7 ms·

I have a question, do people really protest in designated areas in the US? I know sometimes there are riots but from what I can see on the media it looks like p

by mrtksn 4y ago

I have a question, do people really protest in designated areas in the US? I know sometimes there are riots but from what I can see on the media it looks like people gather somewhere close to the subject and chant and wave banners. I find it strange because in Europe the norm is to disturb the daily life. Farmers spray policemen with milk, train operators stop working, the younger and more anarchist ones burn cars and clash with the police, the more pacifist ones tie or glue themselves to something making a huge scene.

cool_dude85 4y ago
In the US, the police (and people not involved in the protests) will happily beat you up, run you over, or shoot and kill you for disruptive protests.
- AYBABTME 4y ago
  I mean, they won't just happily do _all_ of that. You're exaggerating a bit and using extreme cases as if they were the norm. In particular you may say this with a straight face only if you're unaware of how this actually is the common reality of other countries. We've all heard of cases of police running over crowds in some circumstances, or of the odd shooting (actually when?). But that's not what the average protester in the US will realistically, honestly deal with on the average protest.
  - sophacles 4y ago
    I've participated in quite a bit of peaceful protesting. I've never been shot at, but the number of times I've been teargassed for being in a park or on a sidewalk during the "permitted hours" and in the "designated zone" is much higher than the expected 0.
  - Maxious 4y ago
    At least 830 documented incidents in 2020 including over 140 police violence incidents against journalists specifically. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_police_violence_incidents_during_George_Floyd_protests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_police_violence_incide... There have been 104 incidents of vehicles driving into protests between May 27 and September 27, 2020, with two fatalities in that time period https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vehicle-ramming_incidents_during_George_Floyd_protests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vehicle-ramming_incide...
- oneoff786 4y ago
  While police violence is a problem, this comment is wildly off base.
  - thrower_away 4y ago
    I don't think it's wildly off base: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS-RWsl7l5c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS-RWsl7l5c
    - oneoff786 4y ago
      This is a noteworthy outlier that received significant criticism. It is not normative. And while pepper spray is non trivial, it is a far cry from: > happily beat you up, run you over, or shoot and kill you for disruptive protests.
- sophacles 4y ago
  Be fair. They'll do that for peaceful non-disruptive protests. Usually the term riot is applied after the cops start tear-gassing and the news can re-frame footage of people running away as "dangerous rioters". Fun fact: most people arrested at protests end up arrested because they try to follow police instructions to disperse. The police keep directing them into a closed off area (aka bottling) and then arrest them in for failure to disperse.
feet 4y ago
In the US I bet any farmer who sprays police with milk would be instantly shot
- xyzzyz 4y ago
  Two years ago, we had protesters literally set police precinct on fire, and not only nobody got shot, but in fact nobody faced any consequences.
  - zdragnar 4y ago
    They didn't just set it on fire, they literally burned it to the ground. I watched live streams of the police abandoning the precinct building. Elsewhere, people were firing fireworks mortars into occupied federal buildings, with little to no recourse. "Good" protesters were overshadowed in media coverage of "bad" protesters, but I also saw a grocery store get completely ransacked for no reason other than people decided they could. There was so much damage that the store was closed for months to renovate, turning a poor neighborhood into a food desert.
    - sophacles 4y ago
      Those "bad" protesters were from the "pro police" side: https://www.police1.com/george-floyd-protest/articles/man-sentenced-to-4-years-for-minneapolis-police-station-fire-nKd5RboPPFKRy53f/ https://www.police1.com/george-floyd-protest/articles/man-se...
      - zdragnar 4y ago
        According to the article, only one of the five people charged was a member of the boogaloo boys, and he was charged for firing a weapon; he wasn't involved in any of the arson charges. Also note the entire crowd chanting "burn it down".
  - sophacles 4y ago
    This is a lie. They were convicted and sentenced to prison: https://www.police1.com/george-floyd-protest/articles/man-sentenced-to-4-years-for-minneapolis-police-station-fire-nKd5RboPPFKRy53f/ https://www.police1.com/george-floyd-protest/articles/man-se... Also worth noting that the people who started the fire were there because they thought people protesting police violence was bad - they weren't dangerous liberals or antifa or whatever other nonsense you'll spew: they were far-right "bugaloo boys"
karaterobot 4y ago
> I have a question, do people really protest in designated areas in the US? No, people can protest wherever they want as a rule, under the freedom of assembly clause in the first amendment. It's pretty clear, and is well established (as are the exceptions). The wording of Article 12 in the E.U. fundamental rights charter is, by my reading, purposefully more restrictive than how the Supreme Court has generally interpreted "Freedom of Assembly" in the U.S., but I am not an expert on that. In practice, you sometimes see things like "Free Speech Zones", which are indeed Orwellian, but also controversial and exceptional. You shouldn't think of them as the rule, because you also see things like the CHOP in Seattle.

by mrtksn 4y ago

cool_dude85 4y ago

In the US, the police (and people not involved in the protests) will happily beat you up, run you over, or shoot and kill you for disruptive protests.

