LanceOregon
Moderator
What do you do if you are ever confronted by an aggressive political protester who wants to use you in order to make a political point?
For example: We had a most bizarre protest here in Oregon yesterday, by a group called CPWP: Crazy People for Wildlife Protection. They were protesting the use of pesticides in keeping harmful insect populations down. Perhaps they don't want mosquitoes to die? Or maybe they feel there is an overall harmful effect to the ecology. Anyway, all of these protesters looked like they were hippies who had traveled through time from the late '60's
One protester put on a mock exterminator's suit, and then went around with a sprayer, spraying liquid on plants in the downtown mall, and then also on people passing by, without their consent. This upset some folks, who then called the police.
But what would you do in such a scenario? Would you just trust that the liquid was harmless, and allow a total stranger to spray some liquid on you in order to help them drive home their political issue?
When the police showed up, they asked the young 19 yr old man what was in the sprayer, and he told the officers that it was filled with poison. One word led to another, and officers decided to arrest him for disorderly conduct.
However, the young man resisted, and four police officers ended up struggling with him. And they also tased him twice, in order to subdue him.
Now the police are being condemned for police brutality. It really seems like a no-win situation, no? It seems to me that if any civilians had objected and tried to stop the man from spraying them, that they would have been accused of brutality too.
No really good answers here, I am afraid. I guess the best thing to do is just steer well clear of protests if you can. You never known when one will get crazy or violent.
Here is a link to the news story:
http://www.kval.com/news/local/19421239.html
And here is a link to a video news report about the incident:
http://www.kval.com/news/local/19411459.html?video=YHI&t=a
P.S. -- It turned out that the sprayer just had harmless water in it.
.
For example: We had a most bizarre protest here in Oregon yesterday, by a group called CPWP: Crazy People for Wildlife Protection. They were protesting the use of pesticides in keeping harmful insect populations down. Perhaps they don't want mosquitoes to die? Or maybe they feel there is an overall harmful effect to the ecology. Anyway, all of these protesters looked like they were hippies who had traveled through time from the late '60's
One protester put on a mock exterminator's suit, and then went around with a sprayer, spraying liquid on plants in the downtown mall, and then also on people passing by, without their consent. This upset some folks, who then called the police.
But what would you do in such a scenario? Would you just trust that the liquid was harmless, and allow a total stranger to spray some liquid on you in order to help them drive home their political issue?
When the police showed up, they asked the young 19 yr old man what was in the sprayer, and he told the officers that it was filled with poison. One word led to another, and officers decided to arrest him for disorderly conduct.
However, the young man resisted, and four police officers ended up struggling with him. And they also tased him twice, in order to subdue him.
Now the police are being condemned for police brutality. It really seems like a no-win situation, no? It seems to me that if any civilians had objected and tried to stop the man from spraying them, that they would have been accused of brutality too.
No really good answers here, I am afraid. I guess the best thing to do is just steer well clear of protests if you can. You never known when one will get crazy or violent.
Here is a link to the news story:
http://www.kval.com/news/local/19421239.html
And here is a link to a video news report about the incident:
http://www.kval.com/news/local/19411459.html?video=YHI&t=a
P.S. -- It turned out that the sprayer just had harmless water in it.
.