This video reminded me of what a law student said about the OJ Simpson case of 1994-1995: “The police tried to frame a guilty man.”
In this case, I see an example of police overreaction, and a certain amount of potentially dangerous brutality, but directed against a total asshole who had it coming. I’ve seen some of this up close and personal recently, and while I think some of my comrades needlessly provoke the police, I’m still sympathetic towards them. I have no sympathy for this jerk.
Tea Partiers and other reactionaries seek to preserve their power and privilege, or, worse, ignorantly preserve the power and privilege of the ruling class. A lot of them see avoiding arrest as a matter of pride, when in fact it’s much harder to get arrested (in the short run) when you’re doing the dirty work of the ruling class, as opposed to fighting against the ruling class.
Oddly, he may not be entirely right-wing. He’s wearing one of those shirts with the Native American warriors, with the “Homeland Security: Fighting terrorism since 1492” shirts. Some reactionaries do actually sympathize with the First Nations, though, so it’s hard to say.