AYBABTME 4y ago
I mean, they won't just happily do _all_ of that. You're exaggerating a bit and using extreme cases as if they were the norm. In particular you may say this with a straight face only if you're unaware of how this actually is the common reality of other countries. We've all heard of cases of police running over crowds in some circumstances, or of the odd shooting (actually when?). But that's not what the average protester in the US will realistically, honestly deal with on the average protest.
- sophacles 4y ago
  I've participated in quite a bit of peaceful protesting. I've never been shot at, but the number of times I've been teargassed for being in a park or on a sidewalk during the "permitted hours" and in the "designated zone" is much higher than the expected 0.
- Maxious 4y ago
  At least 830 documented incidents in 2020 including over 140 police violence incidents against journalists specifically. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_police_violence_incidents_during_George_Floyd_protests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_police_violence_incide... There have been 104 incidents of vehicles driving into protests between May 27 and September 27, 2020, with two fatalities in that time period https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vehicle-ramming_incidents_during_George_Floyd_protests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vehicle-ramming_incide...
oneoff786 4y ago
While police violence is a problem, this comment is wildly off base.
- thrower_away 4y ago
  I don't think it's wildly off base: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS-RWsl7l5c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS-RWsl7l5c
  - oneoff786 4y ago
    This is a noteworthy outlier that received significant criticism. It is not normative. And while pepper spray is non trivial, it is a far cry from: > happily beat you up, run you over, or shoot and kill you for disruptive protests.
sophacles 4y ago
Be fair. They'll do that for peaceful non-disruptive protests. Usually the term riot is applied after the cops start tear-gassing and the news can re-frame footage of people running away as "dangerous rioters". Fun fact: most people arrested at protests end up arrested because they try to follow police instructions to disperse. The police keep directing them into a closed off area (aka bottling) and then arrest them in for failure to disperse.

feet 4y ago

In the US I bet any farmer who sprays police with milk would be instantly shot

xyzzyz 4y ago
Two years ago, we had protesters literally set police precinct on fire, and not only nobody got shot, but in fact nobody faced any consequences.
- zdragnar 4y ago
  They didn't just set it on fire, they literally burned it to the ground. I watched live streams of the police abandoning the precinct building. Elsewhere, people were firing fireworks mortars into occupied federal buildings, with little to no recourse. "Good" protesters were overshadowed in media coverage of "bad" protesters, but I also saw a grocery store get completely ransacked for no reason other than people decided they could. There was so much damage that the store was closed for months to renovate, turning a poor neighborhood into a food desert.
  - sophacles 4y ago
    Those "bad" protesters were from the "pro police" side: https://www.police1.com/george-floyd-protest/articles/man-sentenced-to-4-years-for-minneapolis-police-station-fire-nKd5RboPPFKRy53f/ https://www.police1.com/george-floyd-protest/articles/man-se...
    - zdragnar 4y ago
      According to the article, only one of the five people charged was a member of the boogaloo boys, and he was charged for firing a weapon; he wasn't involved in any of the arson charges. Also note the entire crowd chanting "burn it down".
- sophacles 4y ago
  This is a lie. They were convicted and sentenced to prison: https://www.police1.com/george-floyd-protest/articles/man-sentenced-to-4-years-for-minneapolis-police-station-fire-nKd5RboPPFKRy53f/ https://www.police1.com/george-floyd-protest/articles/man-se... Also worth noting that the people who started the fire were there because they thought people protesting police violence was bad - they weren't dangerous liberals or antifa or whatever other nonsense you'll spew: they were far-right "bugaloo boys"

karaterobot 4y ago

> I have a question, do people really protest in designated areas in the US? No, people can protest wherever they want as a rule, under the freedom of assembly clause in the first amendment. It's pretty clear, and is well established (as are the exceptions). The wording of Article 12 in the E.U. fundamental rights charter is, by my reading, purposefully more restrictive than how the Supreme Court has generally interpreted "Freedom of Assembly" in the U.S., but I am not an expert on that. In practice, you sometimes see things like "Free Speech Zones", which are indeed Orwellian, but also controversial and exceptional. You shouldn't think of them as the rule, because you also see things like the CHOP in Seattle.