by Debra Sweet
August, 2009, in
September, 2009, in
For whom did the batons, gas, sound weapons, National Guard and curfews get deployed? Who got arrested? Who got endless news coverage and who got almost none? Whose free speech was protected and who was criminalized?
Outraged by the police/military repression of protest at the G-20 in
Debra Sweet, Director, The World Can’t Wait
To make blanket statements based upon two cited instances in my opinion is a bit short-sighted (which granted my opinion is worth about as much you paid to read it). If I were to make a generalization, it would be that protesting in public is an inherently risky course of action (I’m not saying that’s right or wrong/just or unjust, just saying it is). That being said, the old saying goes something along the lines of when you play with fire, you’re going to get burned every now and then. So it really boils down to risk management. Are you willing to take a few lumps in pursuit of expressing your beliefs and opinions? To those that say yes, I applaud you and phrase your efforts because clearly you understand that to make change is not an overnight occurrence and it is not without some amount of pain. To those that whine about the actions of the police and military, I pity you since you obviously do not study history that much nor think more than about 5 minutes into the future.
These \”protesters\” in front and in the middle of the health care town halls are explicitly racist in their opposition to Obama\’s government. It\’s entirely UNACCEPTABLE,and armed fools like this dude in the photo are calling for reactionary violence, intended to silence and intimidate us all. But they get treated like \”grass roots\” concerned citizens, while students who weren\’t even protesting get beaten, poisoned, and attacked with \”non-lethal\” weapons like a sound cannon that even Bush didn\’t use!
Debra Sweet did not imply that those carrying arms should be targeted instead of G20 protestors, you projected that position on to her when her short message says nothing of the short. Ms. Sweet is pointing out hypocrisy, and the fact is that police more often respond in force to protesters on the liberal side of issues than on the conservative side of issues. Clearly, this is a hypocrisy that many are uncomfortable to get into, but the facts speak for themselves. Those holding only signs seem to be more often targeted by police than those holding signs and carrying weapons. Neither of the two should be targeted, as both are exercising their rights.
Debra although I agree with you that the use of harmful weapons against the G20 protesters is completely wrong, I have to disagree with you for implying in your article that Americans who own guns and exercise their 2nd Amendment rights should be targeted instead of G20 protesters. As Americans we have the right to own guns in order to defend ourselves against Tyrants, just as Thomas Jefferson states in the quote you mention in your article. Please do not try to defend rights of some while speaking against the rights of others, it would be hypocrisy by your part.