Cassius Methyl | The Anti Media

In Seattle, activists have kept a consistent presence in nearly all areas of the city, showing real determination to make our society a better place. Thumbnail credit: Bettina Hansen / The Seattle Times

Every single day , they protest police brutality such as the Ferguson shooting, they raise awareness of the pain and suffering inflicted on the Palestinian people, and in response, the police try to keep a heavy presence too. This was taking place before the recent rise of activism with the Ferguson event.

Nearly every day, police helicopters hover directly above the protests, as if to stare down the activists. Even when they had an ‘hour of silence’ for Ferguson, possibly the most peaceful form of protest possible, they were subjected to intimidation by the police, on the ground and in the air.

Last week, at a protest aiming to raise awareness about the massacres in Palestine, a security guard got angry at the protestors and maced a random bystander who actually had nothing to do with the protests. The tension was not instigated by the protestors.

It seems that the current police of Seattle do not support the activists to say the least, yet a former police chief of Seattle came out and said the police’s response to the Ferguson protests was uncalled for and a mistake.

Note that this is a former police chief, because if you do not support the government’s agenda as a police officer, and refuse to disregard all morality for the sake of authority, you will be fired.

The former Seattle police chief, Norm Stamper, said “My reaction was, ‘Please learn from my mistakes, from what I did and did not do during the week of WTO. Don’t tear gas nonviolent and non-threatening protesters,” Stamper continued. “And for God’s sake, don’t bring dogs out. … It’s a throwback to the ’60s and Bull Connor. The imagery sucks.”

He continued to say “The biggest mistake in my 34 years of law enforcement was that we used a military response to a domestic situation – a military tactic that was absolutely unnecessary,” (speaking of the World Trade Organization protests 15 years ago in Seattle).

“The cop in me should have been overruled by the chief in me,” the former chief said. “I blew it. The effect was to heighten tensions, not deescalate tension.”

The current police should learn from the mistakes of police who are more experienced than they are. The goal of most activism is to make things better, none of them wish to inherently be enemies of the police.

In a perfect world the police would all quit the force, befriend the activists, and we would all work together to create a society free of incarceration for victimless crimes. In that world, the distinctly American apathy would be wiped out by voluntary cooperation and understanding.

Please share this with as many people as possible, as this is some good news that will help remind the current police that we are not here to inherently be enemies to them, but rather we just want them to understand what we do.

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