Several people object to my use of the words "fascist thugs". How would you characterize these officers? What would you say to police who grab people by the hair, pull their heads back and pepper spray them in the eyes?
How would you characterize a policeman who bounces a person's forehead off the pavement? What bothers me is people who look at the participants in Critical Mass or ISAG and see them as marginal and therefore somehow not deserving of decency. One person suggested I have lost historical perspective; i.e., Mussolini's Italy, Hitler's Germany, etc. Not at all. It is because I know history that I make these judgements. Mussolini's party was a bunch of bullies and thugs, plain and simple. Here is my perspective. You have synagogues being burnt down in three cities in France, Silvio Berlusconi's police rioting in Milan to protect global capitalists, John Ashcroft's Feebies rounding up suspects and holding them incommunicado, a president taking office under suspect circumstances at best, acts passing Congress that seriously compromise personal liberty and privacy. I heard some troglodyte(another name)utter "America: Love it or Leave It" on the radio. I found that the ugliest sentiment of the late 60's and it ain't any better now. Name calling? Let's consider names used to typify the riders in Critical Mass. A fringe element. Greens(as though being Green were a crime). Someone from City Hall actually referred to Critical Mass that way to me. How about radicals? That's a good one. Conjures up all sorts of unpleasant images. Then there are references to physical characteristics. That's always a winner. Multiple tattoos and piercings etc. During ISAG reference was made in the Strib constantly to orange haired (fill in the blank). The editors of the newspaper virtually fixated on that one. As to applying for a permit, well then you're into the old master-slave thing. We should ask for permission? How about automobile drivers asking permission of all those who want to breathe clean air? How about police actually issuing tickets to motorists hurtling through red lights instead of looking the other way and acting as if it's beneath them unless of couse it happens to be a person of color. To their credit, a few enforce traffic laws. Few being the operative word. The police knew exactly what would happen on Friday. They had two choices. Assign a three car detail to the ride. One car to lead, one to pick up the rear and one stop traffic for short periods of time as the riders went through intersections en masse. Number two was what they did. Bring in a flatbed truck. Squeeze riders into the curb and generally hassle them until they had the justification they needed to 'impose order', wail on them, ticket them, impound their bikes and generally strike terror into their hearts and minds. They chose the second option and we saw the results. They were looking to beat some folks up. Payback for the hubbub surrounding Abu Jeilail I figure. This is exactly the problem with this force. When the option to pull back and in some case even embrace the situation is there they choose just the opposite path. That's how we take the lives of mentally ill people. You don't like the words I used to describe the police vis a vis their actions last Friday, you tell me what I should call them? How can anyone take pride in a city that allows its police to act in such a manner? How can anyone take pride in a city that has had its police (mis)conduct become the subject of Human Rights Watch observation? This is nothing new with this force. It is just the latest chapter. Ask people of color how they view this action? Ask a young African Anerican male what effect this has on your psyche? Ask victims of police brutality in this city how they feel. Ask me how it felt to be closed up in the back seat of a squad on a 85 degree day after I had asked the police to crack the window because I am claustrophobic to the point of panic. Ask me how it felt to have these two cops driving me to City Hall from Uptown slide open the window separating front and back seats, ask me how I was doing, and before I could say a word have them close the window and start laughing. It makes me spitting mad and I won't back down from my characterization. Tim Connolly Ward 7 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
