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I wanted to post about some of the fun things I did this weekend, but it's hard when my head is so full of the images from the UC Davis protests. It's not the brutality of Lt Pike that sticks in my mind--the ubiquity of cell phones at protests has made me sadly hardened to that kind of abuse of power. No, what sticks with me is the reaction of the crowd. As ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
qwrrty pointed out when he presented footage of the pepper-spraying, that standoff has the potential to turn into something truly ugly if it hadn't been defused by the protesters (given that the instincts of the police seemed to be set on escalation rather than negotiation).
If anything, the sequel was even more impressive. I'm sure by now you've seen the video of Chancellor Katehi's "perp walk" through hundreds of stock silent protestors.lucentnotion says it gave him "chills" and I know what he means. Anyone who's ever been at a loose gathering of people--even just an ordinary crowd, let alone a throng of angry protestors--knows how hard it is to get them to stay absolutely quiet. It tells me that whoever is taking responsibility for organising these protests is extremely competent.
It's hard to imagine how anyone could have more thoroughly undermined the University Chancellor's narrative--that "a number of protestors refused our warning, offering us no option but to ask the police to assist in their removal" or that she was kept cooped up for hours because she feared for her "safety". If you don't feel safe in a crowd of several hundred peaceful, reasonable, well-disciplined young people and you can think of "no other option" to address their legitimate concerns besides calling police in riot gear, then perhaps being in charge of a major university is not a suitable career choice.
All in all, those viral videos are some of the best advertisements for the efficacy of nonviolent protest I've seen in ages. Recent history is filled with examples of protest movements which began peaceful but turned deadly due to the radicalising effects of authorities overreacting. This gives me hope that, just maybe, that won't happen this time.
qwrrty pointed out when he presented footage of the pepper-spraying, that standoff has the potential to turn into something truly ugly if it hadn't been defused by the protesters (given that the instincts of the police seemed to be set on escalation rather than negotiation).If anything, the sequel was even more impressive. I'm sure by now you've seen the video of Chancellor Katehi's "perp walk" through hundreds of stock silent protestors.
lucentnotion says it gave him "chills" and I know what he means. Anyone who's ever been at a loose gathering of people--even just an ordinary crowd, let alone a throng of angry protestors--knows how hard it is to get them to stay absolutely quiet. It tells me that whoever is taking responsibility for organising these protests is extremely competent.It's hard to imagine how anyone could have more thoroughly undermined the University Chancellor's narrative--that "a number of protestors refused our warning, offering us no option but to ask the police to assist in their removal" or that she was kept cooped up for hours because she feared for her "safety". If you don't feel safe in a crowd of several hundred peaceful, reasonable, well-disciplined young people and you can think of "no other option" to address their legitimate concerns besides calling police in riot gear, then perhaps being in charge of a major university is not a suitable career choice.
All in all, those viral videos are some of the best advertisements for the efficacy of nonviolent protest I've seen in ages. Recent history is filled with examples of protest movements which began peaceful but turned deadly due to the radicalising effects of authorities overreacting. This gives me hope that, just maybe, that won't happen this time.
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