Students who were protesting by sitting in a line arms, linked together. After refusing to clear out, police responded by spraying them in the face with pepper spray, while onlookers screamed, indignant and outraged.
After hearing about this incident, I found this NPR piece, with a video of the police brutality. In light of our unit about Civil Liberties during Perilous Times, this case drew chilling parallels to the Kent State University Shootings in Vietnam War. Both were horrible displays of how the First Amendment has been infringed upon.
This case seems completely absurd, and would appear to be a disgrace to our constitution.
But, the NPR article raises a point in the very beginning of the article.
"Hundreds were injured and at least one person died Saturday in Cairo when police swept through a camp of protesters in Tahrir Square. A crackdown continues in Syria. Yemen's oppressive government remains in place.
It's always important to keep things in perspective."
Internationally, much more grave situations are occurring, and many countries would look at this issue as minor.
Should we measure the success of our nation by our own standards, or on a global scale?
How much should perspective be considered? Does this change the light in which you view the Pepper spray incident at all?
P.S: Watch the video of the chancellor of UC Davis walking to her car after the pepper spray use- It is an amazing reminder of the power of peaceful protest.
As much as I disagree with the Occupy Wall street protesters, I find it wrong that their protests were stopped and their freedom of assembly was infringed upon. In my opinion, as long as protesters don't get in the way of civilians on the streets and businesses, they should be free express whatever they want. Also, I think the police is one of the reasons why so many of these protests are becoming violent. The police get the protesters even more upset, and to me it's no coincidence that that is when the violence begins. The pepper spray incidents are nothing Americans should be proud of.
ReplyDeleteI agree with David's statement that, "the police is one of the reasons why so many of these protests are becoming violent." This reminds me of the Chicago DNC in 1986 when the police attacked innocent pedestrians, peaceful protesters, and the press that we learned about in class. This is just another example where the police clearly overstepped their limits and cause more chaos than was preset before their intervention.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I think it is a good idea to keep things in perspective, I still think that this incident was a violation of the students right to peaceably assemble. I think that if you always take the position that "things could be worse" that you ignore the little things and this sets a precedent for bigger problems later on. I don't think we should ever overlook violations of peoples freedom.