# G20 Protesters - They're Clueless, Right
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [April 2, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778 "2009-04-02T23:06:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [April 2, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/1 "2009-04-02T23:06:50Z")
Look [here](http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/612291) for example. These people are extremely ill-informed, unepmloyed, and probably uneducated idiots.
It boggles my mind why a group of people would protest a meeting of the leaders of the most prosperous countries, who in fact are trying desperately to mitigate the current global financial situation.
GET A LIFE!
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### Author:  [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/2 "2009-04-03T02:13:12Z")
Thanks, I thought I was the only one baffled.
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### Author:  [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/3 "2009-04-03T02:33:37Z")
Doesn’t this sort of thing happen every time the World Bank, IMF, etc. meets? I wonder if it’s the same people.
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### Author:  [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/4 "2009-04-03T03:01:02Z")
Where’s that cool heat gun we developed? It would be perfect for people who’s brain is already fried.
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### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/5 "2009-04-03T03:09:32Z")
> [@Magiver](#):
>
> Where’s that cool heat gun we developed? It would be perfect for people who’s brain is already fried.
Protestors : “You’re all evil !”
Cops : “Let’s show you our new pain beam !”
Yeah, using a device out of a supervillain’s arsenal is going to really hurt the protestors’ claims that the guys they are protesting are evil.
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### Author:  [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/6 "2009-04-03T03:30:38Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> Protestors : “You’re all evil !”
>
> Cops : “Let’s show you our new pain beam !”
>
> Yeah, using a device out of a supervillain’s arsenal is going to really hurt the protestors’ claims that the guys they are protesting are evil.
Is that the order of events, or is it:
Protestors: “You’re all evil! Give me your best job with benefits!”
Cops: “No we’re not, now step back behind the line”
Protestors: “How dare you _throws rocks at officer_, _throws objects into CEO’s homes_, \*and whatever other hippy liberalism idea that “sounds” like a good idea.”
Cops: “Pain Beam!”
Me: “Justified”
Recent thread on similiar complaints:
> **[The G20 protesters are misguided.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=512105)**
>
> http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/29/content\_11093939.htm Of these, I think only the enviromental issue has the best chance. But demanding decent jobs, and ending poverty and inequality? I don’t feel these will ever be fixed, and I feel it...
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### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/7 "2009-04-03T04:00:55Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#):
>
> Is that the order of events, or is it:
>
> Protestors: “You’re all evil! Give me your best job with benefits!”
>
> Cops: “No we’re not, now step back behind the line”
>
> Protestors: “How dare you _throws rocks at officer_, _throws objects into CEO’s homes_, \*and whatever other hippy liberalism idea that “sounds” like a good idea.”
>
> Cops: “Pain Beam!”
>
> Me: “Justified”
And after the dead and injured from the stampede of agonized people are cleaned up, the disaster will roll on for years. Cops killed by bombs, or dragged into alleys and hacked to pieces with an axe, for example. The next G20 summit not being worried about protesters, but assassins and bombs. That’s the kind of reaction I’d expect to the use of a mass torture weapon; the transformation of a bunch of economic protesters to a revenge driven terrorist movement. One with more public sympathy than it has now.
Personally, I think that anyone who has ever used one should be hunted down and executed.
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/8 "2009-04-03T04:04:46Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> And after the dead and injured from the stampede of agonized people are cleaned up, the disaster will roll on for years. Cops killed by bombs, or dragged into alleys and hacked to pieces with an axe, for example. The next G20 summit not being worried about protesters, but assassins and bombs. That’s the kind of reaction I’d expect to the use of a mass torture weapon; the transformation of a bunch of economic protesters to a revenge driven terrorist movement. One with more public sympathy than it has now.
>
> Personally, I think that anyone who has ever used one should be hunted down and executed.
Go to bed.
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### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/9 "2009-04-03T04:09:13Z")
> [@Leaffan](#):
>
> Go to bed.
I’m sorry that it offends you when I point out what should be obvious. That a weapon that causes people great pain but leaves them in a position to retaliate later is one of the dumbest ideas ever. They might as well call it the Hate-Us-More Ray.
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### Author:  [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/10 "2009-04-03T04:11:24Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> Protestors : “You’re all evil !”
>
> Cops : “Let’s show you our new pain beam !”
