in the capital of the land of free speech
Ramsey shuffled against his makeshift cane down Pennsylvania Avenue. He took his time, turning back once to see that everything was quiet. On this day, downtown was his living room, where cops could double-park, set out rolls of police tape, form pop-up police lines, and arrest 400 people without dirtying a uniform.Washington City Paper's Boss Hogtie.
originally posted by zagg
Comments
Posted by: sudama | January 17, 2003 1:38 PM
I'm not sure if I buy that, actually. Part of the motivation behind the police's behavior in the article was as a way of pitting the 'bad' activists -- anarchists -- vs. the 'good' activists -- the legal protest. There's not a similar set up for this weekend. It's just the one big march, really. How cold is it in DC anyway?
Posted by: zagg | January 17, 2003 2:04 PM
cops in major cities across the country have been pulling this crap for as long as i can remember, which is well back into the reagan era (i was too young to do any protesting before that, but i'm sure it was just as bad then). these tactics are nothing new, and are liable to only get worse. i hate to say it, but it's going to take middle-of-the-road americans getting roughed up by cops for the mainstream of american voters to realize they actually have got something to lose here. if they ever had it in the first place. it's one thing to have to take your shoes off at the airport; it's another thing entirely to get your skull fractured, and then ordered to pay your assailant.
Posted by: r@d@r | January 17, 2003 2:15 PM