Police in the United States are three times more likely to use force against leftwing protesters than rightwing protesters, according to new data from a non-profit that monitors political violence around the world.
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@DamienMarieAtHope This doesnt really say much unless we normalize it against how often leftwing protesters protest in ways that violate the law vs right wing.
In my expiernce left-wing protesters are far more likely to use an illegal act like blocking a road or handcuffing themselves to private property. Right wing protestors obviously can be violent and problematic too, but generally en masse they arent violating the law as part of their protest.
Not saying this justifies police violence, but am pointing out the underlying factors that give rise to the discrepency (it isnt necessarily bias against the ideaology)
I don’t think so. If you look at many peaceful protests like the BLM protests, the police dived right in and turned it into mayhem. Also, there has been evidence that the FBI sent at least one agents provocateur into the BLM protests to make them violent.
Here’s one example:
No idea what you are on about. Here in philly the BLM protest was in large part riots. They fire bombed several police cars, stations, businesses and homes.
Also while your right sometimes the police instigate things, again, many protests fromt he get go fromt he left include assumptions of illegal activity like blocking traffic. So while I agree the police may make matters worse it is hard to deny the left uses illegal protesting tactics as the default **far** more often than the right.
Dr Freemo, you better check yourself before you wreck yourself.
That article doesnt disagree with anything I said.
I never claimed cops were innocent of violence, quite the opposite. I only pointed out that because they are responded with illegal force to illegal activities it is often the left that gets targeted as they engage in illegal activities.
Yes if you are violent to a non-violent protester (as cops often are) you are in the wrong.. .but again the reason the left is targeted, unjust or not, is because they are often the ones engaging in illegal activity.
Thats what this article represents.. cops who were in the wrong for one reason or another, but ultimately overreacting to the illegal acts of the protesters on the left.
@freemo @DamienMarieAtHope If the protesters’ acts were illegal, then why did Philadelphia pay them $9.25 million dollars?
Because doing a non-violent illegal acts does **not** make it legal for police to enact excessive violence upon you in return.
I am a bit suprised I need to point that out. Like if someone goes and steals a car and the police catch the person and shoot them in the face after they are already caught and in cuffs thent he cops will easily loose any lawsuit, the fact that the person actually stole a car doesnt get the police out of the fact that they used violence when it wasnt needed.
> No. Absolutely not. There is nothing in that article that backs up your fictitious “facts.”
Jesus christ **read what I say**
What I said was
> That article doesnt disagree with anything I said.
When did I say the article backs up any of my facts? I said it didnt disagree with what I said. Not remotely the same thing.
> That doesn’t sound like the protesters did anything illegal or violent.
Actually it does.. the article says:
> Plaintiffs in the lawsuit included residents of West Philadelphia and people who participated in demonstrations on Interstate 676 in which they called for police accountability.
Interstate 676 is a highway, they were blocking the highway illegally, and even just being ont he side of the road next to 676 is illegal.
So yes the article specifically points out by virtue of this fact that the protesters were, indeed, doing something illegal.
@freemo @DamienMarieAtHope No. Absolutely not. There is nothing in that article that backs up your fictitious “facts.” Here’s the one paragraph that counts:
“Video taken at the time showed officers using tear gas and pepper spray on protesters who had gathered minutes earlier. Plaintiffs also said that officers used rubber bullets.”
That doesn’t sound like the protesters did anything illegal or violent.