Once again (see this post) I return to the story of mass arrests in NYC – peaceful protesters, or people not even demonstrating, hauled into the precinct station, some of whom were held for days. Only two people tried – acquitted of course – in proceedings that surely must have been absurd to witness given the evidence available that totally undermined all of NYPD’s claims. Everyone else released, no charges. Why were they arrested? HYSTERIA!
The New York Times has been following, and sometimes editorializing about the process by which the lawsuits against the city are being settled. Today, it describes how at great cost in legal fees and staff time, after much stalling and stonewalling, the city is paying out millions of dollars to settle claims related to its violation of civil rights. Of course, the NYPD admits no wrong doing – state organs never do.
The article quotes the fellow shown in the picture above:
Then they started arresting us, one by one. At that point, I got emotional — I could not believe in my country, in my city, I could get arrested for doing absolutely nothing and standing on the sidewalk,” Mr. Shirazi added.
Are there any lessons from the day? The Law Department said the $2 million payout did not mean the police had done anything wrong. “This settlement was reached without any admission of liability on behalf of the city and the individual defendants,” said Ms. Halatyn, the city lawyer.
The Police Department did not respond to a request for comment on the settlement.
Mr. Shirazi said that as he was being handcuffed for the first time in his life, he told the officer that the plastic cuffs were squeezing him. “He said, ‘You should have thought about that before you came out this morning.’ It was like a dagger in my heart, that a police officer of my city would come up with anything like that.”
In what does patriotism and love of country consist? Following orders motivated by unthinking fear or hallowing and practicing the ideas that gave it rise in the first place?
Journey to Perplexity 
Of course one could look at this and say “well good, the system works!” The State tolerates these little acts of dissent so it can claim to be the Land of the Free.
Well, yeah…it works. They didn’t line people up and shoot ’em.
Uuh, no…it doesn’t work. What the hell were they doing arresting anyone at all for?
Interesting…both statements seem absolutely true, no?
Indeed. Saw the protesters being pepper sprayed and arrested in Denver, Iv’e been in on more than a little of that American Spectacle myself. They are protecting order, protecting property, etc but they are also delivering a message to all outlaws, outliers, Robin Hoods, revolutionaries,etc
i was the last person arrested @ RNC nyc 2004.
myself & around 14 more people,
we had never met each other before
pulled off a classic sit down “strike’.
while bush was reading his acceptance speech
at the very end of the convention.
i asked the nypd why they were were trying to move us.
they said we were impeding the traffic flow up 8th ave.
i told them the brand new NYPD armoured car
parked in the middle of 31st st. & 8th ave.
was blocking the avenue, not me.
Italy is too different for me to judge.
Here much depends on those at command locally and nationally, police forces may be right or left oriented, but today police is possibly more right-wing than left-wing, as it used to be in the 80s-90s maybe.
One typical example – I made a collage from the wiki – the Genoa G8 in july 2001.
Berlusconi was on power and 200,000 demonstrators from across the EU started breaking ALL they saw in their path. It was VERY bad, and I firmly condemn it.
BUT police responded with a brutality unseen in Europe, everybody said that on EU papers.
Night-time raids upon schools where protesters were sleeping and hiding, they were beaten-up terribly, many people injured, and outside a 23-year-old Carlo Giuliani was shot dead while he trying to throw a fire extinguisher unto a Carabinieri car, the Carabinere, being young too, fired …
Susanne Bendotti was killed by a vehicle while attempting to cross the French-Italian border to reach Genoa. In short, we assisted at a brutal quasi-war reaction of the entire state apparatus.
Ninety-three youngsters arrested said being spat at, physically humiliated, threatened with rape.
Numerous police officers, local and national, were ordered to stand trial. In the inquiry the Genoa deputy police chief admitted they planted Molotov cocktails to justify (!) the school raids.
Years later (2005) many officers convicted for abuse of authority, abuse of office and uniform, 2 Medical staff also convicted but NONE will go to jail due to statute of limitations.