Likewise, I've noticed that there seem to be two types of "Occupoids": those interested in solving problems, and those interested in starting them. Some want to fix a faulty system, while others haven't matured beyond the "let's just break stuff" dramatics.
In large measure, the success or failure of the entire protest movement will not be a conflict with police, or city authorities, or judges, but between those two factions.
Also, something that might shed a little more light on the "frivolous arrests"... When you have a large gathering of people - be it a sports event, parade, protest, concert or state visit - the tolerance for casual disregard of the law dwindles. If an officer establishes a police line, and one person crosses it, it may be just a verbal reprimand and on with business as usual. Add 999 more people, however, and suddenly everything is setting a precedent. Then you potentially have a thousand people who will disregard the police line, and you may have to either arrest all 1000 or none of them at all. And so, to avoid that slippery slope, the first person gets busted as hard as possible to keep the rest adhering to the rules. It's unfair, but historically it has been necessary. People forget that.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2011-11-09 07:03 am (UTC)In large measure, the success or failure of the entire protest movement will not be a conflict with police, or city authorities, or judges, but between those two factions.
Also, something that might shed a little more light on the "frivolous arrests"... When you have a large gathering of people - be it a sports event, parade, protest, concert or state visit - the tolerance for casual disregard of the law dwindles. If an officer establishes a police line, and one person crosses it, it may be just a verbal reprimand and on with business as usual. Add 999 more people, however, and suddenly everything is setting a precedent. Then you potentially have a thousand people who will disregard the police line, and you may have to either arrest all 1000 or none of them at all. And so, to avoid that slippery slope, the first person gets busted as hard as possible to keep the rest adhering to the rules. It's unfair, but historically it has been necessary. People forget that.