G20 Riots @ Pittsburgh

[Zell]

We need a police reform instead of a healthcare reform.

All of those super dangerous college students in one location certainly warranted tear gas and rubber bullets.

[scollins]

For college kids, they don't seem very smart. At 0:45 you can clearly hear the police announce the "assembly" isn't legal, and are told to disperse immediately. What did they think would happen when the police tell them to GTFO and they don't? They'll tell them again, and again and again? No, the police will user their TTPs to clear the crowd.

Regardless of whether you believe the police/government made the right call on calling the assembly illegal or not, don't be shocked when you get less-lethal munitions used against you after they make that call and you choose to disobey. I don't have a problem with disobedience per se, just know the consequences.

Oh, and the video is clearly edited, meaning the person doing the editing is now controlling the tone and "emotion" of what they want to portray. Video is not an impartial witness, but can be easily manipulated and changed to show a completely different story. You can show a cop beating a kid with a night stick and say "It was unprovoked!" But what the videographer edited out was the kid pulling a gun on the cop 30 seconds earlier.

[E90SLAM]

I apologise of some ignorance...but why are they "assemble" there in the first place...its like asking for trouble.

Security against terrirost attack and aggressive protests are definately tighten during the city who hosts G8 or G20 summits....shouldve just stay in dorm or home and stay away....

its like they're just some attention whores who cause trouble like sport fans go insane after their team had won the World Series....

I don't really see police use unnecessary force to disperse the crowd. there were PLENTY warnings and slowly move their control line and there's enough time for them to go away...but they just stood there....and challenge authorities....

and for some similar video titled "police attack students"...geez...these are not "attacks"...wait till they fire rubber bullets and running towards you with a beating stick....tear gas is standard procedure to disperse illegal assemblies before the situation go worse and uncontrolable....

[Zell]

Originally Posted by scollins

Oh, and the video is clearly edited, meaning the person doing the editing is now controlling the tone and "emotion" of what they want to portray. Video is not an impartial witness, but can be easily manipulated and changed to show a completely different story. You can show a cop beating a kid with a night stick and say "It was unprovoked!" But what the videographer edited out was the kid pulling a gun on the cop 30 seconds earlier.

Yeah, I know. That's the first thing that I thought of when I watched the video; that's why I went and checked out some other videos (really aren't many; just like one or two more but they're a little fairer, if you could say that, than the one I linked) and some other written testimonies of what people saw there and many of them had said a lot of bystanders were caught in the bullshit going on. Cops were in the residence halls and such, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Lots of cops told people to leave the overhead crosswalks and other buildings but they kept herding them to other cops who said they couldn't go that way, etc. They handled the situation like it was a full-out LA riot when there wasn't any real danger anywhere.

The protests were basically many people holding up signs both for and against what was being discussed in the building where the G20 Summit was being held. Pittsburgh had prepared for the worst before people began gathering and expected this insane mob of people who were going to go crazy and tip stuff over, set stuff on fire, etc; (damage happened to 10 businesses after the cops started showing up in their riot suits, armored cars, etc which I find incredibly ironic). Point is, cops did their jobs but overreacted big time.

[scollins]

Originally Posted by Zell

Yeah, I know. That's the first thing that I thought of when I watched the video; that's why I went and checked out some other videos and some other testimonies of what people saw there and many of them had said a lot of bystanders were caught in the bullshit going on. Cops were in the residence halls and such, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Lots of cops told people to leave but they kept herding them to other cops who said they couldn't go that way, etc. They handled the situation like it was a full-out LA riot when there wasn't any real danger anywhere.

The protests were basically many people holding up signs both for and against what was being discussed in the building where the G20 Summit was being held. Pittsburgh had prepared for the worst before people began gathering and expected this insane mob of people who were going to go crazy and tip stuff over, set stuff on fire, etc; none of that happened. Point is, cops did their jobs but overreacted big time.

Maybe. None of us were there, so we can only go on what we see and hear. And that "evidence" is already potentially suspect. I find it strange though that this hasn't hit the MSM. A google search only really finds HuffingtonPost (oh please) and some other fringe sites. Curious. They do make minor mention of some issues where the police used CS and OC, but it certainly doesn't have the tone of these "OMG I'm a VICTIM doing NOTHING!!!" videos.

The WTO riots in Seattle started out innocently enough, but then the hooligans made the situation complete anarchy.


Oh, and it is Pittsburgh afterall. I'm sure the police were expecting shenanigans more like a post-Superbowl win.....

[Zell]

Originally Posted by scollins

Oh, and it is Pittsburgh afterall. I'm sure the police were expecting shenanigans more like a post-Superbowl win.....

Yeah, U of Pittsburgh has had a pretty shitty week. Just today, we beat them in football when they were up by 2 TDs in the second half of the game. Sure was a good game, though

[f=ma]

[scottwww]

Originally Posted by scollins

For college kids, they don't seem very smart. At 0:45 you can clearly hear the police announce the "assembly" isn't legal, and are told to disperse immediately. What did they think would happen when the police tell them to GTFO and they don't? They'll tell them again, and again and again? No, the police will user their TTPs to clear the crowd.

I wonder when they will start using the "crap cannon".

[scottwww]

Originally Posted by Zell

We need a police reform instead of a healthcare reform.

All of those super dangerous college students in one location certainly warranted tear gas and rubber bullets.

The video reminds me of scenes from some of the sci-fi movies of the '60s and '70s showing a future totalitarian police state. Perhaps the resemblance is no coincidence. Hollywood unmistakably sided with the protesters in making those films (to support the real protests that took place in those days). Somehow, I doubt that Hollywood will do anything that shows favoritism to these kind of protests today.

[Mighty M]

Originally Posted by scottwww

The video reminds me of scenes from some of the sci-fi movies of the '60s and '70s showing a future totalitarian police state. Perhaps the resemblance is no coincidence. Hollywood unmistakably sided with the protesters in making those films (to support the real protests that took place in those days). Somehow, I doubt that Hollywood will do anything that shows favoritism to these kind of protests today.

The paranoia runs deep.

[sayemthree]

what happened to the right of the people to peacefully assemble?

[scollins]

Originally Posted by sayemthree

what happened to the right of the people to peacefully assemble?

You need a license (government permission in other words) these days to assemble......

[sayemthree]

Originally Posted by scollins

You need a license (government permission in other words) these days to assemble......

[Zell]

Originally Posted by scollins

You need a license (government permission in other words) these days to assemble......

Yep.

You'll notice that people who protest in front of a building tend to protest on the other side of the street because they are not allowed to protest on the actual property. The same probably applied here, except the venue was the actual city/campus.