>
> Yeah, using a device out of a supervillain’s arsenal is going to really hurt the protestors’ claims that the guys they are protesting are evil.
This would be the part where I don’t give a rats fucking ass what they think. If someone picks up a brick or so much as presses against an officer they get get their hide tanned. Call it a modern day hickory stick for modern day children of the corn.
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/11 "2009-04-03T04:17:04Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> I’m sorry that it offends you when I point out what should be obvious. That a weapon that causes people great pain but leaves them in a position to retaliate later is one of the dumbest ideas ever. They might as well call it the Hate-Us-More Ray.
When you’re dealing with rioters, a weapon that incapacitates is probably a better idea and will cause less anger among the crowd than a weapon that kills.
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### Author:  [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/12 "2009-04-03T04:17:26Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> I’m sorry that it offends you when I point out what should be obvious. That a weapon that causes people great pain but leaves them in a position to retaliate later is one of the dumbest ideas ever. They might as well call it the Hate-Us-More Ray.
That’s one thing, sure. But don’t the protesters have any liability/responsiblity to their actions? It’s one thing to use force against a peaceful crowd, quite another to use force against an angry, unforgiving crowd.
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### Author:  [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/13 "2009-04-03T04:21:09Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> I’m sorry that it offends you when I point out what should be obvious. That a weapon that causes people great pain but leaves them in a position to retaliate later is one of the dumbest ideas ever. They might as well call it the Hate-Us-More Ray.
This is true for both police and rioters, of course.
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### Author:  [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/14 "2009-04-03T04:25:08Z")
You know what?
This shit doesnt happen in the suburbs 🙂
Sorry, couldnt resist.
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### Author:  [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/15 "2009-04-03T04:58:01Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> **[1]** And after the dead and injured from the stampede of agonized people are cleaned up, the disaster will roll on for years. Cops killed by bombs, or dragged into alleys and hacked to pieces with an axe, for example. The next G20 summit not being worried about protesters, but assassins and bombs. That’s the kind of reaction I’d expect to the use of a mass torture weapon; the transformation of a bunch of economic protesters to a revenge driven terrorist movement. One with more public sympathy than it has now.
>
> **[2]** Personally, I think that anyone who has ever used one should be hunted down and executed.
The first paragraph makes a reasonable (if pessimistic) point about escalation and unintended consequences. The second paragraph endorses violent escalation, unintended consequences be damned. If protesters start executing riot police, then riot police will treat protesters more harshly; both sides are culpable in a vicious circle.
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### Author:  [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/16 "2009-04-03T05:02:58Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#):
>
> Protestors: “How dare you _throws rocks at officer_, _throws objects into CEO’s homes_, \*and whatever other **hippy** liberalism idea that “sounds” like a good idea.”
You don’t have a clue what hippies thought and believed, do you?
Peace, man.
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### Author:  [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/17 "2009-04-03T05:05:42Z")
> [@Magiver](#):
>
> If someone … so much as presses against an officer they get get their hide tanned.
Really. Anyone who touches the clothing of the police, inadvertently or not, should be beaten up? Again, this helps diffuse the notion that the police are on the side of evil … how?
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### Author:  [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/18 "2009-04-03T05:33:23Z")
> [@Askance](#):
>
> Really. Anyone who touches the clothing of the police, inadvertently or not, should be beaten up? Again, this helps diffuse the notion that the police are on the side of evil … how?
To start with, it doesn’t matter what nihilists think, they’re nihilists.
Any protest I’ve ever gone to the police have drawn a line and they stand on the other side. You touch them and you get arrested. If you throw a brick through a window, you get arrested. It’s not hard to figure this out.
There were 2 groups of protesters there as is usually the case: the peaceful ones who exercise free speech and the useless nihilists who don’t care about anything.
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### Author:  [@ajb867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ajb867)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/19 "2009-04-03T05:54:58Z")
Does peaceful protest ever really change anything? A bunch of people show up and just “stand” there holding their “peaceful please do this instead” signs.
Whats the incentive for anyone to care?
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### Author:  [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2009, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g20-protesters-theyre-clueless-right/491778/20 "2009-04-03T06:00:40Z")
> [@Magiver](#):
>
> To start with, it doesn’t matter what nihilists think, they’re nihilists.
Say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, at least it’s an ethos.
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