Originally posted by BohemianBrim

no offense, but this authoritarian "youre weak go home you dont belong here" crap is exactly what they are protesting against.

if you dont get it, then dont pretend to.

Oh I do get it, and getting it is what makes this sad to watch. If Occupy had set out for the long haul and accepted this was a marathon for months, not a sprint to expect results in weeks, this would have had a serious chance of building public sympathy and support. Instead, it's become a degenerating race for the most outrageous and generally infuriating things they can manage to do to turn off ANYONE in the public who isn't 100% for them. Well, they've succeeded and they're likely going to find out soon just how large a % of the public they've done it to.

Marathon...would have worked, I believe. Sprint, REQUIRES violence to even have hope of working. Nothing else could bring results on whatever compressed timeline some seem to believe this has to happen under. That is sad...because it's not just pushing, it's forcing confrontation with cops who aren't looking for this. They don't enjoy getting hurt or hurting others (In MOST cases) yet....what to do? Just outright deed the land to OWS? I mean, it's being outright CLAIMED as OWS property in more than one place and with such a sense of entitlement, the public is just sick of it all.

Originally posted by MrWendal
In another thread that showed a video of protesters who had their arms linked together. Police began jabbing them with their batons. As I watched that video, I knew what I would do in that situation and I even posted the same remark. If it were me, this is what would happen. Sooner or later, someone is gonna do it, and I was right. Someone did do it, only this time it was a cop. Seeing as how there has been a progression of defensive tactics from protesters, how long do you think it will be until one of these protesters actually does it?

Fair enough on what you're saying there. This is bound to keep escalating and that is a disturbing thing to see. I do believe the pushing to a fight is coming from both sides though and protesters aren't even willing or able to see and admit their part in how these are developing. I've noted that there are definitely exceptions to that, but for the most part, it takes two to tango.

How would peaceful protesters be pushing? Well.... There is something people seem to lose sight of with both cops and soldiers. They're human too. They feel emotions and respond to perceptions just like everyone else. They feel FEAR, insecurity and anxiety just like everyone else. When protesters who outnumber the police at 3 or more to 1 start crowding a thin line of cops, it SCARES them. This is something they won't admit. EVER. However, I'm not guessing. As a cops kid, I saw it and heard about it. Cops react when scared and usually with violence. It's the training and years dealing with the absolute worst the human species has to offer.

It also doesn't help when they have cops being attacked with knives or razors like the two in San Francisco the other day just trying to control the crowd in an intersection. These cops also KNOW many of the people in the camps that protesters don't necessarily know that much about. They've arrested them many times and they've seen the victims of what some of those camp members are capable of producing. There ARE reasons why some of these Police Departments aren't playing any games whatsoever. Just something to consider as you watch and react to the tactics.....they do too. It's a self perpetuating cycle to a really tragic end if OWS doesn't start to de-escalate things, and soon.