Here are pics of the peppers spraying incident yesterday

[Worst Username Ever]

Police officers fire streams of pepper spray over a crowd of protesters after demonstrators threw objects over the fence at police as the Bush inaugural parade passed by on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, January 20, 2005. Anti-war chants competed with pomp and circumstance as the inauguration of President George W. Bush (news - web sites) for a second term took place amid the barricaded streets of central Washington. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. "let freedom reign" - chimp the gimp

[jswordy]

2. Too bad there are no pix of...

...the protestors throwing objects over the fence at the cops. Uh, that kinda draws their attention, ya know?

Heheheheh...

[sniffa]

3. i smeLL something burning

[Guy Fawkes]

8. Funny, I'm getting kinda hungry....

[sniffa]

10. you are wise young padawan

:evilgrin:

[Webster Green]

5. Maybe the cops lied about that part....

Cops lie quite often, you know.

[ThorsHammer]

7. I agree in principle (maintaining order), but the hoses are excessive

I don't see why they had to bring out the hoses, which target everyone. This does not mean I excuse those throwing fruit, which is a bad idea with the amount of security, but the security reaction was too harsh.

EDIT: I feel bad for the 99% of protestors who did nothing wrong but still got hit.

[el_gato]

12. maintaining order = protecting the rich and powerful

[Guy Fawkes]

15. My old sociology teacher grew up on the "poor" side

of the tracks in a small town south of here. He said the police were always near his house, but not near the nice houses on the other side of town. He bets the kids that were better off were more mischevious...

[ThorsHammer]

19. Nope, see Bertha's post below

Like I said in my first post, I do think they used excessive force this time around though. I don't know about who stirred things up, but it didn't deserve that harsh a response by the security.

[On the Road]

4. They've Got Pepper-Spray HOSES?

Sure looks like it. That amount could be dangerous, no?

[Bertha Venation]

6. What idiots threw stuff at police, and why?

God dammit! Can't anyone in this country protest peacefully, without trying to incite a riot? Without performing actions that might incite a riot, regardless of their intentions?! Jesus.

[el_gato]

11. how do you know it wasn't a cop who threw stuff just to create a pretext

happens all the time you know

but hey, someone (even if it was a protestor) throws an orange I guess is a good enough excuse to hose down entire crowds with toxic chemicals.
:eyes:

[Bertha Venation]

13. I don't know that a cop didn't start it, and I don't know that it "happens

all the time."

I wasn't there.

And I didn't say that it's okay to use pepper spray in this way.

[el_gato]

17. okay

[Webster Green]

14. We'll all be doing it if the chimp persists with his fascist agenda....

These young "anarchists" are just a little ahead of the curve.

[el_gato]

9. and cops (pigs) wonder why they are hated

[Worst Username Ever]

16. kick

[suegeo]

18. Ahh Collective Punishment.

They are either with president bunny pants, or they are against him. Republicans are so compassionate. They could have just shot them, you know.

[RoeBear]

20. Just a reminder

this is the Washington DC police department. The majority of officers are black and so is the leadership. The likely hood is that they voted overwhelming for Kerry. The likely hood that they are part of the Republican conspiracy is quite slim indeed.