The spin doctors have succeeded. They've turned upright law-abiding citizens into criminals and the real criminals into heroic leaders.
Activists are not criminals. Far from it, they are outstanding heroic citizens exercising their civic duties for the good of the whole. In the United States and other countries with a Common Law legal system, an individual may use physical force to protect themselves against certain serious crimes. Individuals may also make citizens arrests of those committing a crime and may use physical force to do so in the case of certain serious crimes. It would follow then that peaceful protest actions to prevent crimes against oneself, one's community or humanity, or to draw public attention to them, are perfectly lawful acts beneficial to society - even if they are crimes committed by the authorities.
Below are a few links on the legality and workings of making citizens arrests. Perhaps this will help dispel the growing (and much promoted) myth that protest actions, especially those that are effective, are somehow illegal. Since there's a law against nearly everything now this may well be, however protest action is also perfectly lawful, and in many ways MORE LAWFUL than today's police system.
Could we use the citizens arrest procedure to arrest criminal cops who are brutalizing perfectly peaceful, law-abiding citizens? Probably.
Links on citizens arrest:
http://www.constitution.org/grossack/arrest.htm http://diylaw.info/CitizensArrest.htm http://www.guardianangels.org/programs/patrol/law.html http://www.poormagazine.com/index.cfm?L1=news&story=1040
For more info, do a Google search for "citizens arrest".
