Pepper Spraying Students at UC-Davis

[Free4Life11]

Those particular students where violating the rights of other citizens and particularly the owners of the property to use that sidewalk.

LOL to use the sidewalk for what, doing cartwheels? Chalk drawings? GMAFB. Walk around them.

The video was so disgusting and I can't believe this is allowed to happen in America!

 

[Chris the CPA]

LOL to use the sidewalk for what, doing cartwheels? Chalk drawings? GMAFB.

The video was so disgusting and I can't believe this is allowed to happen in America!

What do you normally use a sidewalk for... walking? It is not for sitting unless you are waiting on a parade in the World.

 

[Free4Life11]

What do you normally use a sidewalk for... walking? It is not for sitting unless you are waiting on a parade in the World.

Walk around them!

 

[cornflake]

Walk around them or don't - there's no right to walk unimpeded on a public sidewalk that supercedes the right to assemble, to speak, to appeal for redress.

I've been inconvenienced by dozens upon dozens of protests, large and small; it never once occurred to me to think the cops should have arrested protesters because they were blocking the sidewalk, the street, the etc., while striking or marching. That's a new one on me.

As for 'they were warned [that someone would use excessive, improper and unreasonable force]!' how does that not apply to other forms of force? No one has yet explained why that doesn't cover shooting the little miscreants, who apparently should just apply to transfer if they don't like a tuition hike, not say anything.

 

[themilesfamily]

Hyperbolize much?

No, but thanks for asking.

Just an update on what's going on at UC Davis. There are now more than 1000 demonstrators rallying on campus. The tents have been put back up. The chancellor was booed down when she came to apologize, yet again, for the pepper spraying incident.

The chancellor said on the radio this morning:

"They were not supposed to use force; it was never called for," she said. "They were not supposed to limit the students from having the rally, from congregating to express their anger and frustration."'

(Is she throwing the police officers under the bus here and absolving herself of all responsibility? It kind of sounds that way to me.)

Whether you think pepper spraying and arresting the students was a good idea or a bad one, (and I happen to think it was a very, very bad idea), they've whipped up a real hornet's nest here.

In addition, there are students at other University of California schools who will now be sleeping outside and staging sit-ins in solidarity. They're calling them pajama parties rather than sit-ins.

I'm on the students' side.

 

[undertheradar]

How many of those protesting are missing class to protest the tuition increase?

 

[eliza61]

No, but thanks for asking.

Just an update on what's going on at UC Davis. There are now more than 1000 demonstrators rallying on campus. The tents have been put back up. The chancellor was booed down when she came to apologize, yet again, for the pepper spraying incident.

The chancellor said on the radio this morning:

"They were not supposed to use force; it was never called for," she said. "They were not supposed to limit the students from having the rally, from congregating to express their anger and frustration."'

(Is she throwing the police officers under the bus here and absolving herself of all responsibility? It kind of sounds that way to me.)

Whether you think pepper spraying and arresting the students was a good idea or a bad one, (and I happen to think it was a very, very bad idea), they've whipped up a real hornet's nest here.

In addition, there are students at other University of California schools who will now be sleeping outside and staging sit-ins in solidarity. They're calling them pajama parties rather than sit-ins.

I'm on the students' side.

LOL. does not surprise me at all. Isn't it amazing that we keep on making the same mistakes over and over again. Historically using violence against protestors does nothing more than make them more determine to protest.

So now the police are going to end up looking inefficient. The media has its cameras focused on them to see what they are going to do next, so now they will do nothing in fear of looking like Egypt. and all this could have been avoid had they used a little common sense.

 

[Planogirl]

I never see the point of camping out. If I was involved in any of it, I would just do my march and maybe picket but I'd sleep at home. I guess that I wouldn't be a good protestor.

 

[eliza61]

I never see the point of camping out. If I was involved in any of it, I would just do my march and maybe picket but I'd sleep at home. I guess that I wouldn't be a good protestor.

LOL. I'm not the sleep outdoors type either Plano.

I really think we are going to see more and more of this type of thing. People no longer believe in the people in charge, whether its on college campuses or in Washington. So the normal channels we use for change like voting seem useless. Not only do we not believe in the leadership, many folks believe the stakes are actively against them.

I laugh when people say "change schools". You're going through the process of college selection just like I am, I've yet to come across any institution that I would call affordable. Many people are begininng to believe that you have to be dirt poor or uber rich to afford an education and remember for so long, decades and decades the mantra has been "go to college, get an education, get a good job".

 

[eliza61]

Now there are protestors at UCLA. UCLA raised it's tuition in 2009 32% and now 2 years later they are announcing another hike and no one has any idea why these kids are pissed. Really?

 

[undertheradar]

Now there are protestors at UCLA. UCLA raised it's tuition in 2009 32% and now 2 years later they are announcing another hike and no one has any idea why these kids are pissed. Really?

