De-Escalation Keeps Protesters and Police Safer

Post by ncallaway » Tue, Jun 02, 2020, 9:22 AM UTC

seunosewa wrote: post #477

bjourne wrote: post #339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have been in the middle of protests when I worked for Reuters and the difference between peaceful and violent is very tiny. Can you spot the difference between an African and European swallow? I bet you can't. But a professional bird watcher could tell them apart in a second. Same thing with protestors. When I was active I could easily tell the difference between someone potentially violent and someone peaceful.…

Could the organizers arrange for citizens arrests of the troublemakers by the peaceful majority? Like asking them to leave and having them restrained by the peaceful majority if they refuse?

Post by ncallaway » Tue, Jun 02, 2020, 9:30 AM UTC

stcredzero wrote: post #183

komali2 wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Would you feel that way if they came and burned your house or business down? Yup, and I have the receipts to prove it: my motorcycle was vandalized in Oakland during the protests. A small price to pay for unsung voices being heard. You say violence is violence, yet I bet you have no problem with criminals being put in jail, i.e. their freedoms being violently removed from them.

You say violence is violence, yet I bet you have no problem with criminals being put in jail, i.e. their freedoms being violently removed from them. The state should have the monopoly on violence. Then, instead of everyone doing violence, we have certain, appointed people given the responsibility who can then be trained and monitored. This is part and parcel of the Rule of Law. Certainly, this system isn't perfect. B…

Post by paulannesley » Tue, Jun 02, 2020, 9:31 AM UTC

g8tor wrote: post #168

beloch wrote: post #78

We should expect police to us less use violence and improve their crowd management and deescalation skills. The increasing militarization of police is a trend that must be reversed. However, we should not neglect the other side of the equation either. This article is, in large part, about just that. The article points out that many protests in the U.S. went smoothly through the practice of police and protest organize…

I don't read that article as supporting the title that descalation leads to less violence. it does discuss evidence for escalation being correlated with more violence. but you can't blanket say that's causal. These are complex situations that don't follow rules. The mob consists of peaceful protesters, violent protesters and looters. people's membership in any of these groups can be multiple and shift over time. it's…

Post by ncallaway » Tue, Jun 02, 2020, 9:35 AM UTC

edanm wrote: post #453

PeterStuer wrote: post #439

You should not underestimate the extent of undercover/false flag instigators of violence at protests. At least here in Belgium this is a practice that is uncovered nearly every time when some violence erupts at demonstrations. The individuals that start the aggression are later photographed to be chilling and changing attire behind police lines. Usually people at large anti-establishment rallies know very well there…

That's fascinating, do you have any references that discuss this? (preferably in English to avoid Google Translate)

Post by mayniac » Tue, Jun 02, 2020, 9:39 AM UTC

DoreenMichele wrote: post #466

Polylactic_acid wrote: post #459

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems to me that almost every violent protest/riot started peaceful but then police make it violent. I have seen this so many times where police stay out of the way and everything goes smoothly. I think US police actually want a riot. They want to create violence.

I think US police actually want a riot. They want to create violence. I think that's unlikely. Keeping the peace is an inherently challenging job that gets harder exactly when it is needed the most.