandeered the previous night’s gathering knows exactly what they’re enabling and and the risks involved. At that point you’re aiding and abetting the actions of the small minority that are directly causing the damage and in doing so you can’t complain to be caught in the literal crossfire. If a crowd of 1000 people has one person throw a brick at the police. I think it’s well within their rights to tear gas the entire group to disperse them.
  - augustt 6y ago
    My turn: if one cop in a crowd of 1000 commits an act of brutality, then it's well within our rights to defund them all.
    - roenxi 6y ago
      If by 'our' you mean the Public at Large, it is within your rights to defund them all. The main counterargument is how would that help? The violent cop would still be violent. If the police were abolished they'd sign up as a violent gang member, and if a new not-police body is created they'd sign up to that instead. There is always a most-violent gang on the streets; we just call them the police if they are state-sponsored and ask them to follow the law rather than their own opinions. Defunding the police won't help that dynamic.
  - save_ferris 6y ago
    > If a crowd of 1000 people has one person throw a brick at the police. I think it’s well within their rights to tear gas the entire group to disperse them. This is exactly what far right provocateurs want, to embed themselves inside legitimate protests and misbehave so that all are punished. Does that seem appropriate? Also, both cases of brutality I described above happened in broad daylight. Please tell me how this specific incident[0] represents appropriate conduct by the police. 0: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QFeewU0HhNE https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QFeewU0HhNE
save_ferris 6y ago
> There’s no way you can say with a straight face that the police have committed more acts of violence and destruction than the rioters. By this logic, the George Floyd death shouldn’t even be a controversy because the public at large commits more crime in aggregate than the police do.
8note 6y ago
Medical costs are pretty high in the US. I don't imagine it takes many injured people to make the police damage more expensive than the rioters
mulmen 6y ago
Nobody made that claim. Your straw man cannot stand. There are many examples of unprovoked police violence nationwide. No amount of looting and rioting justifies unprovoked attacks on peaceful protesters. This isn't a game, there is no score.