You are in NJ so what is your point? If you were here in CA that is one thing but too many jumping on the bandwagon have NOTHING to do with what is going on here in California.

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

You are in NJ so what is your point? If you were here in CA that is one thing but too many jumping on the bandwagon have NOTHING to do with what is going on here in California.

Note to self: Check out where something is happening before offering an opinion.

Well. THAT is going to cut into some fun.

 

[Jennasis]

You are in NJ so what is your point? If you were here in CA that is one thing but too many jumping on the bandwagon have NOTHING to do with what is going on here in California.

Scuse me? So nobody outside of California can have an opinion on the subject?

 

[Rabscuttle]

Very true and when the consequences are excessive, brutual and border on a gestapo, the cops have no one but themselves to blame. following the mantra of those here. NO one forced them to use pepper spray. they were not in a situation where their safety was in jepordy (although I'm sure they will testify that they felt mortal danger from the people sitting on the ground LOL) they had a choice of other non lethal methods so the cops also must face the consequences of their actions.

Fire every single one involved.

Was it brutal? I remember Kent State, so no, it was not brutal. Was it excessive? The courts will no doubt decide that. From one video it is impossible to determine if the cops' safety was threatened, not just by those sitting on the ground but the crowd surrounding them.

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

This is supposedly a photo of one of the cops spraying the kids. He doesn't have that concerned look to me. He's being photoshopped into numerous pictures, funny, sad and scary all at the same time. He's positively blase about it.

http://peppersprayingcop.tumblr.com/

 

[cornflake]

Was it brutal? I remember Kent State, so no, it was not brutal. Was it excessive? The courts will no doubt decide that. From one video it is impossible to determine if the cops' safety was threatened, not just by those sitting on the ground but the crowd surrounding them.

If the cops felt threatened by the crowd - of students peacfully protesting a tuition hike, first, maybe they should seek other employment. Second, they should seek other employment because the way to deal with a threatening crowd surrounding you is not to calmly wander around using weaponry on their comrades, who are sitting on the ground, legs crossed (thus less able to rise quickly and attack you), while they stand surrounding you and, presumably, getting more annoyed.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

What do you normally use a sidewalk for... walking? It is not for sitting unless you are waiting on a parade in the World.

So in circumstances that are favorable to YOU, you should be allowed to sit on a sidewalk. In circumstances that you do not like, police should pepper spray the miscreants?

It so happens I don't like families sitting on the sidewalk waiting for a parade at MK. Can I pepperspray them?

I don't like it when my neighbors' son uses the sidewalk in front of my house (my upkeep, original subdivision builder had to pay to put in, although required by the city) to rollerblade, scooter ride and play catch. Do I have a right to pepperspray him for that?

For that matter, perhaps this whole idea of public sidewalks needs to be revisited. Perhaps those of us who maintain sidewalks on our property for the benefit of the general public should put up signs regulating their use. No sitting, no spitting, no hopscotch, no rollerblading, no protesting, no walking dogs, no hoping that a certain A lister will go jogging by while dawdling along pretending to walk. Not on MY portion of the sidewalk!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

If the cops felt threatened by the crowd - of students peacfully protesting a tuition hike, first, maybe they should seek other employment. Second, they should seek other employment because the way to deal with a threatening crowd surrounding you is not to calmly wander around using weaponry on their comrades, who are sitting on the ground, legs crossed (thus less able to rise quickly and attack you), while they stand surrounding you and, presumably, getting more annoyed.

MTE.

If a policeman doesn't know how to handle protestors, the police chief should be fired for a lack of training and for risking the lives of those that police department has sworn to protect as well a the lives of the police in that department. If I'm not entirely mistaken, that SHOULD be something that is part of routine training, especially on a large university campus where, historically, protests are nothing new.

 

[PeterPan09]

This is supposedly a photo of one of the cops spraying the kids. He doesn't have that concerned look to me. He's being photoshopped into numerous pictures, funny, sad and scary all at the same time. He's positively blase about it.

http://peppersprayingcop.tumblr.com/

He looks almost bored-certainly not like he's feeling threatened in any way.

This was a really bad move and it's going to have repercussions outside California in terms of how people are viewing protestors and police. Not here on the DIS of course, but out in the real world. When my 73 year old mother and 83 year old father ask me if I saw the video and wasn't it terrible what that policeman did to those children-I can tell the needle has moved a bit.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Was it brutal? I remember Kent State, so no, it was not brutal. Was it excessive? The courts will no doubt decide that. From one video it is impossible to determine if the cops' safety was threatened, not just by those sitting on the ground but the crowd surrounding them.

I don't think it was his safety that was at stake so much as his anonymity. 15 years ago there wouldn't have been video of this. The cop would've claimed whatever he liked, his department would've backed him and the students would be SOL.